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[Images above] Credit: NIST

NANOMATERIALS

1-D zirconium tritelluride nanoribbons pack powerful punch for next generation electronics

Engineers at the University of California, Riverside, have demonstrated prototype devices made of an exotic material—zirconium tritelluride nanoribbons—that can conduct a current density 50 times greater than conventional copper interconnect technology.

Scientists develop nanodiamond-based controllable light source

A research group from ITMO University has developed the first-ever controlled nanodiamond-based light source that can double the emission speed of light sources and help control them. This result was achieved due to artificially created defects in the diamonds’ crystal lattice.

A reimagined future for sustainable nanomaterials

Engineered nanomaterials hold great promise—but when the materials are designed without critical information about environmental impacts at the start of the process, their long-term effects could undermine those advances. A team of researchers hopes to change that.

A simple method etches patterns at the atomic scale

A precise, chemical-free method for etching nanoscale features on silicon wafers has been developed by a team from Penn State and Southwest Jiaotong University and Tsinghua University in China.

Nanomaterials that reconfigure in response to biochemical signals

A newly published paper details how a research team lead by scientists at the Advanced Science Research Center’s Nanoscience Initiative are developing self-assembling electronic nanomaterials that can respond to biochemical signals for potential therapeutic use.

Custom silicon microparticles dynamically reconfigure on demand

Researchers at Duke University and North Carolina State University have demonstrated the first custom semiconductor microparticles to exhibit dynamically selectable behaviors while suspended in water, which could realize applications such as artificial muscles and more.

ENERGY

Bright future for solar cell technology

New all-inorganic perovskite solar cells tackle three key challenges in solar cell technology: efficiency, stability, and cost. The researchers doped all-inorganic cells with manganese to improve their performance, boosting its light harvesting capacity.

How to assess new solar technologies

Which is a better deal: an established, off-the-shelf solar panel or a cutting-edge one that delivers more power for a given area but costs more? Researchers at MIT and elsewhere have come up with a way to figure out the best option for a given location and type of installation.

Water-based battery stores solar and wind energy

Stanford researchers have developed a water-based battery that could provide a cheap way to store wind or solar energy generated when the sun is shining and wind is blowing so it can be fed back into the electric grid and be redistributed when demand is high.

Chemists develop MRI-like technique to detect what ails batteries

A team of chemists has developed an MRI-based technique that can quickly diagnose what ails certain types of batteries—from determining how much charge remains to detecting internal defects—without opening them up.

Smart microchip can self-start and operate when battery runs out

Engineers from the National University of Singapore has developed an innovative microchip that can continue to operate even when the battery runs out of energy. Its novel power management technique allows it to self-start and function using a small on-chip solar cell.

OTHER STORIES

Speeding up thermoelectric materials discovery

Researchers from Harvard University have developed an algorithm that can discover and optimize thermoelectic materials for energy conversion in a matter of months, relying on solving quantum mechanical equations, without any experimental input.

Water-repellent surfaces can efficiently boil water, keep electronics cool

Purdue University research has shown that the most water-repellent surfaces possible, superhydrophobic materials, not only can boil water efficiently under the right conditions, but also stay cooler than hydrophilic surfaces.

Valleytronics discovery could extend limits of Moore’s Law

Research led by Berkeley Lab scientists has found useful new information-handling potential in samples of tin(II) sulfide (SnS), a candidate “valleytronics” transistor material that might one day enable chipmakers to pack more computing power onto microchips.

Dielectric metamaterial is dynamically tuned by light

Researchers at Duke University have built the first metal-free, dynamically tunable metamaterial for controlling electromagnetic waves. The approach could form the basis for technologies ranging from improved security scanners to new types of visual displays.

Controlling the crystal structure of gallium oxide

A simple method that uses hydrogen chloride can better control the crystal structure of gallium oxides on a sapphire substrate using a technology known as metalorganic chemical vapor deposition and shows promise for novel high-powered electronic applications.

Taking the guesswork out of discovering new high-entropy alloys

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory has developed a method of computational analysis that can help predict the composition and properties of as-yet unmade high performance alloys.

Lining MOF pockets to detect noxious gases

A porous material with tailor-made pockets stitched into its structure is a promising material for sensing noxious gases. A thin film of the material, coated onto an electrode, formed an electronic sensor that could detect traces of sulfur dioxide gas.

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