[Image above] Credit: ACerS
ENERGY
Silicon structures that compute with heat
Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers designed silicon structures that can perform calculations in an electronic device using excess heat instead of electricity. Input data are encoded as a set of temperatures using the waste heat already present in a device. The flow and distribution of heat through a specially designed material forms the basis of the calculation. The output is represented by the power collected at the other end.
New hydrogel coating cuts solar panel heat by 29°F and boosts power output by 13%
Researchers at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University developed a low-cost hydrogel coating that cools solar panel hot spots and increases the power output. Applying the hydrogel-based cooling layer to solar panels reduced hot spot temperatures by up to 29°F (16°C), which translated into a power output increase of up to 13% in laboratory and system-level tests.
How UCLA scientists helped reimagine a forgotten battery design from Thomas Edison
Researchers led by the University of California, Los Angeles, developed a nickel–iron battery, reviving a chemistry favored by Thomas Edison. The prototype recharged in only seconds and achieved more than 12,000 cycles of draining and recharging. The battery consisted of tiny clusters of metal patterned using proteins that were then bonded to a 2D material.
Bottle the sun with a liquid battery
Chemists at the University of California, Santa Barbara, developed a modified organic molecule called pyrimidone that captures sunlight, stores it within chemical bonds, and releases it as heat on demand.
ENVIRONMENT
New electrified method captures carbon dioxide from air
Northwestern University researchers devised an electrified direct air capture system using manganese oxide to capture CO₂ from the air when charged and releases it when the voltage is reversed. The system works efficiently even in oxygen- and humidity-rich conditions.
Eco‑friendly bricks use desert sand to replace carbon-heavy Portland cement
University of Sharjah researchers report that they successfully transformed desert sand into construction bricks. They did so by combining the sand with alkali-activated binders, a promising alternative to traditional Portland cement.
MANUFACTURING
Self-etching fabrication method allows intricate patterning of 2D perovskite materials
Researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China, ShanghaiTech University, and Purdue University developed a self-etching fabrication method that allows intricate patterning of 2D perovskite materials. They created a single crystal wafer that looks like a mosaic, made up of different perovskite regions, each with its own light-emitting behavior.
Innovative co-doping strategy overcomes long-standing limits in proton conduction
Thanks to an innovative donor co-doping strategy, a newly developed ceramic material shows record-high proton conductivity at intermediate temperatures while remaining chemically stable, report researchers from Japan.
New way to ‘paint with light’ to create radiant, color-changing items
Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers developed a new optical system called MorphoChrome. You select particular colors from the team’s software program and use their handheld device to “paint” with multicolor light onto holographic film. You then apply that painted sheet to 3D-printed objects or flexible substrates, using their epoxy resin transfer process.
With chemistry and heat, high-entropy carbides ramp up radiation resistance
University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers developed a method for tuning the radiation resistance of high-entropy carbides. Specifically, they altered the chemical composition and performed heat treatments to ramp the carbides’ short-range ordering up and down.
OTHER STORIES
New material combines the properties of plastic and glass
Researchers at Wageningen University & Research developed a new class of material called a compleximer that has properties sitting somewhere between those of glass and plastic. The amber-colored material can be kneaded and blown like glass once heated but remains impact-resistant like plastic.
New material demonstrates ionic conductivity across three states
University of Oxford researchers reported a new family of materials that maintains its conductivity in liquid, liquid crystal, and solid states. This study challenges the conventional expectation that conductivity comes from conformational freedom.
Perovskite display demonstrates the highest efficiency and industry-level operational lifetime
Seoul National University researchers developed a hierarchical-shell perovskite nanocrystal technology that overcomes the long-standing instability of metal-halide perovskite emitters while achieving record-breaking quantum yield, operational stability, and scalability.
China announces record-setting 35.6 tesla magnet
The Chinese Academy of Sciences announced that a new magnet reached a central magnetic field of 35.6 tesla at a national experiment facility in Beijing, marking a global first for this class of research equipment and opening fresh possibilities for high-field science.