New insights into solvation kinetics at electrocatalyst surfaces. The ion’s pathway is strongly influenced by a process that is ubiquitous across bio- and electrochemistry: ions need to reorganize their solvation shell before they can intercalate into battery cathodes, enter ion channels across biochemical membranes or adsorb and convert to chemicals, such as green hydrogen, on electrocatalyst surfaces. Previously, the team discovered that the kinetics of interfacial ion solvation are governed by so-called compensation effects between the activation entropy and enthalpy….

… turns flat-pack tubes into strong building materials. Engineers at RMIT University have designed an innovative tubular structural system that can be packed flat for easier transport and pop up into strong building materials. This breakthrough is made possible by a self-locking system inspired by curved-crease origami — a technique that uses curved crease lines in paper folding. Lead researchers, Dr Jeff (Ting-Uei) Lee and Distinguished Professor Mike (Yi Min) Xie, said bamboo, which has internal structures providing natural reinforcement,…

… could revolutionize EV market and energy storage. A multi-institutional research team led by Georgia Tech’s Hailong Chen has developed a new, low-cost cathode that could radically improve lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) — potentially transforming the electric vehicle (EV) market and large-scale energy storage systems. “For a long time, people have been looking for a lower-cost, more sustainable alternative to existing cathode materials. I think we’ve got one,” said Chen, an associate professor with appointments in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and…

Thanks to innovations in design, control and production technology, brushless drives for pumps and fan systems work more efficiently and quietly. Users of electrical appliances and the automotive industry do benefit. Small electric motors can be found in many household appliances, tools and computers as well as in modern cars, where they drive auxiliary units such as pumps and fans. Individually, each of these motors does not consume much energy, but taken together they offer a great savings potential. The…

The interlocking bricks, which can be repurposed many times over, can withstand similar pressures as their concrete counterparts. What if construction materials could be put together and taken apart as easily as LEGO bricks? Such reconfigurable masonry would be disassembled at the end of a building’s lifetime and reassembled into a new structure, in a sustainable cycle that could supply generations of buildings using the same physical building blocks. That’s the idea behind circular construction, which aims to reuse and…

… that can harvest energy at room temperature. Researchers have succeeded in developing a framework for organic thermoelectric power generation from ambient temperature and without a temperature gradient. Researchers have developed a new organic thermoelectric device that can harvest energy from ambient temperature. While thermoelectric devices have several uses today, hurdles still exist to their full utilization. By combining the unique abilities of organic materials, the team succeeded in developing a framework for thermoelectric power generation at room temperature without…

A single step from ores to sustainable metals. Max Planck scientists design a process that merges metal extraction, alloying and processing into one single, eco-friendly step. Their results are now published in the journal Nature. Metal production is responsible for 10% of global CO2 emissions, with iron production emitting two tons of CO2 for every ton of metal produced, and nickel production emitting 14 tons of CO2 per ton and even more, depending on the ore used. These metals form…

BMBF Future Cluster QSens starts the second round of funding. In the future cluster QSens of the Universities of Stuttgart and Ulm, scientists, companies, and start-ups are researching innovative quantum sensors and their transfer into practical applications. These have promising potential for health care, the Internet of Things, and renewable energies, among others. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding QSens with approximately EUR 15 million for another three years as part of the Clusters4Future competition. Quantum…

The global use of lithium-ion batteries has doubled in just the past four years, generating alarming amounts of battery waste containing many hazardous substances. The need for effective recycling methods for spent lithium-ion batteries is becoming increasingly critical. In the journal ChemElectroChem, scientists from various Polish research institutions, including Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology (PBS), the Institute of Fundamental Technological Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the PAS in Warsaw, and Wroclaw…

By controlling silk protein nanostructure for the first time, scientists at PNNL pave the way for advanced microelectronic and computing applications. After thousands of years as a highly valuable commodity, silk continues to surprise. Now it may help usher in a whole new direction for microelectronics and computing. While silk protein has been deployed in designer electronics, its use is currently limited in part because silk fibers are a messy tangle of spaghetti-like strands. Now, a research team led by…

Columbia Engineers develop new powerful battery “fuel” — an electrolyte that not only lasts longer but is also cheaper to produce. Renewable energy sources like wind and solar are critical to sustaining our planet, but they come with a big challenge: they don’t always generate power when it’s needed. To make the most of them, we need efficient and affordable ways to store the energy they produce, so we have power even when the wind isn’t blowing or the sun…

Collecting accurate weather data of the Arctic for the first time and improving forecasts and climate observations worldwide—that is the task of the Arctic Weather Satellite (AWS), which ESA sent on its way to its low-Earth orbit in mid-August. It uses a state-of-the-art microwave radiometer that contains four low-noise amplifiers from Fraunhofer IAF with world-leading InGaAs mHEMT technology. At EuMW 2024 in Paris, the Freiburg-based institute will present exhibits of the amplifiers installed in the AWS as well as other…

Brownian reservoir computing allows to detect human hand gestures on the basis of diffusion and displacement of skyrmions / Results published in Nature Communications. Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have managed to enhance the framework of Brownian reservoir computing by recording and transferring hand gestures to the system which then used skyrmions to detect these individual gestures. “We were impressed to see that our hardware approach and concept worked so well – and even better than energy-intensive software…

A new study led by researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities is providing new insights into how next-generation electronics, including memory components in computers, breakdown or degrade over time. Understanding the reasons for degradation could help improve efficiency of data storage solutions. The research is published in ACS Nano, a peer-reviewed scientific journal and is featured on the cover of the journal. Advances in computing technology continue to increase the demand for efficient data storage solutions. Spintronic magnetic tunnel…

How synthesis methods have a profound impact on disordered materials. A new study reveals how different synthesis methods can profoundly impact the structure and function of high entropy oxides, a class of materials with applications in everyday electronic devices. A new study has revealed for the first time how different synthesis methods can profoundly impact the structural and functional properties of high entropy oxides, a class of materials with applications in everyday electronic devices. The study was published this week…

– hasten energy transition. Batteries lose capacity over time, which is why older cellphones run out of power more quickly.  This common phenomenon, however, is not completely understood. Now, an international team of researchers, led by an engineer at the University of Colorado Boulder, has revealed the underlying mechanism behind such battery degradation. Their discovery could help scientists to develop better batteries, which would allow electric vehicles to run farther and last longer, while also advancing energy storage technologies that would…