[Images above] Credit: NIST
NANOMATERIALS
Researchers explain visible light from 2D lead halide perovskites
Researchers from U.S., Mexico, and China, led by an electrical engineer from University of Houston, used optical and high-pressure diamond anvil cell techniques to determine the mechanism for green photoluminescence of a 2D perovskite and also how to replicate it.
ENERGY
New understanding of thermoelectric materials
University of Houston researchers developed a model to explain the previously unaddressed disparity in performance between the p-type and n-type formulations of thermoelectric materials. They determined the asymmetrical performance of some materials is linked to the fact that charge moves at different rates in the two types.
Copper iodide, another option to stabilize perovskite cells
Researchers from Russia’s institutes NUST MISIS and IPCE RAS, and Italy’s University of Rome Tor Vergata, applied a layer of p-type copper iodide semiconductor to a perovskite cell for efficient surface passivation. According to the researchers, the photoactive layer crystallizes and does not demonstrate rapid degradation when exposed to light.
Researchers clear runway for tin based perovskite solar cells
Researchers at University of Surrey believe their tin based perovskite solar cell could help the U.K. reach its 2050 carbon neutral goal. Their cell contains 50% less lead by replacing lead with the more innocuous tin.
Perovskite solar cells tested for real-world performance—in the lab
Using data from a weather station near Lausanne (Switzerland), researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne reproduced real-world temperature and irradiance profiles from specific days during the course of the year, allowing them to quantify the energy yield of perovskites under realistic conditions.
BIOMATERIALS
Using graphene and tiny droplets to detect stomach-cancer causing bacteria
Japanese researchers used graphene and microfluidics to identify stomach-cancer causing bacteria by detecting chemical reactions of the bacteria at the surface of the biosensor. The sensor is highly sensitive and the test only takes half an hour.
ENVIRONMENT
Graphene and nanotube mesh filters salt from water
Physicists in China and the U.S. created graphene-based desalination membrane by combining a single sheet of graphene with a mesh of carbon nanotubes to create a centimetre-sized membrane that can remove between 85–97% of salt from seawater.
Magnet doubles hydrogen yield from water splitting
Researchers placed a commercial neodymium magnet next to a nickel foam anode coated with magnetic nickel zinc ferrite, and it roughly doubled the rate of oxygen production and caused an equivalent increase in hydrogen output without requiring any additional voltage.
MANUFACTURING
AFRL produces lighter, thinner, transparent armor
Transparent aluminum, a technology first suggested in Star Trek, is now reality. The Air Force Research Laboratory and Defense-wide Manufacturing Science and Technology program supported manufacturing of aluminum oxynitride products that provide superior ballistic protection at less than half the weight, thickness over traditional glass laminates.
Sydney starts tests of world’s first ‘green concrete’ roadway
Working with researchers from University of New South Wales, engineers in Sydney replaced a section of roadway on Wyndham Street in the suburb of Alexandria to test “green” concrete durability. Made from fly ash and blast furnace slag, the geopolymer concrete is a sustainable blend of concrete and recycled materials.
Continuous carbon fiber 3D printing gets massive
Dutch firm CEADgroup developed continuous carbon fiber additive manufacturing capable of 3D printing parts up to 4 m x 2 m x 1.5 m in size at a rate of 15 kg per hour. They relied on a hopper and plastic granules rather than filament extrusion process to achieve the fast material deposition rate.
OTHER STORIES
Philips Hue company announces lights that beam data at 250 Mbps
Signify, the company formerly known as Philips Lighting, announced a new range of internet-transmitting Li-Fi lights called Truelifi. They are capable of transmitting data to devices like laptops at speeds of up to 150 Mbps using light waves, rather than the radio signals used by 4G or Wi-Fi.
Collaborative research charts course to hundreds of new nitrides
Scientists at NREL, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, University of Colorado Boulder, and other partner institutions published “A Map of the Inorganic Ternary Metal Nitrides,” which features a large stability map of ternary nitrides, highlighting compositions where experimental discovery is promising and where nitride formation is unlikely.
Real-time analysis of MOF adsorption behavior
Researchers at The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology developed a technology to analyze adsorption behavior of molecules in each individual pore of a metal organic framework.
Cytotoxicity and physical properties of glass ionomer cement containing flavonoids
University of Campinas researchers found the incorporation of flavonoids improved biocompatibility as well as enhanced hardness of glass ionomer ceramics, not influencing negatively other physical properties of the restorative material.
The science behind Spider-Man’s superpowers
A Penn Today interview with materials scientist and engineer Shu Yang discusses the real-world versions of Spiderman’s “super” materials, and how engineers in her field are inspired by biology to create manmade materials with unique functions.