Materials news, April 2016

NuMat2016 abstract submission deadline

Submit your abstract before 13 May 2016.

Accentuating the negative produces efficient battery electrodes

A new technique known as ion soft-landing can produce battery electrodes with significantly better electrical capacity and long-term stability.

Energy storage materials benefit from a dash of salt

Salt crystals can act as a template for the growth of thin sheets of conductive metal oxides that are highly effective at storing energy.

Scientists create contradictory polar metal

Using a new synthesis approach, scientists have developed a polar metal that possesses both insulating and conducting properties.

Gel-encased nanowires could produce long-lived batteries

Scientists have invented a metal nanowire-based battery material that can be recharged hundreds of thousands of times.

2016 Elsevier Distinguished Lectures in Mechanics

View the live 2016 Elsevier Distinguished Lecture on Wednesday April 27th, 2016.

New way to exfoliate phosphorene is no flake

Scientists have developed a quick and efficient method for exfoliating atomically-thin flakes of phosphorene from black phosphorous.

New metamaterial could enhance the efficiency of thermophotovoltaic cells

A novel metamaterial made of nanoscale structures of gold and magnesium fluoride can radiate heat at specific wavelengths and in specific directions.

Are carbon nanomaterials toxic to fish?

Canadian researchers have found that some functionalised nanomaterials can affect the hatching and early development of fish embryos.

Scientists reveal ‘the world's weirdest’ martensite steel

Scientists have uncovered the structural similarity between smectic liquid crystals and a crystalline structure of steel known as martensites.

Ultrafast electron microscope records heat transfer in nanoscale materials

Using an ultrafast electron microscope, researchers have recorded the first-ever videos showing how heat moves through nanoscale materials.

Improving electron transport in organic semiconductors

Plenary Speakers announced for the Fifth International Conference on Multifunctional, Hybrid and Nanomaterials in 2017

View details about the Fifth International Conference on Multifunctional, Hybrid and Nanomaterials, taking place in March 2017.

Special issue on The Effects of Confinement on Polymeric Thermal Transitions and Nanostructuring published

Explore the Special Issue on The Effects of Confinement on Polymeric Thermal Transitions and Nanostructuring, here.

Special Issue on Thermophysical Properties, Thermal Stability and Fire Retardancy of Polymers Blends and Filled Polymers in Polymer Degradation and Stability published

Explore the new Special Issue on Thermophysical Properties, Thermal Stability and Fire Retardancy of Polymers Blends and Filled Polymers.

Tesla coil controls self-assembly of carbon nanotubes

Scientists have discovered that the strong force-field emitted by a Tesla coil can cause carbon nanotubes to self-assemble into long wires.

New ferroelectric films could produce ‘universal’ memory device

Ultra-thin ferroelectric films based on hafnium oxide could produce non-volatile memory elements called ferroelectric tunnel junctions.

2015 Acta Journals’ Outstanding Reviewers

Pressurizing solar cells into improving

perovskite solar cells improved by squeezing the material between diamonds

Elusive state of superconducting matter discovered after 50 years

By using a scanning tunneling microscope to image pairs of electrons in a superconductor, scientists have discovered a new state of electronic matter.

Welcome to three new Editors of Materials Science and Engineering R: Thomas Anthopoulos, Surya Mallapragada and Bradley D. Olsen

Some crystal materials boast ‘hourglass’ figure

Scientists predict that in certain crystal materials current can only flow through a set of surface channels that resemble an hourglass.

Thin films through vacuum filtration

Using vacuum filtration to produce controllable carbon nanotubes films.

One step closer to printable perovskite solar cells?

Researchers from Los Alamos may have found a way to produce perovskite thin films, using a cheap, scalable technique.

Magnetic liquid all in a spin

Quantum spin fingerprints of two-dimensional magnetic materials

Quantum feedback in synthetic diamond

Quantum feedback in synthetic diamond

A splash of neutrons towards quantum computing

scattering neutrons in a 2D solid state material

3D printing of solid and liquid robots

3D printing of robots from both solids and liquids for the first time.

New non-magnetic material defies basic physics

Applying a magnetic field to a novel non-magnetic metal made it conduct 70% more electricity, even though basic physics would have predicted the opposite.

Lithium-ion batteries take the heat with novel electrolyte

A combined electrolyte and separator containing hexagonal boron nitride can allow lithium-ion batteries to work at high temperatures.

Magnetic transfer

Magnetic transfer could lead the way to spintronics

Into the valley

Valleytronics based on two-dimensional semiconductors.

Super-hydrophobic materials require standardized tests, say researchers

Finnish researchers are calling for consistent and standardized testing of super-hydrophobic materials.

Graphene strains to increase its photoabsorption

Researchers have created a stretchable photodetector with enhanced, strain-tunable photoresponsivity by engineering 2D graphene into 3D structures.

2016 Frank Isakson Prize for Optical Effects in Solids

Details of the Frank Isakson Prize for Optical Effects in Solids winners 2016.

Perovskites in solar cells perform well under pressure

Applying pressure can change the properties of the crystalline materials known as perovskites and how they respond to light.

Scientists throw light on graphene-based molecular switches

By combining graphene with molecules capable of altering their structure on exposure to light, scientists have created light-responsive molecular switches.

New steel alloy makes a big impact

A new type of amorphous steel alloy possesses a record-breaking ability to withstand an impact without deforming permanently.

Carbon nanotube film finds power in waste heat

A carbon nanotube thin film has the potential to act as a thermoelectric material that captures and uses waste heat to generate electricity.

Wrinkling and crumpling graphene to good effect

Wrinkled and crumpled graphene sheets offer improved properties.

Novel materials could arise from ‘shear jamming’

New research has identified how liquid-like materials can change into a solid-like state through simple stirring.

Nanotubes pack themselves in to form aligned films

Scientists have developed a simple filtration process for creating flexible, wafer-scale films of highly aligned and closely-packed carbon nanotubes.

New solid battery electrolyte crushes competition

Scientists have improved the performance of a solid battery electrolyte through chemical modification and pulverization.

New state of matter detected in 2D material

Scientists have detected a new state of matter known as a quantum spin liquid in the 2D material ruthenium chloride.

Thin film materials go beyond silicon

Rediscovered synthesis methods for transition metal dichalcogenides could enable future optical, electronic, and mechanical devices.

Space is the place for new paper-like battery electrode

A new paper-like battery electrode made from silicon oxycarbide glass and graphene is able to operate at the low temperatures found in space.

Calculations show 2D boron is low-temperature superconductor

Scientists have used computer-based calculations to show that two dimensional boron is a low-temperature superconductor.

Using sunshine to wash your clothes

Exposure to light helps fabrics with embedded nanostructures to clean themselves.

Renewable and improved thermoplastics

New moldable thermoplastic polymer leads to renewable thermoplastics.