[Images above] Credit: NIST
NANOMATERIALS
Nanometer-thick electromagnetic shielding film using MXene
Researchers led by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology and Drexel University used a self-assembly technique to fabricate an ultrathin MXene film. These films can easily be transferred onto any substrate and layered multiple times for customized thickness, transmittance, and surface resistance.
Nanosensor can alert a smartphone when plants are stressed
Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers developed a way to closely track how plants respond to stresses using sensors made of carbon nanotubes. These sensors can be embedded in plant leaves, where they report on hydrogen peroxide signaling waves.
ENERGY
Development of attachable sticker-type rechargeable batteries
A joint research team in Korea developed a high-performance reattachable sticker-type energy storage device using highly swollen laser-induced-graphene electrodes. Dopamine was introduced as a coating material to improve electrochemical performance.
Tandem solar cell world record
A new tandem solar cell developed by Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin researchers achieved a certified efficiency of 24.16%. The world-record cell combines the semiconductor materials perovskite and CIGS to a monolithic “two-terminal” tandem cell.
Six-junction solar cell sets two world records for efficiency
Scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory fabricated a solar cell with an efficiency of nearly 50%. The six-junction solar cell achieved solar conversion efficiency at 47.1%, which was measured under concentrated illumination. A variation of the same cell also set the efficiency record under one-sun illumination at 39.2%.
New electrode material developed to increase charge capacity of lithium batteries
A team of researchers based in Japan developed a new electrode material to make lithium batteries not only cheaper but longer lasting with higher energy density. The nanosized electrode comprising manganese and titanium ions results in a more robust exchange of electrons and lithium ions.
Shedding light on dark traps: Origin of defects in perovskites
Using photoemission electron microscopy, researchers co-led by University of Cambridge and Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University discovered “deep-trap” defects in perovskites only form at junctions where an area of the material with slightly distorted structure meets an area with pristine structure.
New discovery settles long-standing debate about photovoltaic materials
Ames Laboratory researchers experimentally proved the existence of the Rashba effect in bulk organometallic halide perovskites. The Rashba effect is a mechanism that controls the magnetic and electronic structure and charge carrier lifetimes.
Seeing ‘under the hood’ in batteries
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researchers adapted an X-ray technique known as resonant inelastic X-ray scattering to scan battery electrodes to measure the chemical states of different elements at a specific point in a battery’s charge/discharge cycle.
BIOMATERIALS
Thin-film perovskite detectors could enable extremely low-dose medical imaging
Researchers demonstrated that a new type of solid-state X-ray detector, based on a thin film of the mineral perovskite, is 100 times more sensitive than a conventional silicon-based device, which could enable medical and dental imaging at extremely low radiation dose.
ENVIRONMENT
Scientists fit two co-catalysts on one nanosheet for better water purification
Scientists from the National Synchrotron Light Source II, Yale University, and Arizona State University designed and tested a new 2D catalyst that can be used to improve water purification using hydrogen peroxide. The trick of their new design is they placed two co-catalysts onto two different locations on a thin nanosheet.
Russian scientists design eco-village with solar panels on the roofs
South Ural State University researchers designed a modern settlement to satisfy both environmental requirements and human needs for amenities. The results are already presented in the digital programs of urban infrastructure “Smart City” and “Smart Home.”
MANUFACTURING
Quickly grown graphite film blocks electromagnetic radiation
Researchers from the Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science at the Chinese Academy of Sciences demonstrated an alternative way of making high-quality graphite films in just a few seconds by quenching hot strips of nickel foil in ethanol.
Researchers use 3D printing to reinforce bulk metal glass composites with metal frame
Researchers from China developed a promising way to fabricate strong-and-tough bulk metallic glass composites. They 3D print titanium alloy frames and then thermoplastic form them with a BMG matrix under ultrasonic vibration. Reinforced by the titanium alloy frame, the BMG composites exhibited a fracture toughness higher than that of monolithic BMG.
OTHER STORIES
Applying mathematics to accelerate predictions for capturing fusion energy
Researchers at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory borrowed a technique from applied mathematics to rapidly predict the behavior of fusion plasma at a much-reduced computational cost. The technique combines the millisecond behavior of fusion plasmas into longer-term forecasts.
Engineers to work on cybersecurity for systems linking solar power to grid
A research collaboration between university, government, and industry received a $3.6 million award from U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office to advance technologies that integrate solar power systems to national power grid, with a focus on cybersecurity systems.
New research aims to keep energy flowing through microgrids
Researchers at the University of British Columbia, supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, proposed a redesign of power grids to protect against outages. It consists of multiple microgrids with the ability to disconnect from the main power supply, creating “islands” that can run independently when needed.