[Image above] Credit: ACerS
NANOMATERIALS
Dopant boosts carbon nanotubes’ conductivity tenfold
Researchers in Spain showed that doping carbon nanotubes with tetrachloroaluminate ions can increase their electrical conductivity around tenfold without harming the nanotube structures.
AI-powered lab discovers brighter lead-free nanomaterials in 12 hours
Researchers at North Carolina State University used a new autonomous laboratory to navigate through billions of potential material synthesis recipes to identify brighter, lead-free light-emitting nanomaterials in just 12 hours.
Review of negative thermal expansion in 2D materials
A comprehensive new review synthesizes recent breakthroughs in understanding and controlling negative thermal expansion in 2D materials.
ENERGY
Indium oxide promises to increase CIS solar cell efficiency to unprecedented levels
Researchers at Nirma University and Samastipur College designed a cadmium-free thin-film solar cell featuring a copper indium selenide absorber and an indium oxide electron transport layer. The optimized device achieved a peak power conversion efficiency of 29.79% in SCAPS-1D simulations.
Perovskite solar cells skip yellow phase, degrade slower thanks to key additives
By mixing a 2D perovskite and formamidinium chloride in the precursor solution, Rice University researchers developed perovskite crystalline films that retain 98% of their initial efficiency even after 1,200 hours of exposure under open circuit voltage conditions to accelerated aging at 90°C (194°F).
Universal model provides design standards for efficient and durable perovskite solar cells
Researchers from Chiba University, Kyoto University, and The University of Electro-Communications introduced a universal model that explains how key molecular layers improve the performance of perovskite solar cells. The proposed model treats the electrode/HCM/perovskite interface as two distinct regions.
ENVIRONMENT
WVU advances geopolymer concrete building systems through structural testing
The U.S. Office of Policy Development and Research is funding a two-year study with West Virginia University and Omnis Building Technologies to evaluate the structural performance of geopolymer concrete components under a range of loading conditions so as to confirm its use as a robust and cost-effective building material for residential construction.
MANUFACTURING
Scientists unlock new way to engineer next-generation glass
An international research team, including scientists from the University of Birmingham and TU Dortmund University, revealed that metal–organic framework glasses can be tuned and engineered in the same way as traditional glasses.
Researchers discover new pathway to building energy-efficient computing chips
Researchers led by the University of California, Berkeley, discovered they can transform titanium dioxide into a ferroelectric material by reducing its thickness to less than 3 nanometers.
Scientists study shellfish to make stronger, faster-curing building material
Purdue University researchers built upon the chemistry that oysters use in mileslong reefs to create cement that is stronger and cures faster.
OTHER STORIES
Researchers led by the University of Trento revealed that fundamental atomic vibrations remain unchanged in ultrastable glasses. This finding suggests that vibrational modes are less sensitive to disorder than previously thought.
A novel qubit platform invented at Argonne National Laboratory exhibits noise levels thousands of times lower than those of most traditional qubits. The platform was built by trapping single electrons on the surface of frozen neon gas.
Room-temperature multiferroic could pave way to low-energy computing
Rice University researchers engineered a modified version of bismuth ferrite that shows a 10-fold increase in magnetization and 100-fold increase in magnetoelectric coupling compared to standard varieties.
Revealing hidden oxygen flow deep inside catalysts
Using environmental transmission electron microscopy, researchers at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Southern University of Science and Technology directly tracked oxygen movement in catalysts. The discovery points to new ways of using the interior of catalysts.