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[Images above] Credit: NIST


NANOMATERIALS

Sharp meets flat in tunable 2D material

Rice University researchers created unique 2D flakes with 2D personalities: molybdenum diselenide on one side of a sharp divide with rhenium diselenide on the other. Growing the materials reliably involved the creation of a phase diagram that laid out how each parameter—balance of chemical gas precursor, temperature, time—affects the process.

You are not so tough, h-BN

Researchers from Rice University published a protocol to enhance 2D hexagonal-boron nitride with carbon chains. These turn h-BN into a material that retains its strength but is more amenable to bonding with polymers or other materials in composites.

How do atoms vibrate in graphene nanostructures?

Researchers from University of Vienna, Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Japan, company JEOL, and La Sapienza University in Rome developed a method capable to measure all phonons existing in a nanostructured material.

Scientists create the world’s thinnest gold

Scientists at the University of Leeds created a new form of gold which is just two atoms thick—the thinnest unsupported gold ever created. It could have wide-scale applications in the medical device and electronics industries, and also as a catalyst to speed up chemical reactions in a range of industrial processes.


ENERGY

More energy-dense Li-ion cells could beat solid-state batteries

In a recent paper, researchers at Dalhousie University, Tesla Canada’s R&D group, and University of Waterloo explain how they solved the problem that comes with replacing a conventional graphite anode with lithium metal without using solid-state electrolytes.

New design strategy brightens up the future of perovskite-based light-emitting diodes

Tokyo Institute of Technology researchers discovered it is possible to design highly efficient perovskite-based LEDs using 3D perovskites, which have superior mobility of electron and hole and hence would address the limitation of low-dimensional perovskites.

New perovskite material shows early promise as an alternative to silicon

Researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, EPFL, and Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University found the perovskite CsPbI₃ can be stabilized in a new configuration capable of reaching high conversion efficiencies. This configuration is noteworthy as stabilizing these materials has historically been a challenge.


BIOMATERIALS

Nanovis launches nanosurface technology for spinal interbody implants

Nanovis announced the commercial launch of its bioceramic nanotube enhanced FortiCore interbodies following a successful alpha launch. The FortiCore interbodies are designed with a bioceramic enhanced titanium nanotube surface.


MANUFACTURING

How roads can help cool sizzling cities

Special permeable concrete pavement can help reduce the “urban heat island effect” that causes cities to sizzle in the summer, according to a Rutgers-led team of engineers. The researchers developed designs for permeable concrete containing large connected pores, allowing water to drain through and reducing pavement temperature.

Researchers develop software for predicting, optimizing glass compositions

Researchers at IIT Delhi developed a first of its kind machine learning software—Python for Glass Genomics (PyGGi)—for predicting and optimizing glass compositions. The main aim of PyGGi is to reduce the cost in predicting new glasses for tailored applications.

Three floors at once: Korea’s new concrete build system

South Korean steelmaker Posco, in partnership with a number of Korean contractors, developed a new building system allowing three floors of a building to be erected at once. The idea is to connect horizontal concrete beams to a steel pipe filled with concrete. As the pipe is 15 m high, it allows builders to add three floors at a time, reducing construction time.

Aluminum carbon nanotubes could replace copper wiring in cars

In recent years, the average weight of new cars has crept up as demand for safety and convenience features has increased. Researchers at Yazaki’s California R&D subsidiary, YTC America, are developing automotive wiring of aluminum carbon nanotubes to cut the weight of traditional systems.


OTHER STORIES

Are these fireproof, hurricane-proof geodesic domes the future post-climate change house?

A startup called Geoship is using bioceramics made primarily from phosphates to build new dwellings in the form of a geodesic dome and has plans to produce both backyard cottages and full communities.

Calcium: Good for bones, good for cultural conservation

Researchers added calcium carbonate and calcium oxalate nanoparticles to traditional alkoxysilane treatments before applying the treatment to samples of three different building materials. The materials showed enhanced hydrophobicity, less cracking, and improved surface adhesion compared to alkoxysilane treatments alone.

Probing the origin of Alzheimer’s . . . with transistors

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and colleagues devised a highly sensitive two-gated transistor to track the activity of an enzyme in real time with more than 10 times greater sensitivity than previously possible.

Scientists can now control thermal profiles at the nanoscale

Researchers at Rice University, University of Washington, and Temple University designed and tested an experimental system that uses a near-infrared laser to actively heat two gold nanorod antennae to different temperatures. The nanorods are so close together that they are both electromagnetically and thermally coupled.

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