Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

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...

This is a flowchart of energy storage and carbon fixation using Li-CO2 technology. Credit: Qiao et al.

Scientists working toward the elusive lithium-air battery discovered an unexpected approach to capturing and storing CO2 away from the atmosphere. Using a design intended for a lithium-CO2 battery, researchers in Japan and China have developed a way to isolate solid carbon dust from CO2, with the potential to also separate out oxygen gas through the same method. Converting carbon dioxide emissions into other carbon-containing compounds is desirable due to CO2’s contribution to the greenhouse effect and global warming...