Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

After conducting a new research approach using actual commutes, a group of engineers at Washington University in St. Louis discovered a simple shift in driving habits can help to reduce those risks while out on the road. Credit: Washington University in St. Louis

Engineers show how to best reduce pollution exposure during commutes. Commute can also be hazardous to your health, exposing drivers to an increased amount of air pollutants that have been linked to a whole host of medical maladies, including cardiovascular disease, respiratory issues and even lung cancer. After conducting a new research approach using actual commutes, a group of engineers at Washington University in St. Louis discovered a simple shift in driving habits can help to reduce those risks while out on the road.

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In this greatly enlarged cross-section of an experimental chip, the bands of black and white reveal alternating layers of hafnium diselenide – an ultrathin semiconductor material – and the hafnium dioxide insulator. The cross-section matches an overlaid color schematic on the right. Credit: Michal Mleczko

The next generation of feature-filled and energy-efficient electronics will require computer chips just a few atoms thick. For all its positive attributes, trusty silicon can’t take us to these ultrathin extremes. Now, electrical engineers at Stanford have identified two semiconductors – hafnium diselenide and zirconium diselenide – that share or even exceed some of silicon’s desirable traits, starting with the fact that all 3 materials can “rust.”

“It’s a bit like rust, but a very de...

The development of graphene-based flexible textile supercapacitor using a simple and scalable printing technique is a significant step towards realising multifunctional next generation wearable e-textiles Credit: University of Manchester

New research from Manchester University has demonstrated flexible graphene oxide battery-like devices printed directly on to textiles using a simple screen-printing technique. The current hurdle with wearable technology is how to power devices without the need for cumbersome battery packs. Devices known as supercapacitors are one way to achieve this. A supercapacitor acts similarly to a battery but allows for rapid charging which can fully charge devices in seconds.

The new solid-state flexible supercapacitor device has been demonstrated by using conductiv...

1. This is an artistic rendering of fiber-shaped implantable batteries using biocompatible electrolytes.
Credit: Guo et al.
2. Guo et al. Multi-functional Flexible Aqueous Sodium-Ion Batteries with High Safety. Chem, 2017 DOI: 10.1016/j.chempr.2017.05.004

Researchers in China have engineered bendable batteries that can run on body-inspired liquids such as normal IV saline solution and cell-culture medium. In their work the authors designed alternatives to lithium-ion batteries by focusing on the mechanical-stress demands of wearable electronics such as smartwatches and the safety requirements of implantable electronics.

“Current batteries like the lithium-ion ones used in medical implants generally come in rigid shapes,” says Yonggang Wang, a chemistry professor at Fudan University and the C...