Characterization news, June 2018

Oxygen to blame for Li-ion battery breakdown

Singlet oxygen is confirmed as the reactive species that irreversibly damages transition metal cathode materials in lithium ion batteries.

Scientists probe how oxide scale forms on high-temperature alloys

Scientists have discovered that reactive elements and water combine to create a fast-growing, nanocrystalline oxide scale on high-temperature alloys.

New study finds sodium and potassium show promise as battery materials

Studies with an electron microscope have revealed that batteries based on sodium and potassium hold promise as an alternative to lithium-ion batteries.

New iron-based cathode can triple energy density of lithium-ion batteries

A new cathode material comprising iron trifluoride nanorods with added cobalt and oxygen could triple the energy density of lithium-ion batteries.

New technique gets conjugated polymers to smile for the camera

A new scanning tunneling microscopy technique can, for the first time, reveal the detailed molecular structure of conjugated polymers.

New MOF can extract nitrogen dioxide from the air

A new metal-organic framework is the first to selectively and reversibly capture nitrogen dioxide from air at ambient pressures and temperatures.

Applied Materials Today achieves CiteScore of 9.9

Elsevier releases 2017 CiteScore values.

Chiral magnetism raises possibility of spintronics in amorphous materials

Scientists have confirmed a magnetic property known as ‘chirality’ in nanometer-thick samples of amorphous, multilayered metal-based materials.

New way to probe quantum properties of perovskite materials

Using novel analytical techniques, scientists have been able to study the behavior of excitons trapped in quantum wells made of perovskite compounds.

Elsevier 3D Printing Grand Challenge winners announced

Isolated nanowires improve heat-to-electricity conversion

Atomically thin nanowires improve efficiency of conversion of heat to electricity.

Neural networks can be trained to design multi-layered nanoparticles

Neural networks can predict the light-scattering properties of layered nanoparticles and design nanoparticles for a desired light-scattering behavior.

Nanowires can make highly effective thermoelectric materials

Scientists have found that the most effective thermoelectric materials can be realized by shaping substances such as tin telluride into 1D nanowires.

Facial-recognition technology identifies material features

Scientists have trained a neural network to recognize features in a material's x-ray absorption spectrum that are sensitive to the arrangement of atoms.

Scientists develop blueprint for fabricating 2D heterostructures

Scientists have developed a blueprint for fabricating new heterostructures from different types of two-dimensional materials.

Graphene with magnetic layers makes promising material for spintronics

A material comprising layers of graphene and magnetic metals like nickel can induce exotic behavior in electrons at the interface between the layers.

‘Flash’ ceramics can take the strain

Applying an electric field to the formation of the ceramic yttria-stabilized zirconia makes it almost as resistant to fracturing as metal.

Listening to the health of granular materials

Scientists have shown they can predict the failure of granular materials such as gravel by monitoring naturally arising acoustic vibrations.

Water layers play unexpected role in novel energy storage material

Atomic force microscopy has revealed the role of atomically thin layers of water in an energy storage material called crystalline tungsten oxide dihydrate.