Researchers have found a material that can perform much better than silicon. The next step is finding practical and economic ways to make it. Silicon is one of the most abundant elements on Earth, and in its pure form the material has become the foundation of much of modern technology, from solar cells to computer chips. But silicon’s properties as a semiconductor are far from ideal. For one thing, although silicon lets electrons whizz through its structure easily, it is…

Expected to replace lithium-based energy storage systems that have a high risk of explosions with aqueous zinc batteries. Successful growth and optimization of zinc metal anodes through low-cos and ecofriendly electroplate processes. Most energy storage systems (ESSs) have recently adopted lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), with the highest technology maturity among secondary batteries. However, these are argued to be unsuitable for ESSs, which store substantial amounts of electricity, owing to fire risks. The instability of the international supply of raw materials to…

High carrier mobility in cubic boron arsenide offers promise for next-gen electronics. Researchers have for the first time experimentally discovered that a cubic boron arsenide crystal offers high carrier mobility for both electrons and holes – the two ways in which a charge is carried in a semiconducting material – suggesting a major advance for next-generation electronics. While earlier predictions had theorized that the crystal could exhibit simultaneously high electron and hole mobility, one of two papers published July 22…

Leipzig researchers show in new study: Vertical PV power plants on agricultural land offer enormous potential for Germany’s energy transition. Solar energy is not subject to supply shortages, is cheap and CO₂-neutral. To achieve maximum energy yield, PV power plants are usually installed facing south with an angle of inclination of 20 to 35 degrees. As a result, a lot of electricity is generated in summer as well as at midday. In the future, renewable energies are to completely replace…

Berkeley Lab technology provides low-carbon manufacturing solution for plastic products. Scientists have designed a new material system to overcome one of the biggest challenges in recycling consumer products: mixed-plastic recycling. Their achievement will help enable a much broader range of fully recyclable plastic products and brings into reach to an efficient circular economy for durable goods like automobiles. We generate staggering quantities of plastic and plastic-containing products each year, but only a tiny fraction of that plastic can be recovered…

FINEST project selected in the Helmholtz Association’s sustainability challenge. Industrial processes are inevitably associated with the generation of fine-grained residues. These rarely find re-entry into the industrial value chain. Typically, they are disposed of and represent a potential environmental risk. In the FINEST project, coordinated by the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), various fine-grained material streams of anthropogenic origin are being recorded and investigated. The investigations aim to develop novel concepts for their…

… creates golden opportunities for nanoimaging and communications. Low-dimensional materials form an emerging platform for exotic light-matter interactions, ideally suited for various photonic technologies. Light can strongly engage matter in these materials to create quasiparticles. These quasiparticles are known as polaritons, supporting deep-subwavelength optical fields with broadband responses. Van der Waals (vdW) crystals can feature these polaritons in the mid-infrared frequency range. Anisotropic vdW crystals are fascinating for nanophotonics because the material has different atomic interactions at the bonding level….

When carbon atoms stack into a perfectly repeating three-dimensional crystal, they can form precious diamonds. Arranged another way, in repetitive flat sheets, carbon makes the shiny gray graphite found in pencils. But there are other forms of carbon that are less well understood. Amorphous carbon—usually a sooty black material—has no repetitive molecular structure, making it challenging to study. Now, researchers at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) have utilized a new framework for understanding the electronic…

Optimized light paths, high-throughput laser scribing and the use of established coating processes paves the way to commercial viability – publication in nature energy. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed a prototype for fully scalable all-perovskite tandem solar modules. These modules have an efficiency of up to 19.1 percent with an aperture area of 12.25 square centimeters. This result, the first of its kind reported worldwide, was made possible by improving efficiency with optimized light paths,…

Scientists map atomic-level changes in the components of a running internal combustion engine using neutron techniques. The Science Researchers used neutrons to see how a new aluminum-cerium (AlCe) alloy behaves under the high temperatures and pressures inside an operating internal combustion engine. The technique involves measuring how neutrons scatter when they strike a material. This reveals characteristics deep inside the material’s atomic structure. Researchers fitted an AlCe cylinder head to a commercial engine typically used in construction and industrial applications….

The gravitational constant G determines the strength of gravity – the force that makes apples fall to the ground or pulls the Earth in its orbit around the sun. It is part of Isaac Newton’s law of universal gravitation, which he first formulated more than 300 years ago. The constant cannot be derived mathematically; it has to be determined through experiment. Over the centuries, scientists have conducted numerous experiments to determine the value of G, but the scientific community isn’t…

Waste heat is a very promising source of energy conservation and reuse, by means of converting this heat into electricity—a process called thermoelectric conversion. Commercially available thermoelectric conversion devices are synthesized using rare metals. While these are quite efficient, they are expensive and, in the majority of cases, utilize toxic materials. Both these factors have led to these converters being of limited use. One of the alternatives are oxide-based thermoelectric materials, but the primary drawback these suffer from is a…

What if you could power the smart thermostats, speakers and lights in your home with a kitchen countertop? Stones, such as marble and granite, are natural, eco-friendly materials that many people building or renovating houses already use. Now, in a step toward integrating energy storage with these materials, researchers have fabricated microsupercapacitors onto the surface of stone tiles. The devices, reported in ACS Nano, are durable and easily scaled up for customizable 3D power supplies. It would be convenient if…

Practice-based architecture study reveals importance of wood as sustainable building material for cities – appeal for colored and planted façades – “Vinzent” reference project in Munich. Wood as a building material has deep roots in the cultural memory of many regions. A study by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) now shows how much future building with wood opens up. Considering the cultural, technical, and design aspects of building with wood, the study examines how timber construction can make a comeback…

Discovery also paves way for robots and wearable devices that mimic natural motion. UCLA materials scientists and colleagues at the nonprofit scientific research institute SRI International have developed a new material and manufacturing process for creating artificial muscles that are stronger and more flexible than their biological counterparts. “Creating an artificial muscle to enable work and detect force and touch has been one of the grand challenges of science and engineering,” said Qibing Pei, a professor of materials science and…

EPFL and CSEM smash through the 30% efficiency barrier for perovskite-on-silicon-tandem solar cells—setting two certified world records. Increasing the power conversion efficiency of solar cells is important for two reasons. In the long run, it is the most effective way to reduce the levelized cost of electricity. In the short term, it is the best way to promote photovoltaics for applications where space is limited e.g., roofs, facades, vehicles, or even drones. However, all solar cells are fundamentally limited by…