Twisted semiconductor nanostructures convert red light into the twisted blue light in tiny volumes, which may help develop chiral drugs. Twisted nanoscale semiconductors manipulate light in a new way, researchers at the University of Bath and the University of Michigan have shown. The effect could be harnessed to accelerate the discovery and development of life-saving medicines as well as photonic technologies. Specifically, the photonic effect could help enable rapid development and screening of new antibiotics and other drugs through automation—essentially,…
New platform can program the transformation of 2D stretchable surfaces into specific 3D shapes. Flat materials that can morph into three-dimensional shapes have potential applications in architecture, medicine, robotics, space travel, and much more. But programming these shape changes requires complex and time-consuming computations. Now, researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed a platform that uses machine learning to program the transformation of 2D stretchable surfaces into specific 3D shapes. “While machine learning…
Insights into the atomistic dynamics of emerging solid-state batteries will help speed their evolution. Materials scientists at Duke University have revealed paddlewheel-like molecular dynamics that help push sodium ions through a quickly evolving class of solid-state batteries. The insights should guide researchers in their pursuit of a new generation of sodium-ion batteries to replace lithium-ion technology in a wide range of applications such as data centers and home energy storage. The results appeared online November 10 in the journal Energy…
USC Viterbi researchers create first nano-sized, molecular device potentially capable of sensing and altering the cell’s electric field, ushering in new possibilities for basic research. Bioelectricity, the current that flows between our cells, is fundamental to our ability to think and talk and walk. In addition, there is a growing body of evidence that recording and altering the bioelectric fields of cells and tissue plays a vital role in wound healing and even potentially fighting diseases like cancer and heart disease. Now, for the first…
Researchers have incorporated phosphorene nanoribbons into new types of solar cells, dramatically improving their efficiency. Phosphorene nanoribbons (PNRs) are ribbon-like strands of the 2D material phosphorous, which, similar to graphene, are made of single-atom-thick layers of atoms. PNRs were first produced in 2019, and hundreds of theoretical studies have predicted how their properties could enhance all kinds of devices, including batteries, biomedical sensors, and quantum computers. However, none of these predicted exciting properties have so far been demonstrated in actual…
Researchers from The University of Tsukuba grow a germanium thin film on a flexible polyimide substrate, resulting in a material with the highest hole mobility reported to date. Technologists envisage an electronically interconnected future that will depend on cheap, lightweight, flexible devices. Efforts to optimize the semiconductor materials needed for these electronic devices are therefore necessary. Researchers from the University of Tsukuba have reported a record-breaking germanium (Ge) thin film on a plastic substrate that offers flexibility without compromising performance….
AI presents a roadmap to define new materials for any need, with implications in green energy and waste reduction. Scientists and institutions dedicate more resources each year to the discovery of novel materials to fuel the world. As natural resources diminish and the demand for higher value and advanced performance products grows, researchers have increasingly looked to nanomaterials. Nanoparticles have already found their way into applications ranging from energy storage and conversion to quantum computing and therapeutics. But given the…
Intelligent packaging with sensors that monitor goods, such as vegetables, on long transport routes is a trend for the future. Yet printed and disposable electronics also cause problems: Metals in printing inks are expensive – and disposing of them in an environmentally sound manner is costly and exacerbates the problem of electronic waste. A new solution from Empa researchers aims to remedy this. More precise, faster, cheaper: Researchers all over the world have been working for years on producing electrical…
An international research team led by scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has developed a material that, when coated on a glass window panel, can effectively self-adapt to heat or cool rooms across different climate zones in the world, helping to cut energy usage. Developed by NTU researchers and reported in the top scientific journal Science, the first-of-its-kind glass automatically responds to changing temperatures by switching between heating and cooling. The self-adaptive glass is developed using layers of…
Electron source enables atomic resolution TEM observation. The National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) and JEOL, Ltd. have developed a lanthanum hexaboride (LaB6) nanowire-based field emission gun that is installable on an aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope (TEM). This combined unit is able to perform atomic resolution observation at an energy resolution of 0.2 eV—the highest resolution ever recorded for non-monochromatic electron guns—with a high current stability of 0.4%. Unsuccessful efforts have been made for more than 20 years to develop…
New successes in optical engineering could lead to ultrafast light-based computers and more. Imagine windows that can easily transform into mirrors, or super high-speed computers that run not on electrons but light. These are just some of the potential applications that could one day emerge from optical engineering, the practice of using lasers to rapidly and temporarily change the properties of materials. “These tools could let you transform the electronic properties of materials at the flick of a light switch,”…
Liquid acts across multiple scales to reorganize connectivity in networks of artificial microscopic cells. The Science Networks of cells in nature have inspired researchers to develop their own materials made of interconnected microscopic circles, squares, triangles, and other shapes. The way cells in these materials are connected and arranged leads to novel energy transport and chemical reaction capabilities. Biological materials constantly adapt by merging, fusing, and redefining the boundaries of their cells. In synthetic materials, existing methods can stretch or…
Liquid crystals are not solid, but some of their physical properties are directional – like in a crystal. This is because their molecules can arrange themselves into certain patterns. The best-known applications include flat screens and digital displays. They are based on pixels of liquid crystals whose optical properties can be switched by electric fields. Some liquid crystals form the so-called cholesteric phases: the molecules self-assemble into helical structures, which are characterised by pitch and rotate either to the right…
Trillion percent change of resistance can be achieved in the new material by simply rotating the direction of spin. While electrons are well known to carry both charge and spin, only the electric charge portion is utilized as an information carrier in modern electronic devices. However, the limits of modern electronics and the impending end of Moore’s Law have rekindled the interest in the development of “spintronic” devices, which are capable of harnessing the spin of the electrons. It is…
Researchers from the University of Cambridge have used a suite of correlative, multimodal microscopy methods to visualise, for the first time, why perovskite materials are seemingly so tolerant of defects in their structure. Their findings were published today in Nature Nanotechnology. The most commonly used material for producing solar panels is crystalline silicon, but to achieve efficient energy conversion requires an energy-intensive and time-consuming production process to create the highly ordered wafer structure required. In the last decade, perovskite materials have…
Together with scientists from the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), X-ray specialists from Empa are now providing their industrial partners with access to state-of-the-art material analysis of 3D-printed work pieces and components. For this purpose, Empa has recently become a member of the technology transfer center ANAXAM in Villigen. The membership in the technology transfer center ANAXAM, initiated in 2019 by PSI, the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), the Swiss Nanoscience Institute (SNI) and the Canton of Aargau, fosters…
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