[Images above] Credit: NIST
NANOMATERIALS
Researchers use nanomaterials to make 2D diamond clusters at room temperature
Researchers at New York University Tandon School of Engineering and Sandia National Laboratories conducted experiments and simulations using a nanoscopic tip compressing atomically thin, 2D hexagonal boron nitride layers to reveal how this material can phase transition to cubic boron nitride at room temperature.
Scientists capture the moments of nascent crystal formation and growth
Researchers at Seoul National University, Institute for Basic Science, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory observed nanocrystal nucleation using a transmission electron microscope. They synthesized gold nanocrystals by emitting an electron beam onto gold cyanide nanoribbons on top of a graphene membrane, which decomposes nanoribbons into gold atoms.
A little soap simplifies making 2D nanoflakes
Rice University chemists found a way to get the maximum amount of quality 2D hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets from its natural bulk form by processing it with soap and water. The surfactant surrounds and stabilizes the microscopic flakes, preserving their properties.
A metalens for virtual and augmented reality
Researchers at Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences developed a two-millimeter achromatic metalenses that can focus red, blue, and green colors without aberrations. They also developed a miniaturized display for virtual and augmented reality applications.
ENERGY
Highly efficient grid-scale electricity storage at fifth of cost
Researchers at University of Warwick and Imperial College London enhanced three hybrid flow cells using nitrogen doped graphene (exposed to nitrogen plasma) in a binder-free electrophoresis technique. The new approach can store electricity in these batteries for very long durations for about a fifth the price of current technologies.
Chemists propel battery research forward
A team of researchers led by chemists at Brookhaven National Laboratory observed the existence of lithium hydride in the interphase of a battery. For decades, scientists had debated if lithium hydride existed in the interphase, leaving uncertainty around the fundamental reaction mechanism that forms the interphase.
Inexpensive battery charges rapidly for electric vehicles, reduces range anxiety
A team of engineers at The Pennsylvania State University developed lithium iron phosphate batteries that have a range of 250 miles with the ability to charge in 10 minutes. The key to long-life and rapid recharging is the battery’s ability to quickly heat up to 140°F, for charge and discharge, and then cool down when the battery is not working.
Salt battery design overcomes bump in the road to help electric cars go the extra mile
Using salt as a key ingredient, researchers at the University of Nottingham, in collaboration with six scientific research institutes across China, developed an innovative and affordable energy store with the combined performance merits of a solid-oxide fuel cell and a metal-air battery. They did so by turning molten salt into soft-solid salt using solid oxide nanopowders.
BIOMATERIALS
Scientists use a novel ink to 3D print ‘bone’ with living cells
Researchers from University of New South Wales Sydney developed a ceramic-based ink that may allow surgeons in the future to 3D-print bone parts complete with living cells that could be used to repair damaged bone tissue.
Terbium (III)-doped fluorescent glass for biomedical research
Researchers at the University of Tokyo developed a borosilicate glass material containing the rare-earth ion terbium (III). The material emits green fluorescence upon blue light excitation, much like green fluorescent protein, with compatibility across biological research environments.
ENVIRONMENT
Old, large dams pose a growing risk
Ageing dams will pose a growing risk over the next few decades, warns an analysis from the United Nations University’s Canada-based Institute for Water, Environment and Health—and the threat will be exacerbated by climate change.
New report charts path toward superior earthquake recovery
A committee of experts, formed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Federal Emergency Management Agency under the direction of Congress, developed and delivered a report to Congress outlining seven recommendations that, if acted upon, may greatly improve the resilience of communities across the nation.
Unraveling carbon uptake in concrete pavements
Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers investigated the carbon uptake of all pavements in the U.S. They found the carbonation process could offset 5% of the CO2 emissions generated from cement used in U.S. pavements. Much of those offsets could occur after pavements were demolished, especially in states using composite pavement designs.
MANUFACTURING
‘Liquid’ machine-learning system adapts to changing conditions
Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers developed a neural network that learns on the job, not just during training. The “liquid” network varies its equations’ parameters, enhancing its ability to analyze time series data.
Siemens’ additive manufacturing enables advanced turbine blade repair and upgrade
Siemens Energy, headquartered in Munich, Germany, developed an additive manufacturing solution to upgrade turbine blades, in addition to just repairing them. The new digital repair chain uses hybrid laser beam powder bed fusion to add new features to gas turbine blades, such as cooling structures implemented in critical areas to prevent blade tip failure.
OTHER STORIES
Merging technologies with color to avoid design failures
Researchers at The Pennsylvania State University studied the use of machine learning and image colorization algorithms to ease computational load, maintain accuracy, reduce time, and predict strain fields for porous materials.
Researchers led by the Russian Academy of Sciences in Novosibirsk developed a model for the formation of diamonds in which highly localized electrical fields play a central role. According to this concept, applying less than even one volt provides electrons that trigger a chemical transformation process.
Energy saving ceramic phosphors for high power LED systems
Materials scientists of Far Eastern Federal University, in collaboration with an international research team, advanced the design of solid-state light converters based on the composite ceramic material Ce3+:YAG-Al2O3. LED systems using the developed materials save 20–30% more energy compared to commercial analogues.
Defects may help scientists understand the exotic physics of topology
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign studied metamaterials, which they engineered to include defects, as a proxy for studying exotic topological crystals, which are difficult to synthesize and tricky to probe directly. They showed that defects and structural deformations can provide insights into a real material’s hidden topological features.
Scientists develop a nondestructive method to measure carrier lifetime in SiC
Researchers at Nagoya Institute of Technology developed a novel nondestructive technique with enhanced depth resolution to measure the carrier lifetime distribution in silicon carbide, which will bolster the development of efficient silicon carbide devices for power generation and distribution systems.
Exchange bias set in a spin-glass phase could arise in a disordered antiferromagnet
Researchers from University of California, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Nuclear Research Center—Negev, and National High Magnetic Field Laboratory developed a way to isolate antiferromagnet heterostructures in the absence of a ferromagnet to study the coupling that occurs between antiferromagnet order parameters and spin-glass parameters.