A new material called multiscale reduced graphene oxide could mean faster charging and power delivery than traditional batteries allow.
Category: materials – Page 8
Controlling exciton flow in moiré superlattices: New method leverages correlated electrons
Excitons are pairs of bound negatively charged electrons and positively charged holes that form in semiconductors, enabling the transport of energy in electronic devices. These pairs of charge carriers also emerge in transition metal dichalcogenides, thin semiconducting materials comprised of a transition metal and two chalcogen atoms.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, UC Riverside, and other institutes have introduced a new strategy to control the flow of energy in structures comprised of two transition metal dichalcogenide layers stacked with a small rotational mismatch, also known as moiré superlattices.
Their proposed approach, introduced in a paper published in Nature Communications, entails the active tuning of electronic states in moiré superlattices in ways that alter the transport of excitons.
Invisible heat insulators
Researchers in Science have developed a clear, high-insulating material they say could be used to produce ultra-efficient windows and thus reduce the energy use of buildings dramatically worldwide.
Learn more in a new Science Perspective.
A nanotube network with precisely engineered pores could replace insulating components in windows.
Longnan Li and Wei Li Authors Info & Affiliations
Science
Vol 390, Issue 6778
Laser-engineered nanowire networks could unlock new material manufacturing
A breakthrough development in nanofabrication could help support the development of new wireless, flexible, high-performance transparent electronic devices.
Researchers from the University of Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering have developed a new method of interfacial imprinting ultra-thin nanowires onto bendable, transparent polymeric substrates.
The team’s paper, titled “Laser-Engineered Interfacial-Dielectrophoresis Aligned Nanowire Networks for Transparent Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Films,” is published in ACS Nano.
New ‘cloaking device’ concept shields electronics from disruptive magnetic fields
University of Leicester engineers have unveiled a concept for a device designed to magnetically “cloak” sensitive components, making them invisible to detection.
A magnetic cloak is a device that hides or shields an object from external magnetic fields by manipulating how these flow around an object so that they behave as if the object isn’t there.
In Science Advances, the team of engineers demonstrate for the first time that practical cloaks can be engineered using superconductors and soft ferromagnets in forms that can be manufactured.
Scientists crack the atomic code behind single-photon quantum emitters
This achievement removes one of the biggest roadblocks in quantum materials science and brings practical quantum devices much closer to reality.
Quantum emitters work by releasing single photons, individual packets of light, on demand. This ability is critical because quantum technologies rely on absolute control over light and information.
The problem has always been visibility and control. The exact atomic defects responsible for these emitters are incredibly small and difficult to observe. Scientists could either study how they emit light or examine their atomic structure—but not both at the same time.
Organic materials conduct ions in solids as easily as in liquids thanks to flexible sidechains
Normally, when liquids solidify, their molecules become locked in place, making it much harder for ions to move and leading to a steep decrease in ionic conductivity. Now, scientists have synthesized a new class of materials, called state-independent electrolytes (SIEs), that break that rule.
The paper is published in the journal Science.
Super strain-resistant superconductors
Superconductors are materials that can conduct electricity with zero resistance, usually only at very low temperatures. Most superconductors behave according to well-established rules, but strontium ruthenate, Sr₂RuO₄, has defied clear understanding since its superconducting properties were discovered in 1994. It is considered one of the cleanest and best-studied unconventional superconductors, yet scientists still debate the precise structure and symmetry of the electron pairing that gives rise to its remarkable properties.
One powerful way to identify the underlying superconducting state is to measure how the superconducting transition temperature, or Tc, changes under strain, since different superconducting states respond differently when a crystal is stretched, compressed, or twisted.
Many earlier experiments, especially ultrasound studies, suggested that Sr₂RuO₄ might host a two-component superconducting state, a more complex form of superconductivity that can support exotic behaviors such as internal magnetic fields or multiple coexisting superconducting domains. But a genuine two-component state is expected to respond strongly to shear strain.
