[Image above] Credit: ACerS
ENERGY
Weaving secondary battery electrodes for both durability and performance
Researchers at Korea Institute of Energy Research, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Ulsan developed a new dry process manufacturing technology for secondary battery electrodes. It forms a dual-fibrous structure inside the electrode to address both the low mixing strength and performance degradation issues of conventional dry processes.
Carbon nanotubes could power a new generation of flexible solar panels
University of Surrey researchers suggested replacing the indium tin oxide—one of the most fragile and expensive materials in photovoltaics—with single-walled carbon nanotubes to create flexible, affordable, and durable panels.
ENVIRONMENT
When companies ‘go green,’ air quality impacts can vary dramatically
Cutting air travel and purchasing renewable energy can lead to different effects on overall air quality, even while achieving the same carbon dioxide reduction, Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers showed.
New tool could help track deep-sea mining activity
A new, open-access tracker aims to give the public a digital window into how exploratory deep-sea mining activities are playing out in real time. The tool, which was created by the University of California, Santa Barbara, and nonprofit Global Fishing Watch, is currently tracking more than 40 vessels known to be linked with deep-sea mineral-related activities.
MANUFACTURING
New nanomagnet production process improves efficiency and cuts costs
Using a highly focused ion beam, researchers at Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers imprinted magnetic nanostrips consisting of tiny, vertically aligned nanomagnets onto a thin metallic film of iron-vanadium alloy. This geometry makes the material highly sensitive to external magnetic fields and current pulses.
Doping the undopable: Researchers create magnetically doped quantum dots
University of Oklahoma materials scientists did what many in the field thought impossible: magnetize quantum dots by “doping” them with manganese. They achieved this feat by removing positively charged cations in the form of cesium from the dots and creating a bromide-rich solution environment.
OTHER STORIES
Pompeii offers insights into ancient Roman concrete
In 2023, Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers reported that the ancient Romans employed “hot mixing” with quicklime, among other strategies, to make their famous concrete. However, this conclusion did not match the recipe as described in historical texts. Now, they have confirmed that hot-mixing was indeed used by the Romans based on samples from a newly discovered ancient construction site in Pompeii.
New universal law predicts how most objects will shatter
A researcher from Aix-Marseille University developed a new equation that calculates how many fragments of each size will be produced when an object breaks. It shows that the statistical regularities of fragmentation can emerge from a combination of maximum randomness and kinematic constraints, without reference to any specific microscopic mechanism.