[Image above] Credit: ACerS
NANOMATERIALS
Researchers capture nanoparticle movements to forge new materials
A multi-institutional, multi-discipline team of researchers developed a liquid-phase electron microscopy technique that allows them to observe phonon dynamics in nanoparticle self-assemblies.
Scientists uncover magnetic-field control of ultrafast spin dynamics in 2D ferromagnets
Researchers from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with Radboud University, demonstrated strong magnetic fields can effectively regulate laser-induced ultrafast demagnetization in a 2D van der Waals ferromagnet.
ENERGY
Iron oxide ‘oxygen sponge’ for efficient thermochemical hydrogen production
Researchers at Pohang University of Science & Technology and Seoul National University developed a new iron oxide-based catalyst that they say more than doubles the conversion efficiency of thermochemical green hydrogen production.
BIOMATERIALS
Methanol poisoning could be easily detected with graphene-based breath sensor
University of Adelaide researchers developed a simple, low-cost prototype sensor that quickly and easily detects small amounts of methanol in breath. They made an electrically conductive ink out of a zirconium-based metal-organic framework and graphene. They then 3D-printed the ink onto a ceramic, creating the sensor.
Understanding long-term dissolution of bioactive glasses
Åbo Akademi University researchers explored how different types of bioactive glasses dissolve over longer periods of time. They found that S53P4, a bioactive glass developed in Turku, Finland, in the late 1980s and only the second clinically accepted bioactive glass composition, could be formed into implants that are more durable than previously considered possible.
ENVIRONMENT
A 10-fold increase in rocket launches would start harming the ozone layer
The international space industry is on a growth trajectory, but research from the University of Canterbury shows a rapid increase in rocket launches would damage the ozone layer. Specifically, once rates reach 2,000 launches a year—about a 10-fold increase on 2024—the current healing of the ozone layer will slow.
New membranes could help eliminate brine waste
University of Michigan researchers developed membranes that could help desalination plants minimize or eliminate brine waste produced as a byproduct of turning seawater into drinking water. The new membranes are ten times more conductive than relatively leak-proof membranes on the market today.
MANUFACTURING
New process easily attaches nanoparticles like toy blocks for industrial use
Researchers at Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute developed a hybrid supraparticle synthesis technology that can attach inorganic nanoparticles to the surface of polymer microparticles through simple mechanical collisions.
OTHER STORIES
Physicists set new world record for qubit operation accuracy
University of Oxford physicists set a new global benchmark for the accuracy of controlling a single quantum bit, achieving the lowest-ever error rate for a quantum logic operation—just 0.000015%, or one error in 6.7 million operations. This result is nearly an order of magnitude improvement over the previous benchmark.
This quantum sensor tracks 3D movement without GPS
By chilling rubidium atoms to near absolute zero and splitting them into quantum superpositions, University of Colorado Boulder physicists created a compact atom interferometer guided by artificial intelligence that can measure 3D acceleration.
New laser smaller than a penny can measure objects at ultrafast rates
Researchers from the University of Rochester and the University of California, Santa Barbara, engineered a laser device smaller than a penny that they say could power everything from the LiDAR systems used in self-driving vehicles to gravitational wave detection.
Researchers recreate ancient Egyptian blues
Researchers led by Washington State University recreated the world’s oldest synthetic pigment, called Egyptian blue, which was used in ancient Egypt about 5,000 years ago. They created 12 different recipes of the pigment from mixtures of silicon dioxide, copper, calcium, and sodium carbonate.