[Images above] Credit: NIST
ENERGY
Perovskite solar cell achieves 24% efficiency, retains 87% of output after 100 days
Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory posted results of a new perovskite solar cell that demonstrated a certified 24% efficiency, while retaining 87% of its original output capability after 2,400 hours of operation at 55°C.
Scientists use novel method to make promising battery material
Researchers led by Boise State University and University of California, San Diego built a coin cell with niobium pentoxide as the electrode material. The niobium pentoxide initially had an amorphous structure, but when the cell was charged and discharged numerous times, the disordered structure transformed into an ordered, crystalline one.
High-accuracy electric vehicle battery monitoring with diamond quantum sensors
Researchers from Tokyo Tech and Yazaki Corporation developed a diamond quantum sensor prototype to accurately measure battery charge in electric vehicles. The sensor can measure currents in a wide range as well as detect milliampere-level currents in a noisy environment, improving the detection accuracy from 10% to within 1%.
BIOMATERIALS
Ceramic material could improve MRIs by enabling faster times, better images
An academic/enterprise partnership that includes Penn State researchers is developing a new dielectric material to enable magnetic resonance imaging machines with shorter scan times and higher image resolutions.
ENVIRONMENT
Researchers pin down key factors of carbon nanotube toxicity
Researchers at Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology reviewed publications on in vitro biocompatibility of carbon nanotubes and identified the manufacturing parameters that could make them safe for living organisms. CNTs placed on a substrate are safe for cells, while tests of CNT dispersions were more ambiguous.
Biobricks designed by Waterloo students win runner-up for James Dyson Award
University of Waterloo students used bacteria to slowly grow a brick in a mold. They mix in recycled sand or demolition waste with the bacteria to create the biobrick. The bacteria can be grown similar to fermentation tanks for beer, so it doesn’t have to stay in the sterile environment.
OTHER STORIES
Dust composite could be used to 3D print stuff on Mars
Washington State University researchers mixed a small amount of simulated crushed Martian rock with a titanium alloy, resulting in a stronger 3D-printed material that could one day be used on Mars to make tools or rocket parts.
Fundamental effect of superconductor physics observed 30 years after it was predicted
Skoltech researchers and European colleagues reported an experimental demonstration of the so-called AC coherent quantum phase-slip effect in thin films of niobium nitride. The AC coherent quantum phase-slip effect manifests itself as a steps pattern in the electrical current flowing through superconducting nanowires exposed to microwaves.
Unique ferroelectric microstructure revealed for first time
Researchers observed and reported for the first time the unique microstructure of calcium manganate, a novel ferroelectric material, using atomic-scale transmission electron microscopy.