[Images above] Credit: NIST
NANOMATERIALS
May the force be with you: Detecting ultrafast light by its force
McGill University researchers developed a new technique to detect nanosized imperfections in materials. They did so by using atomic force microscopy to detect the ultrafast forces that arise when light interacts with matter.
Layer of nanoparticles could improve LED performance and lifetime
Researchers from Imperial College London and the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati found through modeling that adding a layer of nanoparticles to LED designs could help them produce more light for the same energy and also increase their lifetime.
Breaking molecular traffic jams with finned nanoporous materials
Researchers at the University of Houston developed a way to induce larger catalyst particles to behave like nanoparticles—that is, to allow molecules to enter, spark a reaction, and exit quickly—by growing protrusions, or fins, on the surfaces of catalyst particles.
ENERGY
LLTO anode material for safe batteries with a long cycle life
Researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Jilin University investigated lithium lanthanum titanate, a promising anode material for future high-performance batteries. They report this material can improve energy density, power density, charging rate, safety, and cycle life of batteries without requiring a decrease of particle size from micro to nanoscale.
ENVIRONMENT
No longer just solar sharing: Bringing agrivoltaics to the next level
University of Cambridge researchers propose using tinted semi‐transparent solar panels that operate on specific wavelengths of light to allow plants and solar cells to harness different parts of the visible spectrum.
MANUFACTURING
Research identifies innovative approach for controlling defects in 3D printing
Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory and Texas A&M University discovered temperature data could be used at the time of 3D production to predict the formation of subsurface defects so they can be addressed right then and there.
Scientists improve casting technology
Researchers in the Department of Foundry and Highly Efficient Technologies at Samara Polytech suggested to simplify traditional casting technology by using additive technologies—the burning-out model printed on a 3D printer is covered with the refractory ceramic agent by method of layer-by-layer fusing.
OTHER STORIES
3D-printable material purifies biogas at low cost
Researchers developed a new low-cost sorbent made from sodium carbonate and silicone that could make biogas production from dairy farms and other small-scale operations economically feasible. The researchers have partnered with Southern California Gas Company to make larger prototype devices out of the sorbent and test them in the field.
Spintronics: Researchers show how to make nonmagnetic materials magnetic
Researchers from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg reported a complex process that can modify nonmagnetic oxide materials in such a way to make them magnetic. The basis for this new phenomenon is controlled layer-by-layer growth of each material.
A titanate nanowire mask that can eliminate pathogens
Researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne are working on a membrane made of titanium oxide nanowires, similar in appearance to filter paper but with antibacterial and antiviral properties. Their material works by using the photocatalytic properties of titanium dioxide to destroy pathogens.
Glass-like wood insulates heat, is tough, blocks UV, and has wood-grain pattern
Materials engineers at the University of Maryland transformed wood into a transparent building material that directs light for a diffused effect, is tougher and insulates better than glass, and has a natural wood-grain pattern.