composite material
MIT engineers devise new way to inspect materials used in airplanes
Such materials are stronger and more lightweight than aluminum, but they are also more difficult to inspect for damage, because their surfaces usually don't…
Rice University lab creates self-strengthening nanocomposite
Work by the Rice lab of Pulickel Ajayan, professor in mechanical engineering and materials science and of chemistry, shows the potential of stiffening…
Berkeley Lab scientists achieve breakthrough in nanocomposite for high-capacity hydrogen storage
Compared to gasoline, hydrogen is lightweight, can provide a higher energy density and is readily available. But there's a reason we're not already living in a…
Highly precise nanostructuring using ultrasound: new procedure to produce porous metals
They are characterised by nanostructured surfaces with pores measuring only a few nanometres in diameter. An international research team including Dr Daria…
Metallic molecules to nanotubes: Spread out!
A lab at Rice University has stepped forward with an efficient method to disperse nanotubes in a way that preserves their unique properties — and adds more. The new technique allows inorganic metal complexes with different functionalities to remain in close contact with single-walled carbon nanotubes while keeping them separated in a solution. …
Synthetic materials that behave like mollusk shells
To prevent these cracks from catastrophically propagating through the shell to the animal itself, the nacreous layer is surprisingly strong and tough, with…