[Images above] Credit: NIST
NANOMATERIALS
Powering wearable technology with MXene textile supercapacitor ‘patch’
Drexel University researchers, in partnership with a team at Accenture Labs, reported a new design of a flexible wearable supercapacitor patch based on MXenes. To create the supercapacitor, the team simply dipped small swatches of woven cotton textile into a MXene solution then layered on a lithium chloride electrolyte gel.
Researchers can ‘see’ crystals perform their dance moves
Rice University researchers already knew the atoms in perovskites react favorably to light. Now they can see precisely how those atoms move using SLAC’s mega-electron-volt ultrafast electron diffraction facility.
ENERGY
Investigating battery failure to engineer better batteries
Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Princeton University, and Purdue University discovered promising pathways to making game-changing solid-state batteries with garnet electrolytes.
Researchers decipher atomic-scale imperfections in lithium-ion batteries
Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, and Brookhaven National Laboratory conducted a detailed examination of high-nickel-content layered cathodes, considered to be components of promise in next-generation batteries.
Ultrathin coating makes for self-cleaning solar panels
Engineers in Germany developed an ultrathin coating out of titanium oxide that changes its response to water based on the time of day, allowing it to shed any buildup of dust and dirt fairly quickly. The new coating is designed to be mass produced roll-to-roll and could be applied to existing solar cells, windows, and other surfaces.
MANUFACTURING
Researchers put CFRPs on path to circular economy
Asahi Kasei, in collaboration with the National Institute of Technology at Kitakyushu College and the Tokyo University of Science, developed a closed-loop recycling method that allows carbon fibers to be seamlessly extracted from carbon-fiber-reinforced thermoplastics. These continuous strands can then be reapplied in the same manner.
OTHER STORIES
Scientists open new window on the physics of glass formation
Researchers from the U.K., Slovenia, and Japan analyzed and modeled how the boson peak emerges in samples of tetrabutyl orthosilicate, a viscous liquid used in the production of some types of glass. They found this material begins but does not complete the process of crystallization, offering a key insight into the molecular process of vitrification.
Designer molecules may help valuable minerals float
Critical Materials Institute researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Arizona State University combined theory and experiment to gain atom-level insights on monazite. These results provide a first look at surface features important to the design of flotation collector molecules.
Large deposits of plagioclase feldspar found in the walls of Valles Marineris on Mars
Researchers at Université de Lorraine, along with colleagues at Université Clermont Auvergne, Université Lyon, and Brock University, found evidence of large deposits of plagioclase feldspar in the walls of Valles Marineris on Mars. Plagioclase feldspar forms from cooling magma or lava, suggesting the Mars material came from volcanic activity.
Museum of Material Failures has a story to tell and a lesson to impart
Several rooms of a Pittsburgh materials testing laboratory called Matergenics have been dedicated to an unusual collection: 30 years of failure, consisting of broken things and twisted metal. The hands-on museum contains pieces that failed not because of the materials themselves but because of the people who made and used them.