[Images above] Credit: NIST
NANOMATERIALS
Novel quantum effect discovered in naturally occurring graphene
Researchers at University of Göttingen, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and University of Texas at Dallas used two-layer graphene in its natural form to demonstrate how the electrical resistance of a material can adopt a fixed value that is independent from the basic material properties and “quantized.”
Pinpointing the exact positions of atoms in 2D materials
Researchers at UCLA, UC Irvine, and the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences used a recently developed electron microscopy technique to measure the exact positions of atoms across an interface between two 2D-materials with picometer precision.
Refuting a 70-year approach to predicting material microstructure
Carnegie Mellon and Argonne National Laboratory researchers developed a new microscopy technique that maps material microstructure in three dimensions; results demonstrate that the conventional method for predicting materials’ properties under high temperature is ineffective.
ENERGY
New catalyst helps combine fuel cell, battery into one device
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis developed a catalyst from a composite of platinum and a lead ruthenate pyrochlore that can be used to both generate fuel and provide power.
ENVIRONMENT
First evidence shows solar parks can cool surrounding land
Researchers from Lancaster University, Ludong University, and the University of California, Davis found that two solar parks, situated in arid locations, produced “cool islands” extending around 700 meters from the solar park boundaries.
Environmentally friendly ways to cool homes
Using data from Saudi Arabia, researchers from the University of British Columbia Okanagan campus developed a framework for reducing energy consumption related to residential buildings. The operational framework looks at methods to keep homes cool with minimum adverse environmental impacts.
Recycled concrete and CO2 from the air are made into a new building material
University of Tokyo researchers found a way to combine waste concrete and captured carbon dioxide into a usable form of concrete called calcium carbonate concrete. They were inspired by the way some aquatic organisms harden into fossils over time.
OTHER STORIES
A computationally quick approach to predict molten droplet solidification on a solid surface
The deposition of molten particles on the interior surface of jet engines can cause significant damage. Researchers from Tokyo University of Science, Osaka University, and The University of Electro-Communications developed a model that can quickly and accurately simulate the solidification of a single molten droplet on a flat surface.
Ultrashort flashes of light illuminate a possible path to future beyond-CMOS electronics
Researchers led by Swinburne University of Technology showed that ultrashort pulses of light can be used to drive transitions to new phases of matter, aiding the search for future Floquet-based, low-energy electronics.
Smuggling light through opaque materials
Electrical engineers at Duke University discovered that changing the physical shape of chalcogenide glasses can extend their use into the visible and ultraviolet parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Sensitive new way of detecting transistor defects
Researchers led by National Institute of Standards and Technology developed a highly sensitive method of detecting and counting defects in transistors. They concentrated on one particular region that is only about 1 billionth of a meter thick and a millionth of a meter long: the boundary between the thin oxide layer and the bulk semiconductor body.
How flawed diamonds ‘lead’ to flawless quantum networks
Researchers from Japan demonstrate that lead-vacancy centers in diamond have the right properties to function as quantum nodes. The three critical properties researchers look for in a potential quantum node are symmetry, spin coherence time, and zero phonon lines.
Roman noblewoman’s tomb reveals secrets of ancient concrete resilience
Researchers showed that the quality of the concrete in a first-century noblewoman’s tomb may exceed that of her male contemporaries’ monuments because of the volcanic aggregate the builders chose and the unusual chemical interactions with rain and groundwater with that aggregate over two millennia.
Developing a toolkit for fostering open science practices: Proceedings of a workshop
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Roundtable on Aligning Incentives for Open Science hosted a public release of “Developing a Toolkit for Fostering Open Science Practices: Proceedings of a Workshop” on September 30. View a recording of the release event at this link.