Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

New Design Overcomes Key Barrier to Safer, More Efficient EV Batteries

New design overcomes key barrier to safer, more efficient EV batteries
Credit: Cell Reports Physical Science (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrp.2024.102213

Researchers at McGill University have made a significant advance in the development of all-solid-state lithium batteries, which are being pursued as the next step in electric vehicle (EV) battery technology.

By addressing a long-standing issue with battery performance, this innovation could pave the way for safer, longer-lasting EVs. The findings are published in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science.

The challenge lies in the resistance that occurs where the ceramic electrolyte meets the electrodes. This makes the battery less efficient and reduces how much energy it can deliver...

Read More

Thaumatin: Natural Sweetener with Anti-Inflammatory Potential

Phil Richter sits in front of a sterile workbench and holds a Multipette in his right hand. He has short brown hair, wears glasses and looks into the camera. He is wearing a white coat and gloves.
PhD student Phil Richter working in the lab, photo: G. Olias / Leibniz-LSB@TUM

A new study by the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich shows for the first time that bitter tasting protein fragments (peptides) are produced in the stomach during the digestion of the natural sweetener thaumatin. In a cellular test system, the peptides are able to stimulate the acid secretion of human stomach cells and influence inflammatory reactions. “Our research helps to elucidate the health effects of the plant protein, which is widely used as a sweetener,” says Veronika Somoza, head of the study and director of the Leibniz Institute.

Veronika Somoza’s team is researching, among other things, how bitter-tasting food compounds influence the metabolism of s...

Read More

New Organic Thermoelectric device that can Harvest Energy at Room Temperature

Researchers have succeeded in developing a framework for organic thermoelectric power generation from ambient temperature and without a temperature gradient. Thermoelectric devices are devices that can convert heat into electrical energy. Researchers have now developed a thermoelectric device composed of organic materials that can generate electricity from ambient temperature alone. The device is made from copper phthalocyanine and copper hexadecafluoro phthalocyanine as charge $transfer materials and was combined with fullerenes and BCP as electron transport layers.

Researchers have developed a new organic thermoelectric device that can harvest energy from ambient temperature. While thermoelectric devices have several uses today, hurdles still exist to their full utilization...

Read More

Carbon Fiber Structural Battery Paves way for Light, Energy-Efficient Vehicles

World's strongest battery paves way for light, energy-efficient vehicles
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have succeeded in creating a battery made of carbon fiber composite that is as stiff as aluminum and energy-dense enough to be used commercially. When cars, planes, ships or computers are built from a material that functions as both a battery and a load-bearing structure, the weight and energy consumption are radically reduced. Credit: Chalmers University of Technology | Henrik Sandsjö

When cars, planes, ships or computers are built from a material that functions as both a battery and a load-bearing structure, the weight and energy consumption are radically reduced...

Read More