[Images above] Credit: NIST
NANOMATERIALS
Scientists age quantum dots in a test tube
Researchers from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Problems of Chemical Physics proposed a simple way to obtain arbitrarily sized quantum dots required for physical experiments via chemical aging with a mixture of oleic acid and oleylamine.
Predicting forces between oddly shaped nanoparticles
Materials scientists at Duke University devised a simplified method for calculating the attractive forces that cause nanoparticles to self-assemble into larger structures. Their approach involved several simplifications, including representing the particle as being made up of stacked rod-shaped elements rather than cubic elements.
Graphene-based memristor is ideal for artificial neural networks
The Pennsylvania State University researchers designed and demonstrated a graphene-based memory resistor (memristor) that can exist in many different states. Using simulations and experiments, they showed how the device can be used to substantially improve the performance of artificial neural networks.
A new understanding of ionic interactions with graphene and water
Researchers led by Northwestern University and Argonne National Laboratory investigated the interaction between two oppositely charged ions in different positions in water confined between two graphene surfaces. They found that the strength of the interaction was not equivalent when the ions’ positions were interchanged.
ENERGY
New semiconductor coating may pave way for future green fuels
Uppsala University researchers developed a metal-organic framework coating for semiconductors that may create new opportunities to produce fuels in processes that combine direct sunlight with electricity. The coating captures electrons generated by the sunlight and removes them from the semiconductor surface.
ENVIRONMENT
Waste concrete to be repurposed into public furniture using additive manufacturing
Waste concrete from demolished buildings is to be reinvented and made into new custom-made outdoor memorials and public garden furniture with the help of 3D printing, in a new £6m project from Manchester Metropolitan University and partners across Europe.
Moving wind turbine blades toward recyclability
Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory demonstrated the feasibility of thermoplastic resin for wind turbine blades by manufacturing a 9-meter-long wind turbine blade using the resin. They now validated the structural integrity of a 13-meter-long thermoplastic composite blade.
MANUFACTURING
Scientists develop an energy-saving method for producing composites
Samara Polytech researchers developed a new method for producing ceramic composites based on the highly exothermic reaction of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis. In the process of synthesis, the ceramic skeleton is self-heating up to the temperatures of 2,500–3,500°C.
Breaking the power and speed limit of lasers
Researchers at George Washington University developed a new design of vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser that demonstrates record-fast temporal bandwidth. This achievement was made possible by combining multiple transverse coupled cavities, which enhances optical feedback of the laser.
Fostering creativity in researchers: How automation can revolutionize materials research
Researchers from Tokyo Institute of Technology devised a strategy that could make fully autonomous materials research a reality. Their work is centered around the idea of laboratory equipment being “CASH,” or connected, autonomous, shared, and high-throughput.
OTHER STORIES
Request for input: Decadal review of NASA biological and physical sciences program
The American Society for Gravitational and Space Research are leading a series of town halls to stimulate discussions on the upcoming 10-year plan for NASA’s biological and physical sciences program. The materials research town hall will take place December 3, and glass and ceramic scientists are encouraged to participate and provide their input.
Sensor experts invent supercool mini-thermometer
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology invented a miniature superconducting thermometer that measures temperatures below 1 kelvin and potentially down to 5 millikelvin. The thermometer consists of a superconducting niobium resonator coated with silicon dioxide.
Researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science at The University of Tokyo used advanced electron spectroscopy and computer simulations to better understand the internal atomic structure of aluminosilicate glass. They found complex coordination networks among aluminum atoms within phase-separated regions.
International team of researchers investigates optical band gap of carbon compound
Researchers at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, the University of Alberta, and the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne characterized the chains in carbyne, an allotrope of carbon, using spectroscopy.
Scientists discover new mineral forged in Russian volcano
Researchers in Russia report the discovery of a vibrantly blue-and-green crystallized sulfate mineral they call petrovite. The mineral, which was found in the volcanic landscape of Russia’s far east, has an unusual and very rare coordination of seven oxygen atoms around the copper atom in the crystal structure.
Create diamonds at room temperature and high pressure
An international team of researchers led by The Australian National University and RMIT University made two types of diamonds at normal room temperatures by applying high pressures—equivalent to 640 African elephants on the tip of a ballet shoe.