Materials Science News - SciTechDaily

Stronger, Faster, Lighter: The New Steel That’s Powering Electric Vehicles

Osaka Metropolitan University — Wed, 22 May 2024 00:12:37 +0000

Calculations explore how twelve metals, including titanium, form bonds with nitrogen or carbon. Decarbonizing automobiles involves transitioning from gasoline engines to electric motors and incorporating...

A New Dimension of Quantum Materials: Topological Phonons Discovered in Crystal Lattices

Elhuyar Foundation — Sat, 18 May 2024 05:28:47 +0000

Researchers from an international consortium have published a groundbreaking study that advances the field of solid-state physics. An international group of researchers has found that...

What if Your Earbuds Could Do Everything Your Smartphone Could but Better? New Synthetic Materials Could Make It Possible

University of Arizona — Sat, 18 May 2024 01:04:58 +0000

What if your earbuds could do everything your smartphone can do already, except better? What sounds a bit like science fiction may actually not be...

Smelting Steel Without Fossil Fuels: Solar Power Shatters the 1,000°C Barrier for Industrial Heating

Cell Press — Fri, 17 May 2024 08:15:10 +0000

Swiss researchers have developed a solar energy method using synthetic quartz to achieve temperatures above 1,000°C for industrial processes, potentially replacing fossil fuels in the...

Nature’s Tiny Architects: Designing Molecular Shapes for Medical Miracles

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory — Sun, 12 May 2024 13:10:02 +0000

Researchers have learned to control the “handedness” of peptoids, a crucial factor in precision drug delivery and diagnostics. Nature is filled with extraordinarily precise molecular...

Neutron Scattering: Unlocking the Secrets of Safer, More Powerful Lithium Batteries

Sumner Brown Gibbs, Oak Ridge National Laboratory — Sat, 04 May 2024 11:42:47 +0000

A new technique utilizing neutron scattering has revolutionized lithium battery design, promising safer and more efficient batteries. An international team of scientists found a way...

New Alloy Shocks Scientists With Its Nearly Impossible Strength and Toughness

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 08:16:55 +0000

Researchers have discovered an extraordinary metal alloy that won’t crack at extreme temperatures due to kinking, or bending, of crystals in the alloy at the...

2D Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal: The Next Big Thing in Display Technology

Science China Press — Sun, 28 Apr 2024 12:06:51 +0000

Researchers discovered ferroelectricity in 2D vermiculite, boosting electric field responsivity in liquid crystals and paving the way for innovative large-scale displays. Electro-optical liquid crystal (LC)...

Harnessing the Unseen: Revolutionizing Computing With Valleytronics

The Institute of Photonic Sciences — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 23:44:26 +0000

Electrons within solid materials are restricted to specific energy levels, known as “bands.” The space between these bands, the forbidden energies, are known as “band...

Expert-Defying Anomaly – Scientists Discover 2D Nanomaterial With Counter-Intuitive Expanding Properties

University of Western Ontario — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 12:25:51 +0000

It is a common hack to stretch a balloon out to make it easier to inflate. When the balloon stretches, the width crosswise shrinks to...

An Everyday Scientific Mystery: New Study Reveals Universal Secrets of Granular Matter

Case Western Reserve University — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 23:26:38 +0000

Coffee beans in a jar and piles of rice or sand are examples of granular matter: materials composed of large numbers of macroscopic—rather than atomic...

Revolutionizing Plastics: Safer, Greener LDPE Alternatives Unveiled

American Association for the Advancement of Science — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 18:24:13 +0000

A new sustainable method replicates the desirable properties of LDPE plastic using less energy, through a novel catalytic process that creates a ladder-like molecular structure,...

“Truly Amazing” – Quantum Dots Successfully Synthesized Inside Living Cells!

Science China Press — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 12:38:35 +0000

A recent study published in the journal National Science Review demonstrates the synthesis of quantum dots (QDs) in the nucleus of live cells. The research...

How a New 3D Printer Automatically Masters Diverse Sustainable Materials

Adam Zewe, Massachusetts Institute of Technology — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 10:06:45 +0000

The advance could help make 3D printing more sustainable, enabling printing with renewable or recyclable materials that are difficult to characterize. While 3D printing has...

Scientists Have Solved the Mystery of Curling Paper

Graz University of Technology — Sun, 21 Apr 2024 17:42:12 +0000

Paper printed on one side starts to curl with a delay of up to a few days. Researchers at TU Graz have discovered that this...

60% of Materials Follow the “Rule of Four,” but Scientists Don’t Know Why

National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) MARVEL — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 19:27:03 +0000

Scientists are normally happy to find regularities and correlations in their data – but only if they can explain them. Otherwise, they worry that those...

A Groundbreaking New Principle – Korean Researchers Uncover Revolutionary Phenomenon in Liquid Crystals

Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 08:05:25 +0000

A research group from the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), led by Professor Jonwoo Jeong of the Department of Physics, has recently...

“Neutronic Molecules” – Neutrons Meet Quantum Dots in Groundbreaking MIT Discovery

David L. Chandler, Massachusetts Institute of Technology — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 11:19:45 +0000

Study shows neutrons can bind to nanoscale atomic clusters known as quantum dots. The finding may provide insights into material properties and quantum effects. Neutrons...

“Extraordinary Potential” – The New Dawn of Low-Cost, High-Efficiency Solar Cells

Tsinghua University Press — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 19:48:06 +0000

Commercial solar panels currently have the capability to transform approximately 15% to 20% of the sunlight they capture into electrical power. However, experts at Soochow...

From Lab Curiosity to Industrial Reality: The New Dawn of Transition Metal Telluride Nanosheets

Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy Sciences — Sun, 14 Apr 2024 11:19:12 +0000

Nanosheets made from transition metal tellurides have demonstrated significant potential for basic research and applications in various fields, yet until recently, their large-scale production has...

Scientists Discover “Surprising” Hidden Activity of Semiconductor Material

Penn State — Sat, 13 Apr 2024 17:45:39 +0000

New research indicates that materials traditionally ignored in the design of computer chips are crucial for processing information. This breakthrough could pave the way for...

Quantum Control Unlocked: Creating Resistance-Free Electron Channels

Theresa Duque, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 15:26:44 +0000

For the first time, scientists electrically manipulate a ‘chiral interface state’ in a 2D material, with promise for energy-efficient microelectronics and quantum computing. Scientists have...

Beyond Theory: Dual Topological Insulating States Found in Monolayer Material

Boston College — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 05:14:10 +0000

Scientists at Boston College have identified a material known as a dual quantum spin Hall insulator, which offers a promising foundation for investigating exotic quantum...

The Future of Solar Cells and More – Japanese Chemists Develop Glowing, Self-Healing Material

RIKEN — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 10:22:36 +0000

A research team at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) has succeeded in developing a self-healing material that is also capable of emitting...