[Images above] Credit: NIST


NANOMATERIALS

On-chip photodetection: Two-dimensional material heterojunctions hetero-integration

Researchers in China reported that integrating van der Waals p–n heterojunctions of 2D materials on optical waveguides can provide a promising strategy to realize chip-integrated photodetectors with low dark current, high responsivity, and fast speed.


ENERGY

Perovskite solar modules with a marble look

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology researchers developed colored solar cells made of inexpensive perovskites that can be integrated into building facades or roofs. They used inkjet printing to color the modules. Solar cells colored cyan, magenta, and yellow reached up to 60% of the original efficiency when converting solar energy into power.


MANUFACTURING

Combining 3D printing and self-assembly to fabricate the world’s lightest material

Researchers at the Shenzhen Geim Graphene Center used graphene as a model building block, just like a Lego piece. By using a combination of 3D-printed template and self-assembly technique, the graphene “Lego pieces” can be assembled into a programmed structure from nano- to macroscale.


OTHER STORIES

Manganese oxide mineral is a heat-storage champion

Tohoku University researchers found that a form of manganese oxide that incorporates crystals of water between its layers could make an ideal heat-storage material.

Researchers reveal the origin story for carbon-12, a building block for life

With the help of the world’s most powerful supercomputer and new artificial intelligence techniques, an international team of researchers theorized how the extreme conditions in stars produce carbon-12, which they describe as “a critical gateway to the birth of life.”

Scientists discovers new properties of magnetism that could change our computers

University of Copenhagen researchers uncovered a fundamental property of magnetism, which may become relevant for the development of a new generation of more powerful and less hot computers.

FUNGLASS days—every Tuesday from May 17 to June 14, 2022

Every Tuesday from May 17 to June 14, 2022, five leading universities and affiliated companies will bring you the latest advances in glass that are disrupting our society. Learn more and register for the virtual event at this link.

Author

Lisa McDonald

CTT Categories

  • Weekly Column: “Other materials”