[Images above] Credit: NIST
NANOMATERIALS
A graphene sensor that might someday enable ‘mind-controlled’ robots
By designing 3D-patterned graphene-coated structures that do not rely on sticky conductive gels, researchers created “dry” sensors that can measure the brain’s electrical activity, even amidst hair and the bumps and curves of the head.
Discovery of a new topological phase could lead to developments in nanotechnology
Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the University of Liège discovered a new topological phase in 2D hexagonal boron nitride, which could be used as a new platform for exploring topological physics in nanoscale devices.
Using ice to make ultraclean 2D materials
Researchers at the City University of Hong Kong and their collaborators used the adhesive capabilities of ice as a means of transferring 2D materials from one medium to another. They found that 2D materials transferred through ice had better electrical performance compared with those transferred by conventional methods.
ENERGY
Nanowires in carbon nanotubes have huge solar energy applications
Researchers from University of Warwick, Oxford Materials, and SuperSTEM, a U.K. national center for electron microscopy, revealed the minimum limit at which halide perovskite-like structures can be produced as free-standing materials inside carbon nanotubes.
Thermal paint: MXene spray coating can harness infrared radiation for heating or cooling
An international team of researchers led by Drexel University found that a thin MXene coating can enhance a material’s ability to trap or shed heat. Niobium carbide MXenes effectively dissipated heat while titanium carbide exhibited exceptional heat shielding.
New Li-ion battery recycling method is energy efficient and needs no added chemicals
German researchers used ball milling to recycle lithium-ion batteries at low temperatures. Aluminum in the ball milling process acts as a “reducing agent” on most battery metals, separating them out, while it sticks to the lithium and the oxygen. When gently heated with carbon dioxide and water, the lithium turns into lithium carbonate.
BIOMATERIALS
Is it COVID-19 or the flu? New sensor could tell you in 10 seconds
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin used graphene to construct a device that can simultaneously detect the presence of the viruses that cause COVID-19 and the flu at much lower levels and much more quickly than conventional tests.
Scientists use implanted glucose-run fuel cell to power insulin release
ETH Zurich researchers described the use of a carbon nanotube composite that monitors blood sugar levels and converts excess glucose into electrical power. By pairing the fuel cell with engineered beta cells, they created a device that detects high blood sugar levels, releases insulin, and returns to its inactive state once glucose levels fall to normal.
ENVIRONMENT
Vehicle exhaust filters do not remove ultrafine pollution
University of Birmingham researchers showed that filters fitted to vehicle exhaust systems to remove particulate matter pollution have limited impact on ultrafine particles. Specifically, the number of particles described as ultrafine—smaller than 100 nanometres—reduced by only 26%.
OTHER STORIES
Researchers claim discovery of first piezoelectric liquid
Michigan State University researchers discovered a liquid with piezoelectric characteristics. They made the discovery when working with a pair of ionic liquid salts that hold their liquid state at room temperature.
Modern origami method creates glass shapes by folding
Researchers mixed nanoparticles of silica into a liquid containing several compounds. Curing the mixture with ultraviolet light produced a cross-linked polycaprolactone polymer with tiny beads of silica suspended in it. This composite could then be cut, folded, twisted, and pulled to make intricate shapes, such as a crane or feather.
Solved: The mystery of the cloudy filters
Scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics found oxidation caused by water, which together with ultraviolet light from the sun, produces a thick layer of aluminum oxide that blocks incoming rays from entering detectors that warn about impending solar storms.