Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

A research team at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed a new electrode design that is set to enable the rechargeability of alkaline zinc batteries, one of the most common types of non-rechargeable batteries used in our daily lives, shedding light on a wider application of rechargeable batteries.

Batteries are ever important in the age of smart cities and global digitalization. Yet, a majority of batteries in the market are not rechargeable, or called primary batteries. They are disposed after a single use, an unsustainable practice that poses a serious threat to the environment.

Compared with other types of primary batteries, alkaline zinc batteries are cheap, safe, and energy-dense...

A material known as cubic boron arsenide has two major advantages over silicon, research shows. It provides high mobility to both electrons and holes, and it has excellent thermal conductivity. It is, the researchers say, the best semiconductor material ever found.

Silicon is one of the most abundant elements on Earth, and in its pure form the material has become the foundation of much of modern technology, from solar cells to computer chips. But silicon’s properties as a semiconductor are far from ideal.

For one thing, although silicon lets electrons whizz through its structure easily, it is much less accommodating...

Researchers have designed a fuel production system that uses water, carbon dioxide (CO2), and sunlight to produce aviation fuel. They have implemented the system in the field, and the design, publishing July 20 in the journal Joule, could help the aviation industry become carbon neutral.

“We are the first to demonstrate the entire thermochemical process chain from water and CO2 to kerosene in a fully-integrated solar tower system,” says Aldo Steinfeld (@solarfuels), ...

What if you could power the smart thermostats, speakers and lights in your home with a kitchen countertop? Stones, such as marble and granite, are natural, eco-friendly materials that many people building or renovating houses already use. Now, in a step toward integrating energy storage with these materials, researchers have fabricated microsupercapacitors onto the surface of stone tiles. The devices, reported in ACS Nano, are durable and easily scaled up for customizable 3D power supplies.

It would be convenient if the surfaces in rooms could charge smart home devices or other small electronics without being connected ...