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NANOMATERIALS

AI-based method could speed development of specialized nanoparticles

A new technique uses computational neural networks to “learn” how a nanoparticle’s structure affects its behavior, such as the way it scatters different colors of light. It could someday provide a way to custom-design multilayered nanoparticles with desired properties.

Going platinum—Applying an ancient Egyptian technique to fuel-cell cars

A Johns Hopkins team has come up with a technique to make fuel cells for electric cars cheaper and more effective: coating inexpensive cobalt with a layer of platinum atoms just one nanometer thick—about 100,000 times thinner than a strand of hair.

ENERGY

Better, faster, stronger: Building batteries that don’t go boom

Michigan Tech researchers share results in three recent papers that underscore the significance of lithium’s mechanical behavior in controlling the performance and safety of next-generation batteries.

Turning up the heat on thermoelectrics

MIT physicists have found a way to significantly boost thermoelectricity’s potential. The material they model with this method is five times more efficient, and could potentially generate twice the amount of energy, as the best thermoelectric materials that exist today.

Paving the way for safer, smaller batteries and fuel cells

Researchers have designed a new and versatile kind of solid polymer electrolyte for fuel cells that has twice the proton conductivity of the current state-of-the-art material. This new design could be adapted to work for lithium-ion or sodium-ion batteries in consumer electronics.

Solving a magnesium mystery in rechargeable battery performance

Researchers have discovered a surprising set of chemical reactions involving magnesium that degrade battery performance even before the battery can be charged up. The findings could steer the design of next-generation batteries toward workarounds that avoid these pitfalls.

ENVIRONMENT

Checking the global pulse for electric vehicles

What does the future hold for plug-in EVs? To find out, Argonne researchers examined 40 studies from more than a dozen counties. The future of these vehicles may depend on their range, available charging infrastructure, and the price and technology of batteries.

Putting excess carbon dioxide to good use

Researchers have discovered that bismuth has an unusual property that can be harnessed to help the environment—as a chemical “spark” or catalyst for converting carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into liquid fuels and industrial chemicals.

MANUFACTURING

Breakthrough in controlling DNA-based robots

Researchers have devised a magnetic control system to make tiny DNA-based robots move on demand—and faster than recently possible. The discovery could one day enable nano-robots to manufacture objects such as drug-delivery devices as quickly and reliably as their full-size counterparts.

‘Super window’ could save $10 billion annually in energy costs

The Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is working with manufacturers to bring to market a “super window” that is at least twice as insulating as 99 percent of the windows for sale today and will be ready to achieve mass-market status.

OTHER STORIES

Study shows ceramics can deform like metals if sintered under an electric field

Purdue researchers have observed a way that the brittle nature of ceramics can be overcome as they sustain heavy loads, leading to more resilient structures such as aircraft engine blade coatings and dental implants.

Liquid crystal shells: ‘Smart’ material enables novel applications in autonomous driving and robotics

Research led by scientists from the University of Luxembourg has shown the potential of liquid crystal shells as enabling material for a vast array of future applications, ranging from autonomous driving to anti-counterfeiting technology and a new class of sensors.

With supercomputing power and an unconventional strategy, scientists solve a next-generation physics problem

Using the Titan supercomputer at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, a team of researchers has calculated a fundamental property of protons and neutrons, known as the nucleon axial coupling, with groundbreaking precision.

Firing up a new alloy: Sintering solutions aboard the International Space Station

A centuries-old materials bonding process is being tested aboard the International Space Station in an experiment that could pave the way for more materials research of its kind aboard the orbiting laboratory.

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