[Image above] Credit: ACerS
NANOMATERIALS
Atomic-scale rails for guiding superconducting vortices(opens in new tab)
Researchers at the Research Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics discovered that atomic-scale steps can guide superconducting vortices in an ultrathin superconductor. Vortices moved more than 1,000 times more easily along the steps than across them, and this guiding effect could be tuned by temperature and magnetic field.
An international team of researchers created what they describe as “bulk ferroelectric heterostructures” within a lead-free bismuth ferrite-barium titanate ceramic. Instead of stacking ultrathin layers, they used heat to create tiny regions with slightly different chemical compositions throughout the ceramic.
ENERGY
A green future powered by blue pigments(opens in new tab)
Researchers led by Tohoku University and Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, working with Hokkaido University and AZUL Energy Inc., developed carbon-supported blue-pigment catalysts for anion-exchange membrane fuel cells. By optimizing the pigments’ molecular structures, the team achieved a power density that exceeds 900 milliwatts per square centimeter.
A novel path to fusion ignition: heat first, then add fuel(opens in new tab)
A new Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory framework maps the least demanding route to a self-sustaining fusion plasma and shows that a trace of tungsten and super high magnetic fields can make the climb far steeper.
ENVIRONMENT
Exploring the performance of seawater–sea sand concrete(opens in new tab)
Researchers investigated the development of seawater–sea sand concrete by partially replacing cement with metakaolin and limestone powder. They found that this combination enhances mechanical properties, particularly tensile strain capacity, and significantly reduces the environmental impact compared with conventional engineered cementitious composites.
Pure sulfur discovered on Mars, making Martian concrete possible(opens in new tab)
A decade ago, materials scientists and engineers determined the optimal way to make concrete out of Martian soil involves a 50/50 small-grained Martian sand/pure sulfur mix. Two years ago, NASA’s Curiosity rover drove over a rock that split open, revealing pure, elemental sulfur. This discovery shows that we have all of the ingredients necessary to construct Martian concrete.
MANUFACTURING
Two-stage pyrolysis process turns waste solar panels into silicon carbide(opens in new tab)
Russian scientists developed a process that combines pyrolysis at 500°C with electric arc treatment above 1,800°C to turn waste solar panels into silicon carbide.
Aerosol method builds small glass components layer by layer(opens in new tab)
Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers demonstrated a way to print tiny glass components into a desired shape using a technique called “aerosol jet printing.”
OTHER STORIES
Advancing quantum computing with zinc oxide quantum dots(opens in new tab)
Researchers at Tohoku University, in collaboration with the National Institute for Materials Science and the University of Tokyo, demonstrated charge sensing, high-frequency reflectometry, and the formation of a few-electron double quantum dot in a zinc oxide device. These demonstrations are all keys to developing and evaluating spin qubits.
New current limit reached for superconductors(opens in new tab)
Ultrashort electrical pulses allowed researchers at Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter to push Type II superconductors closer than ever to the point where their electron pairs actually break apart.
First experimental demonstration of vacuum-fluctuation-enhanced superconductivity(opens in new tab)
Researchers led by the University of Science and Technology of China of the Chinese Academy of Sciences demonstrated that vacuum fluctuations can enhance superconductivity. Specifically, they observed that the critical temperature can increase by up to 5.4% in a six-layer NbSe2 device.
New graphene-powered soft lens inspired by the human eye(opens in new tab)
Researchers at Queen Mary University of London developed a transparent graphene-based material that allows soft lenses to change focus electronically without bulky moving parts. The work eliminates the key design constraints limiting electrostatically actuated lenses, opening the door to compact medical imaging devices, autofocus cameras, and wearable displays.