[Image above] Credit: ACerS
NANOMATERIALS
Nanoscale glass structures with near-perfect reflectance
Researchers from the Singapore University of Technology and Design created nanoscale glass structures with near-perfect reflectance, overturning long-held assumptions about what low-index materials can do in photonics.
Ultrathin lenses that make infrared light visible
Physicists at ETH Zurich developed a lithium niobate metasurface that can transform infrared light into visible light by halving the wavelength of incident light.
Innovative photodetector using diamond nanowire structure
Researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China and Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science used single-crystal diamond nanowires embedded with platinum nanoparticles to create photodetectors that combine high performance with exceptional thermal stability.
Near-perfect defects in 2D material could serve as quantum bits
Researchers at Rice University and collaborators at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Technology, Sydney demonstrated low noise, room-temperature quantum emitters in hexagonal boron nitride made through a scalable growth technique.
Art, science, and the surprising versatility of boron nitride nanotubes
In an elegant fusion of art and science, Rice University researchers achieved a major milestone in nanomaterials engineering by uncovering how boron nitride nanotubes can be coaxed into forming ordered liquid crystalline phases in water.
ENERGY
Record-setting perovskite tandem solar cell achieved with novel NIR-harvesting molecule
National University of Singapore researchers demonstrated a perovskite–organic tandem solar cell with a certified world-record power conversion efficiency of 26.4% over a 1 cm2 active area. This milestone is driven by a newly designed narrow-bandgap organic absorber that significantly enhances near-infrared photon harvesting.
Boric acid helps stabilize all-perovskite tandem solar cells
Researchers from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences developed an innovative strategy to alleviate NiOx corrosion in all-perovskite tandem solar cells. They employed boric acid as a milder anchoring group to construct self-assembled monolayers.
Bulking up for solar power: A new strategy for the design of next-generation solar cells
Kyoto University researchers showed that spatial and time-reversal symmetry can be flexibly controlled by artificial structures, enabling a variety of optical responses and current generation that have not been seen before.
Two electrolyte materials form layer that boosts ion flow inside solid-state batteries
Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas discovered that the mixing of small particles between two solid electrolytes can generate a space charge layer, which helps create pathways that make it easier for ions to move across the interface.
Fuel cell tech slashes 20% costs with 33% thinner membrane
SINTEF researchers developed a new membrane prototype for hydrogen fuel cells that measures a mere 10 μm thick, a 33% reduction from the current standard of 15 μm. This development can cut membrane costs by up to 20%.
BIOMATERIALS
How gold nanoparticles may one day help to restore people’s vision
Brown University researchers showed that gold nanoparticles injected into the retina can successfully stimulate the visual system and restore vision in mice with retinal disorders.
Nanowire retinal prosthesis restores vision in mice and detects near-infrared light in macaques
Researchers developed a retinal prosthesis made of tellurium nanowires that restores partial vision in blind mice and enables near-infrared vision in primates.
Self-healing electronic material uses graphene and polymer blend to mimic skin
Technical University of Denmark researchers developed a new kind of electronic material that behaves almost exactly like human skin by combining the exceptional properties of graphene with the see-through polymer PEDOT:PSS.
Unraveling protein–nanoparticle interactions using biophysics
Tokyo University of Science researchers reveal how silica nanoparticles—key tools in diagnostics and drug delivery—can disrupt protein structures such as bovine serum albumin, possibly mimicking pathways seen in Alzheimer’s.
Free exoskeleton blueprint could accelerate rehab robotics research
A team from the Biomechatronic Lab at Northern Arizona University developed OpenExo, the world’s first comprehensive open-source exoskeleton framework. The system, which is now freely available online, provides all the instructions, code, and design files needed to build a working exoskeleton.
ENVIRONMENT
Light as a feather nanomaterial extracts drinking water from air
University of New South Wales researchers developed a calcium-intercalated graphene oxide aerogel that can efficiently harvest clean drinking water from water vapour in the air. The aerogel holds more than three times its weight in water.
Scientists develop lower-carbon cement alternative from glass and construction waste
Researchers in Japan developed an alternative soil solidifier using Earth Silica, which is an alkaline stimulant sourced from recycled glass, and Siding Cut Powder, a waste product from construction.
Old smartphones can have a new life as tiny data centers
Researchers at the University of Tartu Institute of Computer Science introduced a novel approach to reducing electronic waste and advancing sustainable data processing: turning old smartphones into tiny data centers. Building such a data center is remarkably inexpensive—around 8 euros per device.
MANUFACTURING
Low-cost, scalable technology seamlessly integrates GaN transistors onto standard silicon chip
Researchers led by Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a new fabrication process that integrates high-performance gallium nitride transistors onto standard silicon CMOS chips in a way that is low-cost, scalable, and compatible with existing semiconductor foundries.
Impact-resistant material mimics mantis shrimp exoskeleton for improved protection
National Institute of Standards and Technology researchers made synthetic versions of mantis shrimp exoskeletons and tested their impact performance by blasting microprojectiles at them. They discovered that adjusting specific parameters of the structures changed how they absorbed and dissipated the impact energy.
Low-temperature process slashes cost of lithium sulfide for solid-state batteries
Canadian firms Standard Lithium and Telescope Innovations developed a low-temperature, proprietary method called DualPure to turn lithium chemicals into high-grade lithium sulfide. THe process operates at temperatures below 212°F (100°C).
New 3D printing method enables complex designs and creates less waste
Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers developed a resin that turns into two different kinds of solids, depending on the type of light that shines on it: Ultraviolet light cures the resin into an highly resilient solid, while visible light turns the same resin into a solid that is easily dissolvable and can be blended directly back into fresh resin.
OTHER STORIES
Micronozzle could give laser-driven particle accelerators a boost
Researchers at the University of Osaka and Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad developed a micronozzle design that could allow energies into the gigaelectronvolt regime for laser-driven particles without changing anything else.
A new twist in data storage? Magnetic whirlpools in energy materials
Researchers found that reducing the lithium content in olivine phosphates could raise the magnetic transition temperature while maintaining the conditions necessary to allow a ferrotoroidal order to form.
Superconducting material stabilized at everyday pressure
Using a technique called the pressure-quench protocol, researchers at the University of Houston’s Texas Center for Superconductivity successfully stabilized bismuth antimony telluride’s high-pressure-induced superconducting states at ambient pressure.
Researchers use Argonne X-rays to better understand the phases of a quantum material
Researchers at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory used the ultrabright X-ray beams of the Advanced Photon Source to analyze strontium titanate. They found that when the material is lowered to cryogenic temperatures (-200°F), it transitions into a quantum state.
Crystals defy their symmetry to discern chiral light
Researchers found that tiny, symmetrical crystals of Li2Co3(SeO3)4 absorb light as if they were chiral. The material achieves this feat by combining two optical effects: linear dichroism and linear birefringence.
Vera Rubin telescope releases first images
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory recently released its first images of space. The giant telescope, which sits atop the Cerro Pachón peak in the Chilean Andes mountains, provides an unprecedented view of the entire southern hemisphere’s sky every three days.