[Images above] Credit: NIST
NANOMATERIALS
Control over water friction with 2D materials points to ‘smart membranes’
Researchers at The University of Manchester showed a dramatic decrease in friction when water is passed through nanoscale capillaries made of graphene, whereas those with hexagonal boron nitride—which has a similar surface topography and crystal structure as graphene—display high friction.
New family of atomic-thin electride materials discovered
An international team of researchers found that when the MXene Sc2CO2 is structured into a hexagonal phase, it results in a new family of electrides, i.e., materials in which electrons occupy a space usually reserved for atoms or ions instead of orbiting the nucleus of an atom or ion.
ENVIRONMENT
A new kind of self-healing concrete
Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute developed a form of concrete that will fix its own cracks using an enzyme found in red blood cells that automatically reacts with atmospheric carbon dioxide to create calcium carbonate crystals.
Researchers develop tool to aid in development, efficiency of hydrogen-powered cars
Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder are developing new computational tools and models needed to better understand and manage the conversion process of hydrogen and oxygen safely into water for hydrogen-powered cars. The tools described in the paper can also be applied to other catalyst and electrocatalyst interfaces.
OTHER STORIES
Researchers at Paul Scherrer Institute, ETH Zurich, and the Swiss company Clariant AG developed a new tomography method with which they can measure chemical properties inside catalyst materials in 3D extremely precisely and faster than before.
Research paves way for next-generation of crystalline material screening devices
University of Illinois Chicago researchers developed a novel continuous-flow microfluidic device that may help scientists and pharmaceutical companies more effectively study drug compounds and their crystalline shapes and structures, which are key components for drug stability.
Machine learning speeds up simulations in materials science
Researchers from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, University of Göttingen, and University of Toronto wrote an overview of the basic principles of machine learning used for simulations in materials sciences, including data acquisition and active learning methods.
Researchers tame silicon to interact with light for next-generation microelectronics
Researchers led by Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology found a way to increase photoluminescence in silicon by using germanium quantum dots and a specially designed photonic crystal.
BioASQ for the win: Inside the healthiest competition you’ve never heard of
An article on the Scholarly Kitchen takes a look at BioASQ, an intensive, months-long international AI competition with the goal to generate open source AI systems that help advance medical progress.