[Image above] Credit: ACerS
NANOMATERIALS
Engineering perovskite materials at the atomic level
North Carolina State University researchers found that nanoplatelets, or individual sheets of a perovskite material, essentially serve as templates for the layered materials that form under them. The size and orientation of the nanoplatelets can be controlled through anti-solvent processing, which helps engineer quantum well energy cascades.
New method to determine how 2D materials expand
Rather than directly measuring how 2D materials expand, researchers used laser light to track the vibrations of atoms within 2D materials placed on three different substrates. This approach allowed them to accurately extract the materials’ thermal expansion coefficients.
ENERGY
Researchers develop ultrathin portable solar panels
At the National Thin-Film Cluster Facility for Advanced Functional Materials in the University of Oxford, scientists are creating ultrathin solar panels from perovskites. Oxford PV, which is a private company spun out of the university research team, has already begun marketing its first commercial products using the technology.
Perovskite solar cell achieves higher stability with new tin oxide layer
Using atomic layer deposition, researchers from the City University of Hong Kong created an oxygen-deficient tin oxide layer to replace the more common fullerene electron transport layer in perovskite solar cells. The result is a solar cell with 25% efficiency that can retain about 95% of its efficiency after 2,000 hours.
Harnessing vibrations: Engineered material generates electricity when compressed
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute developed a polymer film infused with a special lead-free chalcogenide perovskite compound that produces electricity when squeezed or stressed. The energy harvesting film, which is only 0.3 millimeters thick, could be integrated into a wide variety of devices.
BIOMATERIALS
Silk-on-graphene films line up for next-generation bioelectronics
Researchers grew a uniform 2D layer of silk protein fragments on graphene. This feat will help in the development of 2D bioelectronic devices that exploit natural silk-based layers chemically modified to provide different electronic functions.
ENVIRONMENT
ZeroCAL: Scalable process to decarbonize cement production
Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles developed a new method called “ZeroCAL,” for zero carbon lime, that uses calcium hydroxide rather than traditional limestone to produce the lime used in cement.
Old wind turbines could be ‘tiny houses’ of the future
Swedish multinational power company Vattenfall turned a decommissioned wind turbine into a “tiny house.” The company claims this concept could point to a new lease on life for thousands of turbines.
MANUFACTURING
Major step toward fully 3D-printed active electronics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers 3D-printed semiconductor-free resettable fuses using an inexpensive, biodegradable material. Although still far from achieving the performance of semiconductor transistors, the 3D-printed devices could be used for basic control operations such as regulating the speed of an electric motor.
Diamond fused to sapphire might be the next big quantum thing
Researchers bonded single-crystal diamond membranes to a wide variety of materials including silicon, fused silica, sapphire, thermal oxide, and lithium niobate. They demonstrated several methods for integrating high quality factor nanophotonic cavities with the diamond heterostructures, highlighting the platform’s versatility in quantum photonic applications.
New 3D printing technique creates unique objects quickly and with less waste
Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Delft University of Technology developed a one-step, higher-precision 3D printing technique that leverages heat-responsive materials to print objects that have multiple colors, shades, and textures.
OTHER STORIES
Spin state in perovskites detected using light
Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory and Northern Illinois University discovered they could use light to detect the spin state in the perovskite methylammonium lead iodide. Using this analysis method, they modified the perovskite with neodymium to improve its potential for quantum sensing.
Researchers create bendable, self-heating, and healing concrete
Michigan State University civil engineers developed bendable concrete that is self-healing and self-heating. They say this technology could help underserved or rural communities with limited access to snow and ice removal options.
