Phys.org March 25, 2024 The recent developments in the fabrication and characterization of plasmonic nanostructures have stimulated continuous effects in the search for their potential applications in the photonic fields. In this review article an international team of researchers (India, USA – Vanderbilt University, San Diego State University, Canada) concentrated on the role of plasmonics in photonics, covering recent advances in ultrafast plasmonic materials with focus on all-optical switching. They discussed fundamental phenomena of plasmonic light–matter interaction and plasmon dynamics elaborating on the ultrafast processes unraveled by both experimental and theoretical methods, along with a comprehensive illustration of leveraging ultrafast […]
Tag Archives: Review article
Improving lithium-sulfur batteries with metal-organic framework-based materials
Phys.org February 27, 2024 Practical applications of Li-S batteries (LSBs) are inhibited by their poor electrical conductivity of electrode materials, greatly volumetric variation, as well as the polysulfide formation upon the cycling. To address these problems (MOFs)-based cathode materials, and easy morphology design have been extensively studied. An international team of researchers (Japan, China) has provided a comprehensive overview of MOFs-based sulfur host materials, their electrochemical reaction mechanisms, related evaluation parameters, and their performances used in LSBs in the past few years. The recent advances using in-situ characterization technologies for investigating the electrochemical reaction mechanism in LSBs are highlighted. They […]
Hybrid nanomaterials promise a sustainability boost across multiple industries
Nanowerk October 27, 2023 Polyoxometalate (POM)-based binary and ternary hybrids are key materials in photoelectrocatalysis. These composites combine the properties of two or three functional nanoscale materials, resulting in a wide range of applications, including catalysis, energy conversion and storage, molecular sensors, and electronics. An international team of researchers (Germany, China) summarized the latest progress in POM-based binary nanohybrids (POM/metal, POM/semiconductor, and POM/nanocarbon) and ternary nanohybrids (metal/POM/nanocarbon), particularly in energy materials for photocatalysis, fuel cells, biosensors, and photoelectrochemical devices. Current applications were critically assessed, and promising target systems were discussed… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Three-dimensional structure control technology enables high-performance fuel cells with higher stability
Nanowerk July 26, 2023 Over the past few decades, considerable advances have been achieved in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) based on the development of material technology. Recently, an emerging multiscale architecting technology covering nanometer, micrometer, and millimeter scales has been regarded as an alternative strategy to overcome the hindrance to achieving high-performance and reliable PEMFCs. In their review article researchers in South Korea provided summaries of progress in the key components of PEMFCs based on a novel architecture strategy. In the first section, diverse architectural methods for patterning the membrane surface with random, single-scale, and multiscale structures as […]
Optical memristors review: Shining a light on neuromorphic computing
Phys.org June 5, 2023 In recent years, the ability to vary the conductance of a channel in electronics has enabled in-memory computing, thus leading to substantial interest in memristors. An international team of researchers (USA – University of Pittsburg, University of Maryland, Germany, UK) reviewed recent progress in this important and emerging aspect of photonic integrated circuits and provided an overview of the current state of the art. They shed light on the evolution of this technology—and the work that still needs to be done for it to reach its full potential. They have provided a comprehensive overview of recent […]
A new method to enable efficient interactions between photons
Phys.org October 6, 2022 Photonics stands out as fundamental to realize the full potential of quantum technology. It provides a modular approach where the main challenges lie in the construction of high-quality building blocks and in the development of methods to interface the modules. In a review article an international team of researchers (France, UK, Canada, Germany, Denmark, South Korea) used the example of quantum dot devices to present the physics of deterministic photon–emitter interfaces, including the main photonic building blocks required to scale up, and discuss quantitative performance benchmarks. While their focus is on quantum dot devices, the presented […]
Harvesting energy – drop by drop
Nanowerk August 25, 2022 In this review article researchers in China summarized the recent developments in droplets-driven nanogenerators for effective energy scavenging. They included an extensive discussion about the device structures from the material selection and output performance aspects. They gave a brief discussion on the applications of droplet-based nanogenerators and outline the future possibilities via the current improvement in designs and fabrication strategies that have been introduced by the field. According to the authors water droplet harvesting as a sustainable energy resource has become a forward-looking step to meet the future demand for green energy. The emerging potential of […]
Scientists publish guide for memristor hardware design
Nanowerk August 15, 2022 In this review article an international team of researchers (Germany, Switzerland) addressed resistive switching devices operating according to the bipolar valence change mechanism (VCM). VCM cells consist of three parts: an electronically active electrode (AE), a mixed ionic-electronic conducting (MIEC) layer consisting of a nanometer-scale metal oxide, and an ohmic counter electrode (OE). They provided detailed insights into the status of understanding of these devices as a fundament for their use in the different fields of application. The review covered the microscopic physics of memristive states and the switching kinetics of VCM devices. Electroforming, a process […]
Review of technologies that boost potential for carbon dioxide conversion to useful products
Phys.org July 1, 2022 Researchers in China summarized the recent advances in MOFs based catalysts for CO2 hydrogenation towards diverse products. It includes synthesis strategies for different kinds of MOFs based catalysts, selective hydrogenation of CO2 towards CO and methane over various metal nanoparticles/MOFs, heterogenization and isolation of molecular catalysts by MOFs, selective hydrogenation of CO2 toward methanol, the synergy between auxiliary sites and noble metal, and tandem catalytic systems of molecular catalysts and Lewis acid sites. The integration of multiple metal sites, promoters, and cocatalysts into MOFs is described for the selective hydrogenation of CO2 to C2+ products. The […]
Development of a lithium-air battery with an energy density over 500 wh/kg
Science Daily January 20, 2022 Lithium–air batteries (LABs) are potential candidates for next-generation rechargeable batteries because of their extremely high theoretical energy density. However, the reported values for the actual energy density of LABs are much lower than those for lithium batteries, mainly due to the excess amount of electrolyte in the cell. In the present review article, researchers in Japan estimated the practical energy density for the representative LABs reported in academia, and the critical factors for improving the energy density of LABs are summarized. The criteria for evaluating LABs in laboratory-based experiments are also proposed for accurately predicting […]