Demonstrating that a material thought to be always chemically inert, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), can be turned chemically active holds potential for a new class of catalysts with a wide range of applications, according to an international team of researchers. hBN is a layered material and monolayers can be exfoliated like in graphene, another two-dimensional material. However, there is a key difference between the two. “While hBN shares similar structure as graphene, the strong polar bonds between the boron and…
International research team led by Kiel develops a new method for the generation of controllable electrical explosions. Theoretically, it only takes 450 grams of this material to lift an elephant: “Aerographene” owes this ability to its unique structure at the nano level. Visually similar to a black foam, it actually consists of a finely-structured tubular network based on graphene with numerous cavities. This makes it extremely stable, conductive and almost as lightweight as air. An international research team led by…
Magnetene could have useful applications as a lubricant in implantable devices or other micro-electro-mechanical systems. A team of researchers from University of Toronto Engineering and Rice University have reported the first measurements of the ultra-low-friction behaviour of a material known as magnetene. The results point the way toward strategies for designing similar low-friction materials for use in a variety of fields, including tiny, implantable devices. Magnetene is a 2D material, meaning it is composed of a single layer of atoms. In this respect,…
For years, researchers believed that the smaller the domain size in a ferroelectric crystal, the greater the piezoelectric properties of the material. However, recent findings by Penn State researchers have raised questions about this standard rule. Ferroelectric materials possess spontaneous electric dipole moments that can be reversibly flipped by applying an electric field. Domains are areas in the ferroelectric crystal that have the dipole moments aligned in the same direction. Piezoelectricity is a material property where the crystal generates electrical…
To celebrate the 60th birthday of King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway in 1889, the journal Acta Mathematica offered a prize for manuscripts that could help solve the following question, generally referred to as the 3-body problem: Can we predict the orbits of planets, moons and other celestial bodies over time? Although mathematician Henri Poincaré was awarded the gold medal and 2,500 Swedish kronor prize for his submission (later found to have an error), the general analytical solution to the “n-body”…
Scientists have created a new triboelectric fabric that generates electricity from the movement of the body while remaining flexible and breathable. The triboelectric effect is a phenomenon where a charge is generated on two dissimilar materials when the materials are moved apart after being in contact with each other. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) use this effect to convert mechanical motion into electrical energy. The compactness of TENGs allows them to be used as wearable devices that can harness the motion of…
New technique opens a possibility to replace silicon with 2D materials in semiconducting technology. As silicon based semiconducting technology is approaching the limit of its performance, new materials that may replace or partially replace silicon in technology is highly desired. Recently, the emergence of graphene and other two-dimensional (2D) materials offers a new platform for building next generation semiconducting technology. Among them, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), such as MoS2, WS2, MoSe2, WSe2, as most appealing 2D semiconductors. A prerequisite of…
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory designed a novel polymer to bind and strengthen silica sand for binder jet additive manufacturing, a 3D-printing method used by industries for prototyping and part production. The printable polymer enables sand structures with intricate geometries and exceptional strength – and is also water soluble. The study, published in Nature Communications, demonstrates a 3D-printed sand bridge that at 6.5 centimeters can hold 300 times its own weight, a feat analogous to 12 Empire State…
A new training programme for young researchers. PERSEPHONe has received funding as part of the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme in the framework of Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). A new training programme for young researchers has started: PERSEPHONe (PERovskite SEmiconductors for PHOtoNics). It is a joint research training and doctoral programme, implemented by a partnership of highly ranked universities, research institutions and industrial research partners spread over 6 different countries. The project will involve 14 Early Stage Researchers, who have…
Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a scalable, low-cost method to improve the joining of materials in solid-state batteries, resolving one of the big challenges in the commercial development of safe, long-lived energy storage systems. Solid-state batteries incorporate a safer, fast-charging architecture featuring a solid-state electrolyte versus the liquid electrolytes in today’s lithium-ion batteries. A successful solid-state commercial battery system could provide at least two times the energy density of lithium-ion batteries in a…
Highly sensitive and with a rapid response time, the new X-ray detector is less than 10 nanometres thick and could one day lead to real-time imaging of cellular biology. Scientists in Australia have used tin mono-sulfide (SnS) nanosheets to create the thinnest X-ray detector ever made, potentially enabling real-time imaging of cellular biology. X-ray detectors are tools that allow energy transported by radiation to be recognised visually or electronically, like medical imaging or Geiger counters. SnS has already shown great…
Commercialization can be expected due to the associated lower costs, and higher performance and durability compared with platinum catalysts. Contributes to the utilization of next generation alkaline fuel cells. Alkaline fuel cells (AFC) convert the chemical energy of hydrogen and oxygen into electrical energy, while only producing water as a by-product. This makes them an extremely attractive next generation, environmentally friendly energy source. Although platinum catalysts are generally employed in alkaline fuel cells, they are expensive and also experience challenges…
Because of their high strength and light weight, carbon-fiber-based composite materials are gradually replacing metals for advancing all kinds of products and applications, from airplanes to wind turbines to golf clubs. But there’s a trade-off. Once damaged or compromised, the most commonly-used carbon fiber materials are nearly impossible to repair or recycle. In a paper published Nov. 2 in the journal Carbon, a team of researchers describes a new type of carbon fiber reinforced material that is as strong and light…
3D Printing Photo Report… Additive Manufacturing, AM in brief, is fascinating: As if by magic, complex workpieces grow in 3D printers: layer by layer by layer … – without human intervention, as it may seem at first glance. But the technology is demanding and requires a lot of manual work with a sure touch, as a visit to the expert team at the Swiss m4m Center in Bettlach shows. The Technology Transfer Center in Bettlach near Solothurn does not work…
— thanks to graphene innovation. Space habitats of the future being designed using revolutionary graphene-based composite. Advanced manufacturing experts from Manchester have revealed what human life in space could look like – with a graphene-enhanced space habitat developed to meet anticipated demand for human settlements beyond Earth. A community of specialists at The University of Manchester have teamed up with global architect firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) to research the design and manufacturing of space habitats for the space…
The device you are currently reading this article on was born from the silicon revolution. To build modern electrical circuits, researchers control silicon’s current-conducting capabilities via doping, which is a process that introduces either negatively charged electrons or positively charged “holes” where electrons used to be. This allows the flow of electricity to be controlled and for silicon involves injecting other atomic elements that can adjust electrons— known as dopants—into its three-dimensional (3D) atomic lattice. Silicon’s 3D lattice, however, is…
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