[Images above] Credit: NIST
NANOMATERIALS
A magnetic nanographene butterfly poised to advance quantum technologies
Researchers from the National University of Singapore developed a new design concept for creating next-generation carbon-based quantum materials, in the form of a tiny magnetic nanographene with a unique butterfly-shape hosting highly correlated spins.
‘Nanostitches’ enable lighter and tougher composite materials
Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers showed they can prevent cracks from spreading between a composite’s layers using “nanostitching,” in which they deposit chemically grown microscopic forests of carbon nanotubes between composite layers.
ENERGY
Discovery brings all-solid-state sodium batteries closer to practical use
Osaka Metropolitan University researchers are developing a process that may lead to mass synthesis for sodium-containing sulfides. Using sodium polysulfides as both the material and the flux, they created a solid sulfide electrolyte with the world’s highest reported sodium ion conductivity and a glass electrolyte with high reduction resistance.
A new method for improving energy storage performance in lead-free relaxor ferroelectrics
Researchers developed a way to modify (Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3-based lead-free relaxor ferroelectrics. The traditional approach relies on doping heterogeneous ions to cause local compositional inhomogeneity, but the solid solubility is limited. This method instead constructs a high-entropy single-phase solid solution.
MANUFACTURING
New technique lets scientists create resistance-free electron channels
Researchers led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory directly visualized a chiral interface state, a conducting channel that allows electrons to travel in only one direction and thus prevents energy-wasting electrical resistance. They also demonstrated on-demand creation of these resistance-free conducting channels in a 2D insulator.
A novel machine learning model for the characterization of material surfaces
Tokyo Institute of Technology researchers developed a machine learning model that enables the accurate and efficient computation of fundamental electronic properties of binary and ternary oxide surfaces.
OTHER STORIES
Researchers advance pigment chemistry with moon-inspired reddish magentas
An Oregon State University researcher who made color history in 2009 with a vivid blue pigment has developed durable, reddish magentas inspired by lunar mineralogy and ancient Egyptian chemistry.
Physicists discover novel quantum state in an elemental solid
Princeton University researchers discovered that an elemental solid crystal made of arsenic atoms hosts a never-before-observed form of topological quantum behavior. They were able to explore and image this novel quantum state using a scanning tunneling microscope and photoemission spectroscopy.
Hidden emptiness can define the usefulness of filtration materials
Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Wisconsin-Madison integrated materials science and a mathematical concept called graph theory to image and map out the random placement of voids within filtration materials. This advancement will improve the effectiveness of next-generation porous materials.
Rice University to offer new master’s in energy transition and sustainability
Rice University will launch a Master of Energy Transition and Sustainability (METS) program in fall 2024 designed to equip students with the tools needed to thrive in the evolving energy industry landscape.