Materials chemistry news

Achieving high thermal conductivity in plant fiber materials

New sustainable thermal management material from cellulose

Materials Today Rising Star Awards

Oil-in-water droplets culture cancer cells in 3D

oil-in-water droplet microtechnology produces uniform, small-volume tumor organoids with two compartments for improved cell culture

Understanding how polyolefins biodegrade

Researchers investigate commonplace polymers with an eye to the microplastics crisis

Designing novel metamaterials made easy with AI

Using AI to design new complex metamaterials with useful properties

Novel reaction process could fuel soft robotics

Researchers have developed a novel reaction process that uses fuel to control non-living materials such as hydrogels by charging them.

Improved rare-earth-free magnets can’t be touched

Using microstratucture engineering, researchers have improved the properties of manganese bismuth, a rare-earth-free magnetic material.

New material becomes a diode without the doping

Researchers have developed a material that can switch from p-conducting to n-conducting with a small change in temperature.

ALF can capture carbon on the cheap

Researchers have shown that the metal-organic framework aluminum formate offers a cheap and effective material for capturing carbon dioxide.

New material cuts dead weight from nonrechargeable batteries

Researchers have developed a combined electrolyte and cathode that can enhance the energy density of nonrechargeable batteries.

Rare-earth complex put in a spin by STM

For the first time, researchers formed a rare-earth complex on a gold surface and then rotated it with a scanning tunneling microscope.

Water splitting on the cheap

Researchers have shown that ruthenium dioxide nanoparticles doped with nickel make a cheap and effective anode catalyst for splitting water.

New composite coating turns down the feedback

A novel composite coating made of the 2D material MXene and vanadium in a polymer solution can absorb and disburse electromagnetic radiation.

Smart underwater sensor alerts when wearer is drowning

Water-repellent smart sensor alerts when wearer is drowning

Memory in materials holds promise

Some materials retain memory of previous stretching

Catalyst sees the light to produce hard and soft polymer

Using light and a catalyst, researchers have been able to produce a soft and stretchy version and a hard and rigid version of the same polymer.

Quantum material goes ‘loopy’ in magnetic field

Loop currents could explain how a quantum material is able to switch from an insulator to a conductor when exposed to a magnetic field.

New carbide materials bask in light and heat

A new class of carbide materials is capable of producing tunable plasmonic properties while withstanding incredibly high temperatures.