[Images above] Credit: NIST
NANOMATERIALS
Layered graphene with a twist displays unique quantum confinement in 2D
Scientists studying two different configurations of bilayer graphene detected electronic and optical interlayer resonances. By characterizing these states, they found that twisting one of the graphene layers by 30 degrees relative to the other, instead of stacking the layers directly on top of each other, shifts the resonance to a lower energy.
Microscopic mesh could be the key to lighter, stronger body armor
Researchers found that the latticed structure of pyrolytic carbon, heavy on struts and open spaces, was stronger than a denser structure with less room to absorb or diffuse the impact. If the architecture is used at larger scales, these tiny trusses could be the basis of new armor.
A laboratory’s ‘irritating’ byproduct now supplies 2D materials research
While making materials samples to pursue their own research goals, scientists at Ames Laboratory discovered that an unwanted byproduct of their experiments—hexagonal boron nitride—was an extremely high-quality and difficult-to-obtain substance sought after by scientists researching layered materials.
ENERGY
How do wind turbines respond to winds, ground motion during earthquakes?
Researchers from Changzhou University and Beijing University of Technology discovered that changes in the wind increase and decrease the response amplitude of a wind turbine under weak and strong earthquakes, respectively.
Green hydrogen: Focus on the catalyst surface
Researchers led by Karlsruher Institut für Technologie studied water electrolysis processes on the surface of an iridium oxide catalyst. The study revealed highly unexpected structural modifications connected to a stabilization of the catalyst at high voltages under dynamic loading.
An innovative process prevents irreversible energy loss in batteries
A joint research team at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology developed an electrode pre-treatment solution capable of minimizing initial lion ion loss in graphite-silicon oxide composite anodes.
Janus graphene opens doors to sustainable sodium-ion batteries
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology fabricated sodium batteries with higher capacity by adding a molecule spacer on one side of the graphene layer in the electrode. When the layers stack together, the molecule creates larger space between graphene sheets and provides an interaction point, leading to a significantly higher capacity.
Scientists develop an energy harvesting technology based on ferromagnetic resonance
Osaka City University researchers succeeded in storing electricity with the voltage generated from ferromagnetic resonance using nanometer-thin iron-cobalt and iron-nickel alloy magnetic films.
BIOMATERIALS
Graphene adjuvant improves efficacy of dendritic cell vaccines
Researchers from Beijing created an effective dendritic cell-based vaccine targeted at the SARS-CoV-2 virus using graphene oxide nanosheets.
ENVIRONMENT
New sensor can detect valuable rare earth element in nontraditional sources
Researchers at The Pennsylvania State University developed a new luminescent sensor that can detect terbium, a valuable rare earth element, from complex environmental samples like acid mine waste. The sensor takes advantage of a protein that very specifically binds to rare earth elements.
Global sand and gravel extraction conflicts with half of UN Sustainable Development Goals
According to a new study led by researchers at McGill University and the University of Copenhagen, the human and environmental costs of sand and gravel extraction on lower- and middle-income countries have been largely overlooked.
MANUFACTURING
New injection method for 3D concrete builds more intricate structures
TU Braunschweig researchers developed a new method of 3D printing concrete that shows potential for more complex 3D-printed structures. Unlike current layered techniques, the new injection 3D concrete printing method consists of robotically injecting a fluid material into another material with specific rheological properties.
Reliable oxygenation conceivable with new design for portable concentrators
Anticipating the increased need for better oxygen concentrators as the fight against COVID-19 rages on, researchers laid a computational framework to design an optimal concentrator to filter ambient air and produce oxygen that can scale with patient demand.
OTHER STORIES
Researchers advance stackable ceramic façade prototype
A team of University at Buffalo architecture faculty and students developed a stackable ceramic facade system that opens new possibilities in user-generated architecture and sculptural geometries in terra cotta.
New theory explains why metallic oxides are transparent
Researchers from the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona suggest that the reason vanadium strontium oxide becomes transparent when made into thin layers is because of the formation of polarons, which cause the lattice to distort around the electrons as they move through the material and likewise increases the electrons’ effective mass.
Scientists discover a new type of infrared polaritons at the surface of bulk crystals
An international team reported the observation of ghost polaritons in calcite. Ghost polaritons are a new form of surface waves carrying nanoscale light strongly coupled with material oscillations and featuring highly collimated propagation properties.
No more silicon? Company develops glass CPU for quantum computing
IonQ, a Maryland-based company with ties to the University of Duke and its Duke Quantum Center, recently announced the development of a new, glass-based trapped-ion computing chip, which replaces their previous works with silicon-based designs.
Revealing the hidden structure of quantum entangled states
Researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, together with collaborators from Scotland, invented a new approach to probing high-dimensional quantum states, reducing the measurement time from decades to minutes.
Unique scanning tunneling microscope with magnetic cooling to study quantum effects
Thanks to magnetic cooling, physicists at Forschungszentrum Jülich can use their scanning tunneling microscope to explore the world of nanoscopic phenomena without any moving parts, and it is almost vibration-free at extremely low temperatures as low as 30 millikelvin.