Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

Over the last decade, there has been much excitement about the discovery, recognised by the Nobel Prize in Physics only 2 years ago, that there are two types of insulators: normal insulators which don’t conduct electricity, and topological insulators – newly discovered materials that conduct electricity only on their edges.

Now, FLEET researchers at Monash University, Australia, have for the first time successfully ‘switched’ a material between these two states of matter via application of an electric-field. This is the first step in creating a functioning topological transistor – a proposed new generation of ultra-low energy electronic devices.

Ultra-low energy electronics such as topol...

What if a sensor sensing a thing could be part of the thing itself? Rice University engineers believe they have a 2D solution to do just that. Rice engineers led by materials scientists Pulickel Ajayan and Jun Lou have developed a method to make atom-flat sensors that seamlessly integrate with devices to report on what they perceive.

Electronically active 2D materials have been the subject of much research since the introduction of graphene in 2004. Even though they are often touted for their strength, they’re difficult to move to where they’re needed without destroying them.

The Ajayan and Lou groups, along with the lab of Rice engineer Jacob Robinson, have a new way to keep the materials and their associate...

“Fluoride batteries can have a higher energy density, which means that they may last longer – up to eight times longer than batteries in use today,” says study co-author Robert Grubbs, Caltech’s Victor and Elizabeth Atkins Professor of Chemistry and a winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. “But fluoride can be challenging to work with, in particular because it’s so corrosive and reactive.”

Fluoride-based batteries have the potential to last up to 8X longer than those in use today. Imagine not having to charge your phone or laptop for weeks...

Graphene unlocks new potential for ‘smart textiles.’
Credit: Prof Craciun Lab

An international team of scientists, led by Professor Monica Craciun from the University of Exeter Engineering department, has pioneered a new technique to create fully electronic fibres that can be incorporated into the production of everyday clothing. Currently, wearable electronics are achieved by essentially gluing devices to fabrics, which can mean they are too rigid and susceptible to malfunctioning.

The new research instead integrates the electronic devices into the fabric of the material, by coating electronic fibres with light-weight, durable components that will allow images to be shown directly on the fabric.

The research team believe that the discovery could revolutionise the creation of wearable elect...