Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: engineering

Discovery of energetic ionic cocrystals via high-throughput virtual screening

Researchers developed a faster, more targeted way to design ionic cocrystals (ICCs) of the energetic oxidizer ammonium dinitramide (ADN).

Using high‑throughput virtual screening with the CSD Python interface and RDKit, followed by quick experimental tests, they identified and synthesized a new ADN cocrystal with oxalyl dihydrazide (OHD).

Read the full paper here.

Ionic cocrystals (ICCs) offer a promising strategy to tailor the properties of energetic oxidizers like ammonium dinitramide (ADN). However, the current design process of ADN-based ICCs remains heavily reliant on empirical trial-and-error methods, which significantly impedes development efficiency and presents a fundamental challenge in balancing energy performance and hygroscopicity. Herein, we leverage a high-throughput virtual screening strategy to identify coformers of ADN cocrystals that meet requirements for structures and performances, integrating the CSD Python interface and RDKit via custom Python scripts. Combined with rapid experimental screening, the first ADN cocrystal with balanced hygroscopicity and energy is successfully synthesized using a commercially available coformer oxalyl dihydrazide (OHD). The resulting ADN/OHD cocrystal exhibits a positive oxygen balance of +4.37%, enhanced moisture resistance and thermal stability. Moreover, compared to pure ADN, ADN/OHD delivers a 27.6% higher specific impulse, along with excellent green processability and engineering scalability. This work establishes a rational and scalable approach for developing perchlorate-free oxidizer cocrystals with well-balanced properties, and also provides a generalizable paradigm for the performance-oriented design of ICCs.

Pnictogen-bonding-crosslinked polymer networks: constructing self-healing materials

Herein, we introduce pnictogen bonding interaction into polymer networks for the design and modulation of dynamic macromolecular materials. Several types of polymeric pnictogen-bonding networks with graded interaction strengths were constructed to explore the structure–property relationship. Comprehensive investigations revealed that strengthening the pnictogen bonding significantly enhances the topological stability of the resulting materials. In contrast, analogous hydrogen-bonded networks did not exhibit comparable mechanical reinforcement. Moreover, the pnictogen-bonding networks endow the materials with tunable self-healing capability, allowing not only spontaneous healing at room temperature and thermally triggered healing on demand, but also effective healing in aqueous environments. This represents the first exploration of self-healing behavior driven by pnictogen bonding in polymeric materials. Mechanistic insights into the role of pnictogen bonding in polymer networks were elucidated through NMR titration of donor–acceptor polymer pairs, comparative self-assembly behavior, and cocrystal structures of small-molecule analogues. The incorporation of pnictogen bonding interaction into polymer networks provides a robust and versatile platform for engineering high-performance dynamic polymeric materials.

Large-Scale Neuromorphic Spiking Array Processors: A Quest to Mimic the Brain

Neuromorphic engineering (NE) encompasses a diverse range of approaches to information processing that are inspired by neurobiological systems, and this feature distinguishes neuromorphic systems from conventional computing systems. The brain has evolved over billions of years to solve difficult engineering problems by using efficient, parallel, low-power computation. The goal of NE is to design systems capable of brain-like computation. Numerous large-scale neuromorphic projects have emerged recently. This interdisciplinary field was listed among the top 10 technology breakthroughs of 2014 by the MIT Technology Review and among the top 10 emerging technologies of 2015 by the World Economic Forum.

These biological computers actually use neurons

In this video we look into one of the developing areas of computing: wetware. Most specifically neuromorphic computing, a science which uses actual neurons on chips.

We talk to Cortical labs, the company that developed the pong-playing dish brain, and professor Thomas Hartung to understand what the benefits of this technology are.

🚀 Discover deep-dive engineering stories and breakthrough technologies on Interesting Engineering:
/ @interestingengineeringie.

🪖 Explore military innovation and defense technology on Military Mechanics:
/ @militarymechanicsie.

🔔 Subscribe to IE Brief for daily updates on the discoveries, technologies, and global developments shaping our world:
/ @ienews-brief.

🔬 Complex tech, simply explained. Discover how the world works with IE Explains: / @ie-explains

Continue reading “These biological computers actually use neurons” | >

InN thin films show transient Pauli blocking for broadband ultrafast optical switching

Recent decades have witnessed rapid advancements in high-intensity laser technology. The combination of laser irradiation and novel materials is opening exciting avenues for the design of functional materials and devices. Semiconductors are ideal platforms for generating laser-driven functionalities because they can exhibit novel features such as ultrafast optical transparency. This effect arises from electronic occupation redistribution driven by ultrafast excitation, which manifests as a phenomenon called transient Pauli blocking.

In a new development, a team of researchers in Japan, led by Professor Junjun Jia from the Global Center for Science and Engineering and the Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering at Waseda University, has examined the transient Pauli blocking effect in an InN film.

The study utilized pump-probe transient transmittance measurements with multicolor probe lasers, alongside first-principles electronic band-structure calculations. Their findings are published in Physical Review B.

New technique spots hidden defects to boost reliability of ultrathin electronics

Future devices will continue to probe the frontier of the very small, and at scales where functionality depends on mere atoms, even the tiniest flaw matters. Researchers at Rice University have shown that hard-to-spot defects in a widely used two-dimensional insulator can trap electrical charges and locally weaken the material, making it more likely to fail at lower voltages. The findings are published in Nano Letters.

“By showing practical ways to detect when and where these defects form, we help make future devices more reliable and repeatable,” said Hae Yeon Lee, an assistant professor of materials science and nanoengineering at Rice, who is a corresponding author on the study.

Building ultrathin electronics such as advanced transistors, photodetectors and quantum devices involves stacking sheets of different 2D materials on top of each other into “heterostructures.” Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), prized for being atomically flat and chemically stable, is a common building block.

Hair-width LEDs could eventually replace lasers

LEDs no wider than a human hair could soon take on work traditionally handled by lasers, from moving data inside server racks to powering next-generation displays. New research co-authored by UC Santa Barbara doctoral student Roark Chao points to a practical path forward. The study is published in the journal Optics Express.

“We’re talking about devices that are literally the size of a hair follicle,” said Chao, who studies electrical engineering. “If you can engineer how the light comes out, those microLEDs can start to replace lasers in short-distance data communication.”

The work builds on UCSB’s longstanding strengths in gallium nitride research and optoelectronics. Chao is co-advised by Steven P. DenBaars and Jon A. Schuller, both co-authors on the study, which also includes Nobel laureate Shuji Nakamura, whose pioneering work on blue LEDs transformed global lighting and display technologies. The research was conducted in the laboratories of the DenBaars/Nakamura and Schuller groups, where teams focus on gallium nitride materials growth and nanoscale photonics.

System isolates single extracellular vesicle surface proteins to map function

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are tiny biological bubbles that carry nucleic acids and proteins between cells, playing an essential role in tissue repair, neuroprotection and immune health. By isolating the surface proteins of these bubbles, researchers can understand more about their biology and build tools to transform extracellular vesicles into next-generation drugs for cancer, neurological conditions and other diseases.

UC Davis biomedical engineers are using EVs to crack the code of the body’s message system. Their findings are detailed in a paper published in ACS Nano.

“EV-mediated intercellular communication is a very powerful system that controls many physiological and pathophysiological phenomena,” said Aijun Wang, a corresponding author of the new study. Wang is Chancellor’s Fellow and professor of biomedical engineering and surgery. “We know that EVs are therapeutically useful. But how do we define what dictates their functions?”

Ultra-efficient optical sensors can keep light circulating longer inside a microscopic chip

CU Boulder researchers have built high-performing optical microresonators, opening the door for new sensor technologies. At its simplest form, a microresonator is a tiny device that can trap light and build up its intensity. Once the intensity is high enough, researchers can perform unique light operations.

“Our work is about using less optical power with these resonators for future uses,” said Bright Lu, a fourth-year doctoral student in electrical and computer engineering and a lead author on the study. “One day these microresonators can be adapted for a wide range of sensors from navigation to identifying chemicals.”

For this endeavor, published in Applied Physics Letters, the team focused on “racetrack” resonators, named for their elongated shape that resembles a running track.

/* */