Materials Science
Microwave cooks up solar cell materials
May 6, 2013 12:56 pm | News | Comments
University of Utah metallurgists have used an old microwave oven to produce a nanocrystal semiconductor rapidly using cheap, abundant, and less toxic metals than other semiconductors. X-ray crystallography, electron microscopy, and atomic spectroscopy all helped confirm that the CZTS (copper, zinc, tin, and sulfur) semiconductor was suitable for use in a solar cell.
Researchers develop radioactive nanoparticles that target cancer cells
May 22, 2013 9:09 am | News | Comments
Scientists in Missouri have successfully created nanoparticles made of a radioactive...
Inkjet-printed graphene may open doors to foldable electronics
May 20, 2013 3:15 pm | News | Comments
Northwestern University researchers have recently developed a graphene-based ink that...
Slow earthquakes: It's all in the rock mechanics
May 20, 2013 2:59 pm | News | Comments
Earthquakes that last minutes rather than seconds are a relatively recent discovery,...
Iron-platinum alloys show promise for next-generation hard drives
May 21, 2013 9:56 am | News | CommentsMeeting the demand for more data storage in smaller volumes means using materials made up of ever-smaller magnets, or nanomagnets. One promising material for a potential new generation of recording media is an alloy of iron and platinum with an ordered crystal structure.
Soft matter offers way to study arrangement of ordered materials
May 21, 2013 7:46 am | News | CommentsA fried breakfast food popular in Spain provided the inspiration for the development of doughnut-shaped droplets that may provide scientists with a new approach for studying fundamental issues in physics, mathematics, and materials. The doughnut-shaped droplets, a shape known as toroidal, are formed from two dissimilar liquids using a simple rotating stage and an injection needle.
Research shows defects in twin boundaries that strengthen materials
May 20, 2013 9:11 am | News | CommentsThrough experiments and simulations, a team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists have found that twin boundaries with good electrical conductivity and a strengthening mechanism in materials may not be so perfect after all.
Insights into how materials transfer heat could lead to improved electronics
May 16, 2013 10:50 am | News | CommentsUniversity of Toronto engineering researchers, working with colleagues from Carnegie Mellon University, have published new insights into how materials transfer heat, which could lead eventually to smaller, more powerful electronic devices.
Scientists discover new uses for tiny carbon nanotubes
May 15, 2013 7:25 am | News | CommentsThe atom-sized world of carbon nanotubes holds great promise for a future demanding smaller and faster electronic components. The challenge has been figuring out how to incorporate all of these nanotubes' great properties into useful electronic devices. A new discovery by four scientists at the University of California, Riverside has brought us closer to the goal.
Building protocells from inorganic nanoparticles
May 10, 2013 1:05 pm | News | CommentsResearchers at the University of Bristol in the U.K. have led a new enquiry into how extremely small particles of silica (sand) can be used to design and construct artificial protocells in the laboratory. By attaching a thin polymer layer to the external surface of an artificial inorganic protocell built from silica nanoparticles, the scientists have potentially the problem of controlling membrane permeability.
Engineers manipulate a buckyball by inserting a single water molecule
May 6, 2013 10:04 am | News | CommentsResearchers have developed a technique to isolate a single water molecule inside a buckyball, or C60, and to drive motion of the so-called “big” nonpolar ball through the encapsulated “small” polar H2O molecule, a controlling transport mechanism in a nanochannel under an external electric field. They expect this method will lead to an array of new applications.
Scientists make world’s smallest stop-motion film
May 2, 2013 9:22 am | News | CommentsEven without certification by Guinness World Records, it would be easy to believe a short, 250-frame film recently created by an IBM Research team is the world’s smallest. Named “A Boy and His Atom,” the movie was created by precisely placing thousands of atoms using a scanning tunneling microscope. This type of atomic-level control is the result of years of efforts by IBM to determine the lower limits for storing data.
Seahorse's armor gives engineers insight into robotics designs
May 1, 2013 12:55 pm | News | CommentsThe tail of a seahorse can be compressed to about half its size before permanent damage occurs, engineers at the University of California, San Diego have found. The tail’s exceptional flexibility is due to its structure, made up of bony, armored plates, which slide past each other. Researchers are hoping to use a similar structure to create a flexible robotic arm equipped with muscles made out of polymer.
Zinc: The perfect material for bioabsorbable stents?
May 1, 2013 9:49 am | by Marcia Goodrich, Michigan Technological University | News | CommentsIn 2012, more than 3 million people had stents inserted in their coronary arteries. But the longer a stent is in the body, the greater the risk of late-stage side effects. Studies have investigated iron- and magnesium-based bioabsorbable stents, but iron rusts and magnesium dissolves too fast. Recent research shows that a certain type of zinc alloy might be the answer.
Material loss protects teeth against fatigue failure
May 1, 2013 9:07 am | News | CommentsComputer simulations conducted in Germany have shown that the reduction of natural dental wear might be the main cause for widely spread non-carius cervical lesions—the loss of enamel and dentine at the base of the crown—in our teeth. The discovery was made by examining the biomechanical behavior of teeth using finite element analysis methods typically applied to engineering problems.
Silicone liquid crystal stiffens with repeated compression
April 29, 2013 4:19 pm | News | CommentsSqueeze a piece of silicone and it quickly returns to its original shape, as squishy as ever. But scientists at Rice University have discovered that the liquid crystal phase of silicone becomes 90% stiffer when silicone is gently and repeatedly compressed. Their research could lead to new strategies for self-healing materials or biocompatible materials that mimic human tissues.
Research find quantum phenomena can have effect on molecular level
April 29, 2013 10:42 am | News | CommentsUsing uniquely sensitive experimental techniques, scientists have found that laws of quantum physics—believed primarily to influence at only sub-atomic levels—can actually impact on a molecular level. The study shows that movement of the ring-like molecule pyrrole over a metal surface runs counter to the classical physics that govern our everyday world.
Researchers synthesize world’s first supramolecular thiophene nanosheets
April 25, 2013 9:36 am | News | CommentsA team of researchers from Japan and Germany have recently developed the world’s first 2D organic sheets from the heterocyclic compound thiophene, resulting in a 3.5-nm thick surfaces that are much more easily controlled in terms of size than similar graphene sheets. The sheets, which have been assembled for the first time in a simple, low-cost method, can also be chemically functionalized.
Antibacterial hydrogel offers protection from stubborn infections
April 24, 2013 5:00 pm | News | CommentsCoating medical supplies with an antimicrobial material is one approach that bioengineers are using to combat the increasing spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria. A research team in Singapore has now developed a highly effective antimicrobial coating based on cationic polymers. The coating can be applied to medical equipment, such as catheters.
Surface structure controls liquid spreading
April 24, 2013 8:15 am | News | CommentsResearchers at Aalto University have developed a purely geometric surface structure that is able to stop and control the spreading of liquids on different types of surfaces. The structure has an undercut edge that works for all types of liquids, irrespective of their surface tension.
A blueprint for reversible wrinkling in composite materials
April 24, 2013 7:40 am | by Jennifer Chu, MIT News Office | News | CommentsMany natural composite materials have evolved to wrinkle in response to certain stimuli; and scientists say that understanding the mechanisms by which materials internally wrinkle could help in creating new, responsive materials. Now researchers have identified the mechanics involved in the wrinkling of thin interfacial layers within soft composite materials, and developed a model based on material properties and geometry.
Research findings open door to zinc-oxide-based UV lasers
April 23, 2013 8:31 am | News | CommentsResearchers from North Carolina State University have solved a long-standing materials science problem, making it possible to create new semiconductor devices using zinc oxide (ZnO)—including efficient ultraviolet (UV) lasers and light-emitting diode (LED) devices for use in sensors and drinking water treatment, as well as new ferromagnetic devices.
Germanium made compatible with lasers
April 22, 2013 9:27 am | News | CommentsBy introducing high tensile strain, a research group in Switzerland has rendered germanium, which is normally unsuitable for lasers, capable of emitting 25 times more photons than in its relaxed state. This change alters the optical properties of the material and is enough to allow the construction of lasers from this material. This is valuable because germanium is highly compatible with silicon.
Engineers craft material for high-performance supercapacitor
April 15, 2013 8:01 am | News | CommentsTaking a significant step toward improving the power delivery of systems ranging from urban electrical grids to regenerative braking in hybrid vehicles, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles have synthesized a material that shows high capability for both the rapid storage and release of energy.
Material screening method allows more precise control over stem cells
April 11, 2013 5:43 pm | News | CommentsWhen it comes to delivering genes to living human tissue, the odds of success come down the molecule. The entire therapy— including the tools used to bring new genetic material into a cell—must have predictable effects. Now, a new screening process will simplify non-viral transfection, providing a method researchers and clinicians use to find an optimal set of biomaterials to deliver genes to cells.
GUMBOS technology promises new drugs, electronic devices
April 10, 2013 1:06 pm | News | CommentsMention a breakthrough involving "gumbo" technology in this city, and people think of a new twist on The Local Dish, the stew that's the quintessence of southern Louisiana cooking. But scientific presentations at a meeting of the world's largest scientific society this week are focusing on what may be an advance in developing GUMBOS-based materials with far-reaching medical, electronic and other uses.
Redesigned material could lead to lighter, faster electronics
April 10, 2013 12:57 pm | News | CommentsThe same material that formed the first primitive transistors more than 60 years ago can be modified in a new way to advance future electronics, according to a new study. Chemists at The Ohio State University have developed the technology for making a one-atom-thick sheet of germanium, and found that it conducts electrons more than ten times faster than silicon and five times faster than conventional germanium.
“Artificial leaf” gains ability to self-heal damage, produce energy from dirty water
April 9, 2013 5:47 am | News | CommentsAnother innovative feature has been added to the world’s first practical “artificial leaf,” making the device even more suitable for providing people in developing countries and remote areas with electricity, scientists reported at the American Chemical Society’s National Meeting & Exposition this week. It gives the leaf the ability to self-heal damage that occurs during production of energy.
Nanowires with the power to transform solar energy
April 9, 2013 5:00 am | News | CommentsImagine a solar panel more efficient than today’s best solar panels, but using 10,000 times less material. This is what researchers in France expect given recent findings on these tiny filaments called nanowires. Solar technology integrating nanowires could capture large quantities of light and produce energy with incredible efficiency at a much lower cost.
