Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

Schematic illustration and charge transfer mechanism of ENHANS ribbons.

Marty McFly’s self-lacing Nikes in Back to the Future Part II inspired a UCF scientist who has developed filaments that harvest and store the sun’s energy—and can be woven into textiles. The breakthrough would essentially turn jackets and other clothing into wearable, solar-powered batteries. It could one day revolutionize wearable technology, helping everyone from soldiers who now carry heavy loads of batteries to a texting-addicted teen who could charge his smartphone by simply slipping it in a pocket. “That movie was the motivation,” A/Professor Jayan Thomas, University of Central Florida’s NanoScience Technology Center, said of the film released 1989...

The team used conventional laboratory filter paper as a structural template due to its long fibers and the stable structure. Credit: Institute for Complex Systems /Rome

A team has built the first controllable random laser based on cellulose paper in Straubing. Hence, materials no longer need to be artificially outfitted with disordered structures, utilizing naturally occurring ones instead. Material synthesis that is inspired by biology is an area of research at TUM’s Chair of Biogenic Polymers at Straubing Center of Science. It utilizes models from nature and biogenic materials to develop new materials and technologies.

Two components are necessary for a laser: First of all, a medium which amplifies light. And secondly, a structure which retains the light in the medium...

Electrical response of a circular diaphragm composed of a pure bottlebrush elastomer upon electroactuation with increasing voltage and without any external pre-strain. The numbers indicate the electric field-induced area expansion under constant-volume conditions at room temperature. Credit: Image courtesy of North Carolina State University

A multi-institutional team has developed a new electroactive polymer material that can change shape and size when exposed to a relatively small electric field. The advance overcomes two longstanding challenges regarding the use of electroactive polymers to develop new devices, opening the door to a suite of applications ranging from microrobotics to designer haptic, optic, microfluidic and wearable technologies.

“Dielectric elastomers are the most respo...

Chemical Structure of the Gels (A) Schematic representation of HPPRx and HPPul used in this study. (B) Chemical structures of the PRx-PB (x) gel, Pul-PB (x) gel, PRx-CC (x) gel, and pAAm (x) gel used in this study. Here, x represents the mol % content of cross-linker units in the vinyl polymerization.

Before we have self-healing cars or buildings, we need strong materials that can fully self-repair in water-free environments. Self-healing materials work very well if they are soft and wet, but research groups have found that the ability to self-repair diminishes as materials dry out. Scientists at Osaka University are beginning to bridge this gap with rigid materials that can repair 99% of a cut on the surface in semi-dry conditions...