Materials Science News

RSS

Scientists Develop Ultra-Thin Solar Cells with Increased Flexibility

A team of scientists in South Korea has developed ultra-thin photovoltaics with flexibility that is sufficient enough to wrap around the average pencil. The bendy solar cells have the potential to power wearable electronics such as smart glasses and fitness trackers. The results have been reported in Applied Physics Letters, from AIP Publishing.

21 Jun 2016

Korean Research Team Highlights Importance of Clostridium Tyrobutyricum in Industrial Applications

Clostridium tyrobutyricum, a Gram-positive, anaerobic spore-forming bacterium, is considered a promising industrial host strain for the production of various chemicals including butyric acid which has many applications in different industries such as a precursor to biofuels.

20 Jun 2016

Study Shows Hydrogen Droplet Size Affects Mechanism of Burning Process

Modern rockets and their launch vehicles mostly depend on hydrogen-oxygen mixtures as propellant. However, this combination is considered to be highly explosive. The 1986 Challenger space shuttle catastrophe is linked with self-ignition of such mixtures.

20 Jun 2016

Scientists Explore Molecular Explosions Using New X-ray Method

With the onset of the summer blockbuster season, many fast-paced action films are expected to be released. A team of researchers have released a new kind of movie that portrays atomic-level explosions and provides scientists with new insights about X-ray-molecule interaction.

17 Jun 2016

High-Entropy Alloys Show Promise for Efficient Heat Recycling

Increasing amounts of energy are lost on a daily basis in the form of waste heat. A recent interdisciplinary project at Chalmers has discovered that a unique class of material, known as high-entropy alloys, is capable of making room for efficient heat recycling.

17 Jun 2016

New MOF Material Could Make Nuclear Fuel Recycling Cleaner and Less Expensive

A new type of material is being studied by researchers that could aid in recycling and reducing waste in nuclear fuels by capturing radioactive gases emitted during reprocessing. Traditional technologies used for removing such gases work at very low energy-intensive temperatures.

15 Jun 2016

Natural Quasicrystals Could Arise from Collisions Between Rocky Bodies in Asteroid Belt

Quasicrystals are naturally formed crystal-like solids with apparently impossible symmetries. These structures are very rare on Earth, and so far only two naturally occurring quasicrystals have been found.

15 Jun 2016

Simple Chemical Treatment Could Help Create Hydrogen-Evolution Electrocatalyst

The 2015 movie “The Martian” shows how a stranded astronaut, Matt Damon, attempts to create lifesaving water using the chemistry of rocket fuel, hydrogen and hydrazine, and almost blows himself up. However, if the process is turned around with the help of hydrazine, hydrogen can be produced from water by simply altering the semiconductor’s conductivity. This breakthrough has great potential for electronics and energy applications.

14 Jun 2016

Physicists Develop New Microscopy Method to Visualize Internal Nanostructure of Butterfly Wings

The two key physical attributes that contribute to the brightness and colorfulness of a butterfly wing have been discovered by a team of scientists by visualizing its internal nanostructure.

13 Jun 2016

MIT Researchers Report New Theoretical Characterization of Electrical Properties of Topological Semimetals

Discovered just five years ago, topological semimetals are materials with unusual physical properties that could make them useful for future electronics.

7 Jun 2016

Editorial Highlights