[Images above] Credit: NIST
NANOMATERIALS
Nanotech OLED electrode liberates 20% more light
University of Michigan researchers developed a new electrode that could free up 20% more light from organic light-emitting diodes. They did so by swapping out the indium tin oxide electrode for a layer of silver just 5 nm thick, deposited on a seed layer of copper.
ENERGY
Quantum dots keep atoms spaced to boost catalysis
Researchers led by Rice University used graphene quantum dots to trap transition metals for high atom loading in single atom catalysis. Their graphene-quantum-dot-enhanced nickel catalyst showed significant improvement in electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide as compared to a lower nickel loading catalyst.
How to build a better wind farm
Researchers at Carnegie Institution for Science determined how large a wind farm can be before its generation capability per unit of land reaches the limits of energy replenishment, as well as how much of a “wind shadow” large farms cast, which would have a negative effect on any neighboring downwind installations.
BIOMATERIALS
Indirect 3D printing creates intricate bioscaffolds for bone and tissue regrowth
Engineers and biomedical scientists in Australia developed a technique for creating bioscaffolds. Instead of making the bioscaffold directly, they 3D print molds with predefined, precise, intricate geometries that are then filled with biocompatible materials.
ENVIRONMENT
Recycling next-generation solar panels fosters green planet
Cornell University researchers showed there are potentially substantial benefits to recycling perovskite solar panels. Specifically, they calculated that recycled perovskite solar cells could bring 72.6% lower primary energy consumption and a 71.2% reduction in carbon footprint.
Storing carbon underground: Old oil fields may be less prone to induced earthquakes
Using the Delaware Basin as a case study, Stanford University geophysicists demonstrate that the influence of past oil drilling changes stresses on faults in such a way that injecting fluids is less likely to induce, or trigger, earthquakes today.
OTHER STORIES
Exotic superconductors: The secret that wasn’t there
Vienna University of Technology researchers together with other international research teams disproved a 1990s experiment that claimed strontium ruthenate displays a novel form of superconductivity. Instead, the material behaves very similarly to other well-known high-temperature superconductors.
Optical tweezer technology tweaked to overcome dangers of heat
Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin created a new version of optical tweezer technology that avoids overheating through a combination of two concepts: the use of a substrate that cools when a light is shined on it; and thermophoresis, a phenomenon in which mobile particles gravitate toward a cooler environment.
Three new ACI Foundation Awards for students
Two new scholarships and a new fellowship were funded by Master Builders Solutions and the American Concrete Institute’s Georgia and Ontario Chapters. The awards are for students pursuing an advanced degree related to the concrete industry. The 2022–2023 Scholarship and Fellowship application cycle opens July 1 and closes Nov. 2, 2021.
Australia, US, and Canada launch interactive map for critical minerals
Australia, the United States, and Canada to launch an interactive map of deposits of rare earths and other critical minerals that are expected to be in hot demand as the world moves to cleaner forms of energy. The website contains data on more than 7,000 mineral samples from over 60 countries. View the website here.