Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

A low viscosity, low boiling point, clean solvent system for the rapid crystallisation of highly specular perovskite films

Scientists at Oxford University have developed a solvent system with reduced toxicity that can be used in the manufacture of perovskite solar cells, clearing one of the barriers to the commercialisation of a technology that promises to revolutionise the solar industry. Perovskites – a family of materials with the crystal structure of calcium titanate – have been described as a ‘wonder material’ and shown to be almost as efficient as silicon in harnessing solar energy, and is significantly cheaper to produce.

By combining methylamine and acetonitrile, researchers have developed a clean solvent with a low boiling point and low viscosity that quickly crystallises perovski...

A top view of GrBP5 nanowires on a 2-D surface of graphene. Credit: Mehmet Sarikaya/Scientific Reports

A solution lies in bridging this gap where artificial meets biological – harnessing biological rules to exchange information between the biochemistry of our bodies and the chemistry of our devices. Engineers at the University of Washington unveil peptides that can provide just such a link. The team, led by UW professor Mehmet Sarikaya in the Departments of Materials Science & Engineering, shows how a genetically engineered peptide can assemble into nanowires atop 2D, solid surfaces that are just a single layer of atoms thick...

SEM – model of a metallic nano-network with periodic arrangement ( left) and visual representation of a fractal pattern (right). Credit: M. Giersig/HZB

HZB scientist Prof. Michael Giersig has recently demonstrated for these applications that networks of metallic mesh possessing fractal-like nano-features surpass other metallic networks in utility. These findings have now been published in the most recent edition of the journal Nature Communications.

Their new development is based on what is termed quasi-fractal nano-features. These structures have similarities to the hierarchical networks of veins in leaves. Giersig’s team was able to show that metallic networks with these features optimise performance of electrodes for several applications...

A chemical design strategy for creating artificial multiferroics using oxide nanosheets. Credit: NIMS

Multiferroics are expected to play a vital role in the development of next-generation multifunctional electronic devices. The design of new multiferroics, or materials that display both ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism, is of fundamental importance for new electronic technologies. However, the co-existence of ferroelectricity and magnetic order at room temperature in single compounds is rare, and heterostructures with such multiferroic properties have only been made with complex techniques (such as pulsed-laser deposition and molecular beam epitaxy).

Seeking to develop room-temperature multiferroics, the research group utilized a new chemical design for artificial multiferroic thin film...