Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

Sophisticated shape-shifters for soft robots, biomedical applications. Rice University scientists have created a rubbery, shape-shifting material that morphs from one sophisticated form to another on demand.

The shapes programmed into a polymer by materials scientist Rafael Verduzco and graduate student Morgan Barnes appear in ambient conditions and melt away when heat is applied. The process also works in reverse.

The smooth operation belies a battle at the nanoscale, where liquid crystals and the elastomer in which they’re embedded fight for control...

Researchers have genetically modified a common houseplant to remove chloroform and benzene from the air around it. Small molecules like chloroform, which is present in small amounts in chlorinated water, or benzene, which is a component of gasoline, build up in our homes when we shower or boil water, or when we store cars or lawn mowers in attached garages. Both benzene and chloroform exposure have been linked to cancer.

Now researchers at the University of Washington have genetically modified a common houseplant – pothos ivy – to remove chloroform and benzene from the air aroun...

A team of researchers led by Osaka University developed an inexpensive large-scale flexible thermoelectric generator (FlexTEG) module with high mechanical reliability for highly efficient power generation. Through a change in direction of the top electrodes at the two sides of the module and the use of high density packaging of semiconductor chips, the FlexTEG module has more flexibility in any uniaxial direction...

The more objects we make “smart,” from watches to entire buildings, the greater the need for these devices to store and retrieve massive amounts of data quickly without consuming too much power. Millions of new memory cells could be part of a computer chip and provide that speed and energy savings, thanks to the discovery of a previously unobserved functionality in a material called molybdenum ditelluride.

The 2D material stacks into multiple layers to build a memory cell...