01. Electrifying cement with nanocarbon black 02. First 3D-printed proton-conductive membrane paves way for tailored energy storage devices 03. Inspired by nature, the research to develop a new load-bearing material 04. Lighting it up: Fast material manipulation through a laser 05. New tech builds ultralow-loss integrated photonic circuits 06. Researcher uses bat-inspired design to develop new approach to sound location 07. Surpassing the lower limit on computing energy consumption 08. Using sound waves to make patterns that never repeat 09. With impressive accuracy, dogs can sniff out coronavirus 10. World’s fastest exfoliation of material has potential use for photoactuator production […]
Electrifying cement with nanocarbon black
Nanowerk April 21, 2021 Researchers at MIT performed an experimental-theoretical investigation of the electrical conductivity and resistive heating of highly heterogeneous nanocarbon–cement-based composites (pastes and mortars). Even a small voltage — as low as 5 volts — could increase the surface temperatures of their samples (approximately 5 cm3 in size) up to 41 degrees Celsius (around 100 degrees Fahrenheit). They found that electrical conductivity is determined by the electric tortuosity of a “volumetric wiring” permeating a highly heterogeneous matrix from percolation to saturation. They showed that the electric energy dissipation at the origin of the Joule heating originates from spatial […]
First 3D-printed proton-conductive membrane paves way for tailored energy storage devices
Phys.org April 15, 2021 Researchers in Japan chose mixtures of proton-conducting ionic liquids, inorganic silica nanoparticles, and UV-sensitive photocurable resins as inks for 3D printing of membranes. They found that the mixing ratio of the precursors enabled tuning of the viscosity of inks, and the inks with an appropriate mixing ratio could be applied for 3D printing. They confirmed that the inks can function as proton exchange membranes in all-solid-state electrochemical double-layer capacitors after curing by UV irradiation…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Inspired by nature, the research to develop a new load-bearing material
Phys.org April 22, 2021 Researchers in the UK developed a method to fabricate interconnected macro-porous elastomers based on sintering poly(methyl methacrylate) beads. The porous elastomer imparted structural support and resilience to its composite with an infused-grafted hydrogel. The composite exhibited a load-bearing behavior that was 14–19 times greater than that of pristine hydrogel and approximately 3 times greater than that of the porous elastomer. The equilibrium elastic modulus of the composite was close to the values reported for the modulus of cartilage tested with similar experimental parameters defined in this study. The composite immediately recovers its load-bearing properties with the […]
Lighting it up: Fast material manipulation through a laser
Phys.org April 21, 2021 An abrupt change in the Fermi surface topology, also called Lifshitz transition, can lead to the emergence of fascinating phenomena like colossal magnetoresistance and superconductivity. Controlling the electrons’ arrangement has been a key topic for decades. An international team of researchers (Germany, Sweden, US – research organization) has massively cut down the switching time to only 100 femtoseconds by shooting ultrashort optical laser pulses at a semi-metallic crystal composed of tungsten and tellurium atoms. Shining light on the crystal encourages it to reorganize its internal electronic structure, which also changes the conductivity of the crystal. They […]
New algorithm uses online learning for massive cell data sets
Science Daily April 19, 2021 A team of researchers in the US (University of Michigan, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies) has developed online integrative non-negative matrix factorization (iNMF), an algorithm for integrating large, diverse, and continually arriving single-cell datasets. The approach scales to arbitrarily large numbers of cells using fixed memory, iteratively incorporates new datasets as they are generated and allows many users to simultaneously analyze a single copy of a large dataset by streaming it over the internet. Iterative data addition can also be used to map new data to a reference dataset. The improvements in efficiency do […]
New biomaterial regrows blood vessels and bone, RCSI research
EurekAlert April 20, 2021 Researchers in Ireland used mechanobiology-informed approach to design a functionalized scaffold for the dose-controlled delivery of PGF which is capable of promoting regeneration of critically sized bone defects. Alginate microparticles and collagen/hydroxyapatite scaffolds were shown to be effective PGF-delivery platforms. Although this PGF-functionalized scaffold demonstrated only a modest increase in osteogenic capacity in vitro, robust bone regeneration was observed after implantation into rat calvarial defects, indicating that the dose-dependent effect of PGF can be harnessed as an alternative to multi-drug systems for the delivery of both pro-angiogenic and pro-osteogenic cues. The research provides a framework for […]
New conductive polymer ink opens for next-generation printed electronics
Science Daily April 21, 2021 Today, the most used conducting polymer is the p-type conductor PEDOT:PSS. However, many electronic devices require a combination of p-types and n-types to function. There is no n-type equivalent to PEDOT:PSS. An international team of researchers (Sweden, South Korea) has developed a conductive n-type polymer ink, BBL:PEI which is stable in air and at high temperatures. It comes in the form of eco-friendly ink with ethanol as the solvent. The ink can be deposited by simply spraying the solution onto a surface, making organic electronic devices easier and cheaper to manufacture. Printable n-type mixed ion-electron […]
New process breaks down biodegradable plastics faster
Science Daily April 21, 2021 The process developed by a team of researchers in the US (UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, UMass Amherst) involves embedding polyester-eating enzymes in the plastic as it is made. When exposed to heat and water, an enzyme starts chomping the plastic polymer into its building blocks. In the case of biodegradable plastics, which are made primarily of the polyester known as polylactic acid, or PLA, it reduces it to lactic acid that can feed the soil microbes in compost. The polymer wrapping also degrades. The process eliminates microplastics, a byproduct of many chemical degradation […]
New tech builds ultralow-loss integrated photonic circuits
Phys.org April 16, 2021 Researchers in Switzerland have developed a new technology for building silicon nitride integrated photonic circuits with record low optical losses and small footprints. They used Damascene process to make integrated circuits of optical losses of only 1 dB/m. Such low loss significantly reduces the power budget for building chip-scale optical frequency combs (“microcombs”), used in applications like coherent optical transceivers, low-noise microwave synthesizers, LiDAR, neuromorphic computing, and even optical atomic clocks. The team used the new technology to develop meter-long waveguides on 5×5 mm2 chips and high-quality-factor microresonators. They also report high fabrication yield, which is […]