[Images above] Credit: NIST
NANOMATERIALS
Using ultrasound to control orientation of small particles
Using ultrasound technology and a nozzle, researchers at The Pennsylvania State University separated, controlled, and ejected different particles based on their shape and various properties.
The ‘breath’ between atoms—a new building block for quantum technology
University of Washington researchers discovered they can detect atomic ‘breathing,’ or the mechanical vibration between two layers of atoms, by observing the type of light those atoms emitted when stimulated by a laser. The sound of this atomic ‘breath’ could help researchers encode and transmit quantum information.
ENERGY
Simple tweak creates safer, more efficient solid-state batteries
Oak Ridge National Lab researchers heated a sheet press and then let the electrolyte cool under pressure, resulting in a bubble-free film with higher surface nitrogen enrichment. It was nearly 1,000 times more conductive, had an almost 50% improvement in the critical current density, and better lithiophilicity (the ability to form a stable structure with lithium).
Removing barriers to commercialization of magnesium secondary batteries
Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology developed a chemical activation strategy of magnesium metal that enables efficient operation of magnesium batteries in common electrolytes that are free of corrosive additives and can be mass-produced.
BIOMATERIALS
Chronic wound healing using silver-infused bioactive glass
University of Birmingham researchers demonstrated that silver retains antimicrobial activity for longer when it is impregnated into bioactive glass.
ENVIRONMENT
Researchers use parking lots to improve water sustainability
Researchers at the University of Texas at San Antonio are studying how well different pavements in parking lots—permeable asphalt, plastic grid pavers, permeable concrete, and permeable interlocking concrete pavers—improve water quality.
MANUFACTURING
Physicists design metamaterials with built-in frustration for mechanical memory
Researchers from the University of Amsterdam Institute of Physics and ENS de Lyon discovered how to design materials that have a point or line where the material does not deform under stress. Having an enforced point or line of zero deformation is key to endowing materials with mechanical memory.
New method takes the uncertainty out of oxide semiconductor layering
University of Tokyo researchers reported an atomic layer deposition process for producing layers of nanosheet oxide semiconductors that are appropriate for large-scale integration. The semiconductors had high carrier mobility and reliability in transistors.
OTHER STORIES
Terahertz-to-visible light conversion for future telecommunications
Researchers from Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, the University of Exeter Center for Graphene Science, and TU Eindhoven demonstrated that graphene-based materials can be used to efficiently convert high-frequency signals into visible light.
Saturn’s moon harbors phosphates, a ‘building block of life’
Using data from NASA’s Cassini space mission, researchers detected evidence of phosphates in particles ejected from the ice-covered global ocean on Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons. They estimate that the phosphate present in Enceladus’ ocean is at levels at least 100 times higher—and perhaps 1,000 times higher—than in Earth’s oceans.
Glass: Neither solid nor liquid, this common yet complicated material still holds surprises
ACerS Fellow and Penn State professor John Mauro and Ph.D. candidate Katelyn Kirchner wrote an article on The Conversation that provides a useful and simple overview of glass for people who are not familiar with the material.