[Images above] Credit: NIST
NANOMATERIALS
Trapping nanoparticles with optical tweezers
By exploiting a particular property of light diffraction at the interface between glass and liquid, researchers demonstrated the first optical tweezers capable of trapping nanoscale particles.
MXene coating could prevent electromagnetic interference in wearable devices
Researchers at Drexel University found that dip-coating regular cotton or linen fabric in a MXene solution will turn it into a formidable shielding material—blocking electromagnetic interference at greater than 99.9% effectiveness.
Black phosphorus makes reconfigurable transistors
Researchers at Purdue University and University of Notre Dame created a transistor using black phosphorus and saw excellent performance: operation at small voltages and a clear difference between the on and off states, with the difference growing as the voltage was ramped up.
Photosensitive carbon nanoparticles investigated
An international team of researchers identified the fundamental problems relating to the photophysics and photochemistry of carbon nanocolloids and offered possible approaches for research into nanomaterials.
‘Magic’ angle graphene and the creation of unexpected topological quantum states
Princeton University researchers discovered that, under certain conditions, interacting electrons can create what are called “topological quantum states.” They performed their experiments using magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene.
ENERGY
Batteries mimic mammal bones for stability
Researchers from Sungkyunkwan University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Brookhaven National Laboratory developed a mammal bone-inspired sodium cathode for batteries. The cathode consists of a porous system of Na3V2(PO4)3 structures surrounded by a dense shell of reduced graphene oxide.
New hard-carbon anode material for sodium-ion batteries may solve the lithium conundrum
Tokyo University of Science researchers found an energy-efficient method to fabricate a hard carbon electrode with enormously high sodium storage capacity. The method involved the use of magnesium oxide as an inorganic template of nanosized pores inside hard carbon.
Single-crystal technology holds promise for next-generation lithium-ion batteries
Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory report new findings about how to make a single-crystal, nickel-rich cathode more robust and efficient. They estimate their cathode packs at least 25% more energy compared to lithium-ion batteries used in today’s electric vehicles.
High-rate Li-ion batteries demonstrate superior safety
University of Warwick researchers investigated the impacts on battery cell ageing from high current operation using commercial lithium iron phosphate cylindrical cells. They showed there is a window for operating batteries above manufacturer stated current limits while maintaining manufacturer stated voltage limits.
Perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells on the magic threshold of 30% efficiency
In the beginning of 2020, researchers at Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie set a new world record of 29.15% for tandem solar cells made of perovskite and silicon. Now, the results were published in the journal Science, with a detailed explanation of the fabrication process and underlying physics.
ENVIRONMENT
Nanoengineered cement shows promise for sealing leaky gas wells
Researchers at The Pennsylvania State University developed a multistep process to uniformly distribute sheets of 2D graphite into a cement slurry. The mixture better filled narrow spaces in natural gas wells, and it also was stronger and more resilient.
Benefits of renewable energy vary from place to place
North Carolina State University researchers found that the environmental benefits of renewable power generation vary significantly, depending on the nature of the conventional power generation that the renewable energy is offsetting.
OTHER STORIES
Researchers from University of Tokyo used molecular dynamics calculations to simulate the glass-forming ability of metallic mixtures. They show that even small changes in composition can strongly influence the likelihood that a material will assume a crystalline versus a glassy state upon cooling.
Vanadium dioxide spiked with boron comes closer to mimicking brain cells
Researchers at Texas A&M University found when they added boron to vanadium dioxide, the material still transitioned from an insulator to a metal, but the transition temperature now depended on how long it remained in a new metastable state created by boron.
New research finds triaxial-shaped, flattened porosity in 3D-printed concrete
Researchers at Stellenbosch University in South Africa presented a comprehensive microstructural investigation of construction 3D concrete printing porosity using X-ray computed tomography to visualize and quantify porosity, pore sizes, shapes, and distributions in extrusion-based 3D printed concrete.
‘Game changer’ perovskite can detect gamma rays
Researchers at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne developed a perovskite that can detect gamma rays. The perovskite they developed is based on crystals of methylammonium lead tribromide.
Beating the heat: Oxidation in novel coating material for aircraft gas turbine engines
Researchers from Tokyo University of Science, Tokyo Institute of Technology, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency demonstrate how the ytterbium to silicon ratio, and the surrounding atmosphere, affect the oxidation processes in Yb-Si, opening doors to more energy efficient gas turbines.
UV-emitting LED lights found to kill coronavirus
Researchers from Tel Aviv University showed that the coronavirus can be killed efficiently, quickly, and cheaply using ultraviolet light-emitting diodes. They found that a length of 285 nm was almost as efficient in disinfecting the virus as a wavelength of 265 nm, requiring less than half a minute to destroy more than 99.9% of the coronaviruses.