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    Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

    Scientists Develop Biodegradable Printed Paper Batteries

    December 16, 2021, Categories  Chemistry/Nanotechnology

    Fabrication and characterizations of hydrogel cellulose paper (HCP). a) Schematic of original CP and HCP. b) Optical image of HCP (top) and original CP (bottom) with printed circuit patterns. c) One piece of HCP under mechanical deformation. SEM images of d) CP and e) HCP. f) Stress–strain curves of HCP and CP. g) The biodegradability tests of CP (left) and HCP (right) under moist soil. Yellow dash circles show outline of the samples. h) Photograph of a dry HCP (left) and a swollen HCP (right) with printed patterns. Blue dash squares with the same size of 30 mm × 30 mm show the boundaries of HCP. i) Galvanostatic plating/stripping curves of zinc symmetrical cells at a current density of 5 mA cm−2 and a cut-off capacity of 1 mAh cm−2. Credit: DOI: 10.1002/advs.202103894

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    Liquid Crystals for Fast Switching Devices

    December 9, 2021, Categories  Physics, Chemistry/Nanotechnology

    Credit: CC0 Public Domain

    An international team has investigated a newly synthesized liquid-crystalline material that promises applications in optoelectronics. Simple rod-shaped molecules with a single center of chirality self-assemble into helical structures at room temperature. Using soft X-ray resonant scattering at BESSY II, the scientists have now been able to determine the pitch of the helical structure with high precision. Their results indicate an extremely short pitch at only about 100 nanometres which would enable applications with particularly fast switching processes.

    Liquid crystals are not solid, but some of their physical properties are directional — like in a crystal. This is because their molecules can arrange themselves into certain patterns...

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    Sodium-based Material Yields Stable Alternative to Lithium-ion Batteries

    December 8, 2021, Categories  Chemistry/Nanotechnology

    Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a new sodium metal anode for rechargeable batteries (left) that resists the formation of dendrites, a common problem with standard sodium metal anodes (right) that can lead to shorting and fires. Images were taken with a scanning electron microscope. Credit: Yixian Wang/University of Texas at Austin.

    University of Texas at Austin researchers have created a new sodium-based battery material that is highly stable, capable of recharging as quickly as a traditional lithium-ion battery and able to pave the way toward delivering more energy than current battery technologies.

    For about a decade, scientists and engineers have been developing sodium batteries, which replace both lithium and cobalt used in current lithium-ion batt...

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    Efficient Organic Solar Cells Processed from Green Solvents

    December 1, 2021, Categories  Physics, Chemistry/Nanotechnology

    Rui Zhang with the new solar cell. Olov Planthaber

    A small guest molecule in the right place makes it possible to produce energy-efficient organic solar cells using eco-friendly solvents. A record efficiency over 17% is demonstrated. In addition, solar cells with larger areas can be produced. “This is a major step towards large-scale industrial manufacture of efficient and stable organic solar cells,” says Feng Gao, professor in the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM) at Linköping University. The result has been published in Nature Energy.

    Developments in organic solar cells are rapid, and the maximum energy efficiency achieved by solar cells produced in the laboratory is currently over 18%...

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