Study finds atomic-scale ordering of elements in a metallic alloy that is responsible for alloy’s increased strength. The Science Metal alloys are materials that contain two or more atomic metal elements. They often have one primary element and smaller amounts of other elements. Scientists recently discovered a new class of alloys that have several elements combined in equal amounts. Researchers call these materials “medium entropy alloys.” These alloys are very strong, but researchers did not fully understand the reasons for…
Metamaterials, made up of small, repeated structures, engineered to produce desired interactions with light or sound waves, can improve optical devices used in telecommunications, imaging and more. But the functionality of the devices can be limited by the corresponding design space, according to Lei Kang, assistant research professor of electrical engineering at Penn State. Kang and interdisciplinary collaborators from Penn State and Sandia National Laboratories leveraged three dimensions of design space to create and test a metamaterial with robust optical…
Researchers from KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stanford University have fabricated a material for computer components that enable the commercial viability of computers that mimic the human brain. Electrochemical random access (ECRAM) memory components made with 2D titanium carbide showed outstanding potential for complementing classical transistor technology, and contributing toward commercialization of powerful computers that are modeled after the brain’s neural network. Such neuromorphic computers can be thousands times more energy efficient than today’s computers. These advances in computing…
Mass-producing nanoribbons for cutting-edge electronics and catalysts. Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have succeeded in using nanowires of a transition-metal chalcogenide to make atomically thin “nanoribbons”. Bundles of nanowires were exposed to a gas of chalcogen atoms and heat which helped merge the threads into narrow strips. Nanoribbons are highly sought after for sophisticated electronic devices; given the scalability of the method, the team hopes it will see widespread use in the industrial production of cutting-edge materials. Materials science in the…
Two-dimensional materials are incredibly thin. Typically only an atom thick, 2D materials exhibit highly desirable properties for advanced technologies, such as flexibility, superconductivity and more. Made from carefully transitioning individual components from gas or vapor to crystalline solids, such materials and the mechanisms by which they become imbued with such characteristics are still shrouded in mystery. Now, through a novel monitoring and analysis method, researchers led by Toshiaki Kato at Tohoku University have revealed a critical mechanism in the development…
Nature Paper Advances Design of Nanomaterials with Tailored Infrared and Thermal Properties. Scientists and engineers collaborating across seven universities and two national laboratories have made a fundamental discovery about the atomic structure and vibrations in multilayer nanostructures, advancing the design of materials with unique infrared and thermal properties. Their paper, Emergent Interface Vibrational Structure of Oxide Superlattices, was published January 26 in Nature. Their discovery emerged from a long-standing collaboration of microscopy, spectroscopy and theory experts spanning fields from physics…
Advancement in single-atom layer graphene coatings improves accelerator electron source lifespans. Protective coatings are common for many things in daily life that see a lot of use: we coat wood floors with finish; apply Teflon to the paint on cars; even use diamond coatings on medical devices. Protective coatings are also essential in many demanding research and industrial applications. Now, researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed and tested an atomically thin graphene coating for next-generation, electron-beam accelerator equipment…
Rice team’s simulations show iron catalyzes corrosion in ‘inert’ carbon dioxide. Iron that rusts in water theoretically shouldn’t corrode in contact with an “inert” supercritical fluid of carbon dioxide. But it does. The reason has eluded materials scientists to now, but a team at Rice University has a theory that could contribute to new strategies to protect iron from the environment. Materials theorist Boris Yakobson and his colleagues at Rice’s George R. Brown School of Engineering found through atom-level simulations that iron itself plays a role…
High-speed X-ray free-electron lasers have unlocked the crystal structures of small molecules relevant to chemistry and materials science, proving a new method that could advance semiconductor and solar cell development. Compounds that form tiny crystals hold secrets that could advance renewable energy generation and semiconductor development. Revealing the arrangement of their atoms has already allowed for breakthroughs in materials science and solar cells. However, existing techniques for determining these structures can damage sensitive microcrystals. Now scientists have a new tool…
Zeolites, which are crystalline porous materials, are very widely used in the production of chemicals, fuels, materials, and other products. So far, zeolites have been made as 3D or 2D materials. This has changed with the recent discovery of crystalline zeolites in a nanotubular (1D) shape, by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Stockholm University, and Penn State University. The findings were published in the Jan. 6 issue of Science. “A discovery like this is one of the most…
Researchers at Osaka University use optical tweezers to control nanoparticles within an ultracold phase of matter called superfluid helium, which may lead to a better understanding of the interactions between quantum and macroscopic objects. Scientists from the Graduate School of Engineering Science at Osaka University used optical tweezers for the first time inside superfluid helium. With a strongly focused beam of light, they demonstrated the stable trapping of nanoparticles at ultralow temperatures. This work may help scientists better understand the…
University of Delaware researchers report low-pressure method to convert industrially processed biomass into plastics, chemicals. It’s no secret that we need more sustainable materials if we hope to help the planet. Bio-derived materials are one potential option, but they must be economical if anyone is going to use them. For instance, a better bio-based milk jug would be great. However, if the milk sells for $20 per gallon because the cost of the jug increases from $1 to $17, no…
Brothers in Rice lab find audio from graphene production contains valuable data. It may be true that seeing is believing, but sometimes hearing can be better. Case in point: Two brothers in a Rice University laboratory heard something unusual while making graphene. Ultimately, they determined the sound itself could give them valuable data about the product. The brothers, John Li, a Rice alumnus now studying at Stanford University, and Victor Li, then a high school student in New York and…
A group of chemists from Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), Lithuania synthesised materials that were used for constructing a record-breaking perovskite solar module, with an efficiency of 21.4 per cent. This was achieved through the passivation of the active solar cell layer, which increases the efficiency of the cell and significantly improves its stability. Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are one of the world’s fastest-growing solar cell technologies. These elements are thin-layered, lightweight, flexible, and are made of low-cost materials. However,…
7 times increased durability compared to conventional commercial catalysts. Empirical research conducted at an industrial field to check commercialization (Kumho Petrochemical – Cogeneration Power Plant). Recently, there has been growing demand for DeNOx catalysts that can treat nitrogen oxides (NOx) at low temperatures, to increase energy efficiency when processing flue gas in industrial combustion facilities. NOx are emitted during the combustion of fossil fuels and are the leading cause of ultrafine particles (UFPs) formed via chemical reactions in the atmosphere….
Inspired by the growth of bones in the skeleton, researchers at the universities of Linköping in Sweden and Okayama in Japan have developed a combination of materials that can morph into various shapes before hardening. The material is initially soft, but later hardens through a bone development process that uses the same materials found in the skeleton. When we are born, we have gaps in our skulls that are covered by pieces of soft connective tissue called fontanelles. It is…
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