[Images above] Credit: NIST
NANOMATERIALS
Double-walled nanotubes have electro-optical advantages
Rice University engineers calculated the impact of curvature of semiconducting double-wall carbon nanotubes on their flexoelectric voltage. The models showed the flexoelectric voltage of the outer wall shifts the band gap of the inner wall, creating a staggered band alignment in the nested system, which is a huge advantage for solar cells.
Ultrathin but fully packaged high-resolution camera
Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology achieved high-contrast and super-resolution imaging through an arrayed design of micro-optical elements integrated with a complementary metal oxide semiconductor image sensor.
AI finds 2D materials in the blink of an eye
University of Tokyo researchers demonstrated a novel artificial intelligence system that can find and label 2D materials in microscope images in less than 200 milliseconds. They used many labeled examples with various lighting to train the computer.
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory used a focused beam of electrons to stitch platinum-silicon molecules into graphene, marking the first deliberate insertion of artificial molecules into a graphene host matrix.
Nonreciprocal transport in the gate-induced strontium titanate polar superconductor
Researchers in Japan and the U.S. reported nonreciprocal electrical transport at the surface of a 2D superconductor made of strontium titanate. In particular, the nonreciprocal part of the superconducting fluctuation region showed enhancement at six orders of magnitude larger compared to its normal state.
ENERGY
Highly efficient and stable double layer solar cell developed
Researchers led by Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology developed a perovskite solar cell that withstands environmental hazards and is 26.7% efficient in power conversion. To counteract the perovskite’s wide bandgap, they engineered combinations of molecules composing a 2D layer in the perovskite, stabilizing the solar cells.
Stable perovskite LEDs one step closer
Researchers at Linköping University, working with colleagues in Great Britain, China, and the Czech Republic, developed a perovskite light-emitting diode with both high efficiency (17.3%) and long operational stability (half-lifetime of 100 hours).
A new battery chemistry promises safer high-voltage lithium-ion batteries
University of Tokyo researchers found fluorinated cyclic phosphate (TFEP) solvent electrolyte improves upon existing ethylene carbonate (EC), which is widely used in batteries today. EC is notoriously flammable and is unstable above 4.3 volts; TFEP is nonflammable and can tolerate greater voltages of up to 4.9 volts.
Scientists tap unused energy source to power smart sensor networks
Researchers led by The Pennsylvania State University developed a device that provides 400% higher power output compared to other state-of-the-art technology when converting magnetic field energy to electricity.
Innovative thinner electrolyte can improve functioning of solid oxide fuel cells
Tokyo University of Science researchers explored how the efficiency of solid oxide fuel cells can be increased by lowering operating temperature. They did so by doping the oxide with samarium and then characterized the crystalline quality and electronic structure.
MANUFACTURING
Australian researchers make lithium extraction breakthrough
Researchers led by Monash University developed a new filtration method based on metal-organic frameworks that could substantially improve lithium recovery rates from 30% to 90%. Energy Exploration Technologies, Inc. is already patenting the MOF technology.
Making stronger concrete with ‘sewage-enhanced’ steel slag
Engineering researchers at RMIT University showed how steel slag, a by-product of steel making, can be used to both treat wastewater and make stronger concrete. The concrete made with post-treatment steel slag was about 17% stronger than concrete made with conventional aggregates, and 8% stronger than raw steel slag.
OTHER STORIES
Hollow-core optical fiber rapidly closing in on solid-core transmission specifications
The newest hollow-core fibers attenuate the light traveling through it by 50% less than the previous record, reported only six months ago. The maximum transmission length at which data can be relayed in such revolutionary fibers has also doubled.
DeepMind’s AI models transition of glass from a liquid to a solid
DeepMind researchers describe an AI system that can predict the movement of glass molecules as they transition between liquid and solid states. The techniques and trained models, which have been made available in open source, could be used to predict other qualities of interest in glass.
Chemistry turns backyard clay into a 3D printable building material
Researchers at Texas A&M University want to replace concrete by developing a chemistry tool kit that can convert local soils into a 3D printable material. As a case study, the team developed a material based on a common local clay that it optimized for extrusion from a 3D printer.
Scientists see energy gap modulations in a cuprate superconductor
Brookhaven National Laboratory researchers have definitive evidence for the existence of a state of matter known as a pair density wave, which was first predicted by theorists some 50 years ago. Their results show the phase coexists with superconductivity in a well-known bismuth-based copper-oxide superconductor.
A new way to fine-tune exotic materials: Thin, stretch, and clamp
Scientists at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University created a super-thin, flexible membrane from lanthanum calcium manganese oxide that could be stretched repeatedly, which flipped it back and forth between being an insulator and a conductor. Stretching also changed its magnetic properties.
New laser technique will allow more powerful—and smaller—particle accelerators
Researchers at the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics outlined a method to shape intense laser light in a way that accelerates electrons to record energies in very short distances.
Author
Lisa McDonald
CTT Categories
- Weekly Column: “Other materials”
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