Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

Rubber-like Stretchable Energy Storage Device Fabricated with Laser Precision

Scientists use laser ablation technology to develop a deformable micro-supercapacitor. Professor Jin Kon Kim and Dr. Keon-Woo Kim from the Department of Chemical Engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), in collaboration with Dr. Chanwoo Yang and Researcher Seong Ju Park from the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH), have achieved a significant breakthrough in developing a small-scale energy storage device capable of stretching, twisting, folding, and wrinkling. Their research has been published in the electronic engineering journal, npj Flexible Electronics.

The advent of wearable technology has brought with it a pressing need for energy storage solutions that can keep pace with the flexibility and stretchability of soft electronic devices.

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A Single Atom Layer of Gold: Researchers Create Goldene

Two researchers in a lab.
Together with colleagues researchers Lars Hultman and Shun Kashiwaya have created goldene.

For the first time, scientists have managed to create sheets of gold only a single atom layer thick. The material has been termed goldene. According to researchers from Linköping University, Sweden, this has given the gold new properties that can make it suitable for use in applications such as carbon dioxide conversion, hydrogen production, and production of value-added chemicals. Their findings are published in the journal Nature Synthesis.

Scientists have long tried to make single-atom-thick sheets of gold but failed because the metal’s tendency to lump together. But researchers from Linköping University have now succeeded thanks to a hundred-year-old method used by Japanese smiths.

“I...

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Unleashing Disordered Rocksalt Oxides as Cathodes for Rechargeable Magnesium Batteries

Unleashing Disordered Rocksalt Oxides as Cathodes for Rechargeable Magnesium Batteries

Researchers at Tohoku University have made a groundbreaking advancement in battery technology, developing a novel cathode material for rechargeable magnesium batteries (RMBs) that enables efficient charging and discharging even at low temperatures. This innovative material, leveraging an enhanced rock-salt structure, promises to usher in a new era of energy storage solutions that are more affordable, safer, and higher in capacity.

Details of the findings were published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A on March 15, 2024.

The study showcases a considerable improvement in magnesium (Mg) diffusion within a rock-salt structure, a critical advancement since the denseness of atoms in this confi...

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This 3D-Printer can figure out How to Print with an Unknown Material

A 3D printer with two-tier cube structure while revealing open wires and circuitry.
Caption: Researchers developed a 3D printer that can automatically identify the parameters of an unknown material on its own.
Credits:Credit: Courtesy of the researchers

Researchers developed a 3D printer that can automatically determine the printing parameters of an unknown material. This could help engineers use emerging renewable or recycled materials that have fluctuating properties, which makes them difficult to print with.

While 3D printing has exploded in popularity, many of the plastic materials these printers use to create objects cannot be easily recycled. While new sustainable materials are emerging for use in 3D printing, they remain difficult to adopt because 3D printer settings need to be adjusted for each material, a process generally done by hand.

To print a new ma...

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