Materials news, September 2016

Materials Today outreach at Chinese Institutes

Materials Today celebrates communication and discovery at New Scientist Live

Read more about Materials Today @ New Scientist Live 2016.

Two wrongs make a right for novel multiferroic material

Researchers have managed to create a new room-temperature multiferroic by combining two non-multiferroic materials.

Roll-process technology for flexible electronics

Roll-process technology that transfer and packages large-scale integrated circuits

Doped up mesoporous supercapacitor

Nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon thin film acts as a high capacity, binder-free supercapacitor

Scientists ask artificial intelligence about quaternary crystals

Using artificial intelligence, chemists have computed the characteristics of about two million crystals made up of four chemical elements.

New study looks to identify ingredients in superconductivity recipe

A combination of theory and experiment has gone some way to revealing the ingredients required for high-temperature superconductivity.

All about that bass for thin metamaterial structure

Scientists have developed a thin metamaterial structure that can completely absorb very low frequency sound for nearly every angle of incidence.

Graphene nanoribbons in a polymer gel can heal spinal cords

A material made from graphene nanoribbons and polyethylene glycol could help to heal damaged spinal cords in people.

Spinal cord repair with graphene nanoribbons

Spinal cord repair with graphene-polymer nanoribbons.

Carbon-based membranes fill the gap

Carbon nanomaterials have exceptional water transport and sieving properties that could allow them to take over from polymeric membranes.

New technique can simultaneously shape and surface treat plastic parts

Researchers have developed a new way to shape and surface treat plastic components at the same time.

Wearable power weave

Weaving solar-powered fabrics that generate electricity from sun and movement.

Common asphalt shows road to carbon capture

Scientists have developed an improved method for turning asphalt into a porous material that can capture greenhouse gases from natural gas.

New theory puts spring into polymer elasticity

The recent development of a method for measuring structural defects in polymers led to a theory for predicting their elasticity.

Cellulose and polymers help create range of novel nanorods

Using cellulose and polymers, scientists have developed a new strategy for crafting nanorods from a wide range of precursor materials.

Cage crystals point way to new fuel cell membranes

Scientists have synthesized nanometer-sized cage molecules that can be used to transport charge in proton exchange membranes.

Researchers build world’s largest database of crystal surfaces

Researchers have created the world’s largest database of elemental crystal surfaces and shapes to date, dubbed Crystalium.

New method allows materials to heal at sub-zero temperatures

Scientists have developed a method for allowing materials to self-heal cracks at temperatures well below freezing.

Flexible semiconductor adopts DNA’s double helix structure

Scientists have discovered an inorganic semiconductor with a double helix structure that makes it highly flexible.

Special Issue: Recent Progress on Fundamentals and Applications of Crystal Growth

Browse the articles in this special issue with free access until the end of 2016.

New microscopy technique can write with metallic ink

For the first time, scientists have used a scanning transmission electron microscope to directly write tiny patterns in metallic ‘ink’.

Patterned amyloid nanowires could help create novel nanodevices

Scientists have developed a versatile method for patterning the structure of ‘nanowires’ made from amyloid peptides.

New etching process helps rough metals to bond

Scientists have developed a novel etching process that can allow metals such as aluminum, titanium or zinc to bond with nearly any other material.

New fuel cell membrane not fussy about temperature

A novel polyphenyline membrane for fuel cells operates over a wide temperature range and lasts three times longer than existing membranes.

Optimizing carbon capture

Porous carbon for carbon capture

Smashing nanotubes could lead to impact-resistant materials

Nanodiamonds and other carbon-based materials can be produced by smashing carbon nanotubes against a target at high speeds.

Noble aerogel goes catalytic

Cutting fuel cell costs with noble aerogels.

Computing material demonstrates pattern recognition

Scientists have developed a responsive, hybrid material, powered by its own chemical reactions, that can recognize simple patterns.

Rotating buckyballs retain heat in superatom crystals

The thermal conductivity of buckyball-containing superatom crystals is directly related to the rotational disorder within those structures.

New graphene material could find use as bone implant

Flakes of graphene welded together by spark plasma sintering produce materials that may be suitable for use as bone implants.

Laser processing could bring graphene into the real world

A pulsed-laser process can improve the electrical conductivity of inkjet-printed graphene without damaging the surfaces on which it is printed.

Making windows more flexible

Flexible smart windows from niobium oxides (Image: Cockrell School of Engineering

Single-particle analysis reveals travel between dimensions

Scientists have discovered that a critical length scale marks the transition between a zero-dimensional quantum dot and a one-dimensional nanowire.

Electron microscopy builds up structure of novel materials

Using electron microscopy, scientists have uncovered the first atomic scale evidence for strain-induced ferroelectricity in a layered oxide.

New material displays impressive optical and thermal properties

Samarium nickelate can be electrically tuned between a transparent and an opaque state over an unprecedentedly broad spectrum range.

Aquatic ferns show how to clean up oil

The hairy leaves of aquatic ferns can help to clean oil spills.

Silicon nanoparticles that can manipulate light

Silicon nanoparticles based devices that can be controlled for light manipulation.

Electron anions offer efficient way to convert crystals into glass

Scientists have discovered that electron anions can reduce the temperature at which mayenite changes from a crystal to a glass.

New sandwich process creates 2D gallium nitride

By sandwiching gallium and nitrogen atoms between layers of graphene and silicon carbide, scientists have produced 2D gallium nitride.

Nanofiber scaffolds that help direct cell behavior

Spider silk offers cheap and accessible superlens

spider silk superlens improves on traditional microscopy