New paradigm in atmospheric gas sensing and molecular identification. Graphene, an atomic-thick sheet of carbon has found immense applications in gas sensors due to its single-molecule sensitivity, low-noise levels, and high carrier density. However, graphene’s much-heralded sensitivity also means it is inherently non-selective to any gas. Hence, it easily gets huge p-doping (reduction of graphene electron density) when exposed to atmospheric air which limits demonstrations of its selectivity to only inert environments such as dry air, or nitrogen. Nevertheless, for…

Fix in a manufacturing step of perovskite solar cells paves the way for commercialization of the high-performance, sunlight-to-electricity discovery. Materials scientists at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and colleagues from five other universities around the world have discovered the major reason why perovskite solar cells — which show great promise for improved energy-conversion efficiency — degrade in sunlight, causing their performance to suffer over time. The team successfully demonstrated a simple manufacturing adjustment to fix the cause of the…

Increasing lifetime and safety, decreasing maintenance and power generation costs and CO2 emission: That is the goal of a research project involving U Bremen Research Alliance member institutions. Researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Materials Engineering – IWT and the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems IWES are focusing on a component of wind turbines that has to withstand a great deal: the rotor blade bearing. She has a natural preference for steel, says Brigitte Clausen. What fascinates her so…

Physicists have discovered a new way to coat soft robots in materials that allow them to move and function in a more purposeful way. Physicists have discovered a new way to coat soft robots in materials that allow them to move and function in a more purposeful way. The research, led by the UK’s University of Bath, is described today in Science Advances. Authors of the study believe their breakthrough modelling on ‘active matter’ could mark a turning point in…

Reduces friction and extends product life. Toyohashi University of Technology research team led by lecturer Toru Harigai have developed an ultra-high-rate coating technology for functional hard carbon films using vacuum plasma. Functional hard carbon films with low friction coefficients are used as protective films with sliding surfaces. This technology has achieved a film deposition rate of more than one order of magnitude faster than existing coating technologies, while maintaining the same degree of film quality. The technology—which can be introduced…

Development of a stretchable display where images can be transversely/ longitudinally stretched up to 25% without distortion. Results of this study have been published in Advanced Functional Materials. The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (President Sang Jin Park, hereafter referred to as KIMM), an institute under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Science and ICT, has successfully developed a new stretchable meta-display technology that can be stretched up to 25% without image distortion, for the first time in the…

Fraunhofer IPA has developed a new, flexible transportation robot that specifically addresses the needs of healthcare facilities such as hospitals and nursery homes. Transport and logistics tasks are part of everyday working life in healthcare facilities. However, they take up valuable staff time that is not available for care activities. Even though driverless transportation vehicles are already being used in many large hospitals, they can only operate in separate supply wings. In addition, some service robots have been introduced, which…

Study identifies extensive set of novel 2D materials. Two-dimensional (2D) materials possess extraordinary properties. They usually consist of atomic layers that are only a few nanometers thick and are particularly good at conducting heat and electricity, for instance. To the astonishment of many scientists, it recently became known that 2D materials can also exist on the basis of certain metal oxides. These oxides are of great interest in areas such as nanoelectronics applications. A German-American research team, led by the…

… for defusing explosive ordnance in the sea. Together with project partners, the LZH is developing a process to defuse world war ammunition under water using a laser. The goal: to affect the ecosystem as little as possible while saving time and costs. In the North and Baltic Sea, approximately 1.6 million tons of war ammunition lie on the seabed. The danger of unforeseen detonations is not the only problem. Over time, the water causes the steel shell of the…

A newly proposed technique enables rapid 3D image acquisition. One-scan is a technique involving an elongated light spot that resembles a “needle” which captures three-dimensional (3D) images of a specimen. The new method, which was developed by researchers from Tohoku University and Osaka University, can rapidly take 3D images without moving the observation plane – something necessary in conventional laser scanning microscopes. Light microscopy is ubiquitous and vital for various fields including life science and medical diagnosis. As many biological…

… could make air travel easier on the environment. Built to take the heat: While conventional sensors reach breaking point at around 300°C, researchers at Fraunhofer IZM are creating a sensor that works reliably at twice that temperature. The secret of the heat-loving sensors: Silicon carbide, etched with exceptional precision. Their ability to monitor pressure even in extremely adverse environments could help fine-tune the combustion process in jet turbines and reduce the fuel consumption of aircraft. Humans have dreamt of…

From lab to fab: Q CELLS, a renowned total energy solutions provider in solar, energy storage, downstream project business and energy retail, has set a new world-record tandem cell efficiency of 28.7% in collaboration with researchers at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin using a Q.ANTUM-based silicon bottom cell in combination with a perovskite-based top cell. Q CELLS’ R&D team in Thalheim, Germany, has worked jointly with Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin over the past three years to create a tandem solar cell comprising a silicon-based Q.ANTUMbottom…

Scientists have long tried to use graphene, which is composed of carbon, as a kind of sieve. But this material doesn’t have any pores. Now, a team has found an alternative material which comes with pores from the outset. Researchers from Bielefeld, Bochum and Yale have succeeded in producing a layer of two-dimensional (2D) silicon dioxide. This material contains natural pores and can therefore be used like a sieve for molecules and ions. Scientists have been looking for such materials…

Researchers at the University of Bremen are currently working successfully on the next generation of energy storage systems. Their goal is aqueous zinc-ion batteries that eliminate any risk of explosion or fire. Professor Fabio La Mantia and his team have now outlined the main challenges that need to be overcome in the further development of the novel battery technology in the renowned scientific journal Nature Communications. The environmentally friendly energy supply of the future is one of the most discussed…

A uniform charging field makes this new transmitter ideal for consumer devices. A new wireless charging system can charge devices placed anywhere within a ring around it. Existing systems transfer power in a specific direction or to a specific position. By providing a donut-shaped charging field, the new system offers a more convenient and reliable design for consumer use. The main challenge in creating an omnidirectional charger has been that the strength of the charging field changes with location. This…

We know triple-pane windows conserve energy, reduce noise, and lower home energy bills; now they are getting more affordable. It’s time to make the switch to triple-pane windows. That’s the message from a series of studies led by the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in collaboration with a coalition of public and private partners. “Lower costs, greater availability, and the drive to reduce carbon emissions are pushing us toward a tipping point where triple-pane windows start making a…