It irons out wrinkles in thin films of these novel superconductors so scientists can see their true nature for the first time. Researchers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University say they’ve found a way to make thin films of an exciting new nickel oxide superconductor that are free of extended defects. Not only does this improve the material’s ability to conduct electricity with no loss, they said, but it also allows them to discover its true…

In the future, climate-neutral hydrogen will play an important role as a fuel and raw material. Hydrogen is produced by electrolysis of water, either using an indirect approach in which an external energy source (solar panel or wind turbine) supplies the electrolysis cell with voltage, or using a direct approach: a photoelectrochemical cell in which the photoelectrode itself supplies the electrical energy for electrolysis (PEC cell). This direct approach would have some advantages, but is not yet competitive. So far,…

The makers of electronic equipment built into cars or industrial machines know the problem only too well: Electronics fail earlier than they should, be-cause humidity seeps into their sealed housings. Reliability tests are conduct-ed to prevent that from happening. Now, researchers at Fraunhofer IZM teamed up with the European Center for Power Electronics (ECPE) to learn more about the climatic conditions inside electronic systems. They used a battery of simulations and analytical tests to include environmental factors already from the…

Recent research at the Technion lays the ground for future high-performance alternatives to silicon in microelectronics. By stretching an oxide material at an atomic level, the researchers are able to control its conductivity, a milestone advancement towards making efficient switches, which are the basic building blocks of computer chips. Researchers in the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering have demonstrated control over an emerging material, which they consider as a possible future alternative to silicon in…

For many, hydrogen is not only number 1 in the periodic table, but also as the green energy source of the future. To attain this top position, however, energy-efficient and powerful technology is needed to produce and use green hydrogen. Lasers are playing an important role in this, as current activities of the Fraunhofer ILT prove. They want to get serious about green hydrogen: Indeed, the term hydrogen appears 28 times in the German coalition agreement between the SPD, Bündnis…

Imagine a wearable patch that tracks your vital signs through changes in the colour display, or shipping labels that light up to indicate changes in temperature or sterility of food items. These are among the potential uses for a new flexible display created by UBC researchers and announced recently in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. “This device is capable of fast, realtime and reversible colour change,” says researcher Claire Preston, who developed the device as part of her master’s in…

Sugar additive plays a surprise role, boosting flow battery capacity and longevity for this grid energy resilience design. A common food and medicine additive has shown it can boost the capacity and longevity of a next-generation flow battery design in a record-setting experiment. A research team from the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory reports that the flow battery, a design optimized for electrical grid energy storage, maintained its capacity to store and release energy for more than a…

…and unlocks the future of electrochemical devices. A new study by researchers at the University of Cambridge reveals a surprising discovery that could transform the future of electrochemical devices. The findings offer new opportunities for the development of advanced materials and improved performance in fields such as energy storage, brain-like computing, and bioelectronics. Electrochemical devices rely on the movement of charged particles, both ions and electrons, to function properly. However, understanding how these charged particles move together has presented a…

Water flows, ice is rigid – this clear difference between the liquid and solid state of substances is part of our everyday experience. It follows from the very regular arrangement of atoms and molecules in crystalline solids, which is lost when they melt. Less clear, however, is the structure of “liquid crystals“ – highly interesting states that combine order and disorder in such a way that important applications such as LCDs (liquid crystal displays) are possible. Researchers from the Max…

A new type of ferroelectric polymer that is exceptionally good at converting electrical energy into mechanical strain holds promise as a high-performance motion controller or “actuator” with great potential for applications in medical devices, advanced robotics, and precision positioning systems, according to a team of international researchers led by Penn State. Mechanical strain, how a material changes shape when force is applied, is an important property for an actuator, which is any material that will change or deform when an…

A new technique produces perovskite nanocrystals right where they’re needed, so the exceedingly delicate materials can be integrated into nanoscale devices. Halide perovskites are a family of materials that have attracted attention for their superior optoelectronic properties and potential applications in devices such as high-performance solar cells, light-emitting diodes, and lasers. These materials have largely been implemented into thin-film or micron-sized device applications. Precisely integrating these materials at the nanoscale could open up even more remarkable applications, like on-chip light…

In June, the EU-wide research project STEEP-UP, coordinated by the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (IPF), has started its work on the development of novel absorber materials for vacuum-processable, organic solar cells. STEEP UP unites four European leading research institutes with Heliatek to accelerate the development of next generations of organic solar materials, with higher efficiency without compromising on durability. The project STEEP UP is funded under the EU M-ERA.NET program, a Europe-wide network of national funding organization authorities….

Climate change is causing temperatures to rise and storms to increase. Especially in inner cities, summers are becoming a burden for people. While densification makes use of existing infrastructure and avoids urban sprawl, it increases the amount of sealed surfaces. This has a negative impact on the environment and climate. Green facades bring more green into cities. If textile storage structures are used, they can even actively contribute to flood protection. The German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research (DITF)…

A research group led by Professor Minoru Osada at the Institute for Materials and Systems for Sustainability (IMaSS), Nagoya University in Japan, in collaboration with NIMS, has developed a nanosheet device with the highest energy storage performance yet seen. Their results were published in Nano Letters.  Innovations in energy storage technology are vital for the effective use of renewable energy and the mass production of electric vehicles. Current energy storage technology, such as lithium-ion batteries, has long charging times and…

In recent years, scientists have been studying special materials called topological materials, with special attention paid to the shape, i.e., topology, of their electronic structures (electronic bands). Although it is not visible in real space, their unusual shape in topological materials produces various unique properties that can be suitable for making next-generation devices. It was thought that in order to exploit topological physical properties, crystalline materials, where atoms are highly ordered and arranged in repeating patterns, were needed. Materials in…

Fluidized beds is a technology used in a variety of industries and plays an important role in the transition to green energy and the production of food and drugs. However, the process that occurs inside a fluidized bed is extremely complex and – due to a lack of effective measurement techniques – has remained largely unknown. Now, researchers from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have developed a high-frequency radar technique that can measure exactly what is happening inside a…