[Images above] Credit: NIST
NANOMATERIALS
New method of synthesizing nanographene on metal oxide surfaces
Researchers at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg found a method of forming nanographenes on metal oxide surfaces. The researchers used a carbon fluorine bond to trigger a multilevel process, whereby all ‘missing’ carbon-carbon bonds are formed after each other in a formation that resembles a zip being closed.
Graphite offers up new quantum surprise
Researchers at The University of Manchester unexpectedly discovered the quantum Hall effect in bulk graphite. They have also found the material behaves differently depending on whether it contains odd or even number of graphene layers.
ENERGY
Layering titanium oxide’s different mineral forms for better solar cells
Researchers from Kanazawa University in Japan improved the efficiency of perovskite-type solar cells by layering anatase and brookite, two different mineral forms of titanium oxide, on top of one another. The brookite-anatase double layers increased efficiency by up to 16.82 percent.
A water-splitting catalyst unlike any other
Researchers led by Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne developed an iron-nickel oxide catalyst for water splitting. The patent-pending catalyst shows significantly higher activity in oxygen-evolution part of reaction than conventional nickel iron oxide catalysts.
BIOMATERIALS
Optical microfibers illuminate brain dynamics in detail
Boston University and University of California, San Diego researchers showed bundles of optical fibers can be used to monitor neural activity in the brain by detecting presence of a fluorescent protein. The optical method can control neural activity too.
Flipping the view: New microscope offers options for drug discovery, safety
A Purdue University team developed a new type of microscope based on concepts of phase-contrast microscopy that may give doctors a better idea of how safely/effectively a medication will perform. Unlike conventional approaches, their microscope stacks the reference object and the one being examined on top of each other instead of side by side.
MANUFACTURING
Heriot-Watt University researchers developed a method using an ultrafast infrared laser system to weld glass and metal together. The parts to be welded are placed in close contact and the laser is focused through an optical material to provide a small and intense spot, which creates a microplasma surrounded by a highly-confined melt region.
New research identifies causes for defects in 3D printing and paves way for better results
Argonne National Laboratory and Carnegie Mellon University researchers identified how and when gas pockets form in additive manufacturing products, as well as a methodology to predict their formation. This information could dramatically improve 3D printing process.
OTHER STORIES
New imaging technique reveals how mechanical damage begins at the molecular scale
Scientists from National Institute of Standards and Technology and University of Maryland devised a way to observe the effects of strain at the single-molecule level by measuring how an applied force changes 3D alignment of molecules in the material.
New study reveals when a superconductor truly becomes super
Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin confirmed existence of a phase transition at a temperature close to absolute zero degrees in copper-oxide-based superconductive materials. They believe it could be during this phase transition when superconductivity actually occurs.
Electrically-heated silicate glass appears to defy Joule’s first law
Lehigh University researchers discovered that under certain conditions electrically-heated silicate glass defies Joule’s first law, which states that heat is produced in proportion to the square of an electrical current that passes through a material.
Optical frequency comb fits in your back pocket
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne researchers used a deposition process to fabricate an ultralow-loss silicon nitride microresonator, which they then coupled to a chip-based indium phosphide laser diode. Occupying 1 cm³, this frequency comb is smallest ever produced; allowing it to be integrated onto a single chip and controlled electrically.
In-depth insights into glass corrosion
Researchers at University of Bonn used confocal Raman spectroscopy to observe the reaction of silicate glass with aqueous solutions. The results indicate silicate glass quickly dissolves when it comes into contact with aqueous solutions. However, part of the dissolved silica remains near surface of the glass and can solidify if its concentration becomes high.