Researchers use ultraviolet light to tune circuit performance with a photoreactive polymer based on controlled changes in the chemical structure, which may lead to the development of wearable electronics and medical sensors. Researchers from SANKEN (The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research) at Osaka University and JOANNEUM RESEARCH (Weiz, Austria), have shown how exposing an organic polymer to ultraviolet light can precisely modify its electronic properties. This work may aid in the commercialization of flexible electronics that can be used…
The new artificial intelligence tool has already led to the discovery of four new materials. Researchers at the University of Liverpool have created a collaborative artificial intelligence tool that reduces the time and effort required to discover truly new materials. Reported in the journal Nature Communications, the new tool has already led to the discovery of four new materials including a new family of solid state materials that conduct lithium. Such solid electrolytes will be key to the development of…
The new artificial intelligence tool has already led to the discovery of four new materials. Researchers at the University of Liverpool have created a collaborative artificial intelligence tool that reduces the time and effort required to discover truly new materials. Reported in the journal Nature Communications, the new tool has already led to the discovery of four new materials including a new family of solid state materials that conduct lithium. Such solid electrolytes will be key to the development of…
Researchers have developed a new method to measure force and atomic bonds at the nanoscale that reveals that the speed of sound depends on the structure it is travelling through. Scientists from the University of Nottingham and Loughborough University used a measurement method called picosecond ultrasonics, similar to medical ultrasound, to measure the strength of atom bonding within material. Their research has been published in Advanced Functional Materials. Force is fundamental to everything in daily life. From as large-scale as gravitational…
When it comes to cancer, clarity is key. The ability to visualize cancerous tumors and metastatic tissue three dimensionally (3D) can help clinicians diagnose the precise type and stage of cancer, while also informing the best treatment methods. To obtain an even clearer tissue for imaging, a research team based in Japan has tested the effectiveness of specialized hydrogels. Acting as a 3D molecular network, these hydrogels can rapidly remove fats from tissues, which are a factor in tissue opacification,…
For the first time ever, researchers direct bond gallium nitride and diamond, paving the way for the next generation of highly conductive semiconductors and high-power devices. The need for more powerful electronic devices in today’s society is curtailed by our ability to produce highly conductive semiconductors that can withstand the harsh, high temperature fabrication processes of high-powered devices. Gallium nitride (GaN)-on-diamond shows promise as a next-generation semiconductor material due to the wide band gap of both materials, allowing for high…
Physicists and chemists at University of Jena develop a method for nonlinear signal modulation in 2D materials. Nonlinear optics is of paramount importance in numerous fields of science and technology, in particular for second harmonic generation, namely the process of frequency doubling of a light beam. For instance, this process turns invisible infrared light into the visible light cursor of a laser pointer. In spectroscopy, this method allows to reach new wavelengths that are otherwise not available using conventional laser…
Researchers from the University of Tsukuba use ultraviolet light pulses to access ion conductor properties that are otherwise difficult to safely attain. Automotive and other industries are hard at work improving the performance of rechargeable batteries and fuel cells. Now, researchers from Japan have made a discovery that will enable new possibilities for future environmental stability in this line of work. In a study recently published in Applied Materials Today, researchers from the University of Tsukuba have revealed that ultraviolet…
Vibration with different frequencies widely distributed in natural environments, living creatures, and artificial machines could be a nearly bottomless, locally obtained, and green energy source. By collecting ubiquitous vibrations through micro-transducers, it becomes possible to power wearable consumer electronics integrated in clothes, implantable devices in human bodies, portable terminals in the Internet of Things and even unsupervised vehicles in harsh environments. However, it’s a long-standing challenge to efficiently utilize the dispersed vibration energy especially within the high frequency range, since…
New material maintains borophene’s electronic properties, offers new advantages. For the first time, Northwestern University engineers have created a double layer of atomically flat borophene, a feat that defies the natural tendency of boron to form non-planar clusters beyond the single-atomic-layer limit. Although known for its promising electronic properties, borophene — a single-atom-layer-thick sheet of boron — is challenging to synthesize. Unlike its analog two-dimensional material graphene, which can be peeled away from innately layered graphite using something as simple…
Ultrafast electron microscope opens up new avenues for the development of sensors and quantum devices. Everyone who has ever been to the Grand Canyon can relate to having strong feelings from being close to one of nature’s edges. Similarly, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have discovered that nanoparticles of gold act unusually when close to the edge of a one-atom thick sheet of carbon, called graphene. This could have big implications for the development…
In the search for sustainable energy storage, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, present a new concept to fabricate high-performance electrode materials for sodium batteries. It is based on a novel type of graphene to store one of the world’s most common and cheap metal ions – sodium. The results show that the capacity can match today’s lithium-ion batteries. Even though lithium ions work well for energy storage, lithium is an expensive metal with concerns regarding its long-term supply…
Researchers use perovskite to develop a memory device readable through both electrical and optical methods. In a step toward a future of higher performance memory devices, researchers from National Taiwan Normal University and Kyushu University have developed a new device that needs only a single semiconductor known as perovskite to simultaneously store and visually transmit data. By integrating a light-emitting electrochemical cell with a resistive random-access memory that are both based on perovskite, the team achieved parallel and synchronous reading…
Outdoor stadium seats, ski bindings, tire reinforcements and other products that require strength, durability and weather resistance are all made with a type of nylon called nylon 6-6. However, producing this material requires an environmentally unfriendly process, the first step of which uses the endangered element zinc as a catalyst. Now, researchers have developed “greener” methods for this step that use alternative metals. They might even be able to substitute waste iron in the form of rust, or ferric oxide,…
Researchers from the University of Tsukuba successfully grow a Li@C60 film on a copper surface to study the molecular orbitals. As well as making it one of the most widely recognized molecules, the distinctive soccer ball shape of C60 gives it some useful properties. One of which is thought to be electrical conductivity when multiple molecules are close together. Efforts have therefore been made to optimize C60 so that it can be applied to electronic devices. Now, researchers at the…
New study finds they’re a tad rubbery, paving the way for better products. A breakthrough by researchers at the University of South Florida (USF) and collaborating institutions around the world could pave the way for better products, such as improved batteries, automobile paint and cellphone screens. When you zoom in on many modern materials, such as those in some of the newest batteries that are made with glassy polymers – which include many plastics – they don’t appear uniform. Instead,…
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