Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

Researchers have been exploring the use of low-cost materials to create rechargeable batteries that will make energy storage more affordable. Now, they have shown that a new technique incorporating aluminum results in rechargeable batteries that offer up to 10,000 error-free cycles.

The cost of harvesting solar energy has dropped so much in recent years that it’s giving traditional energy sources a run for their money...

Optimized flash process could reduce carbon emissions. Rice University scientists have optimized a process to convert waste from rubber tires into graphene that can, in turn, be used to strengthen concrete.

The environmental benefits of adding graphene to concrete are clear, chemist James Tour said.
“Concrete is the most-produced material in the world, and simply making it produces as much as 9% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions,” Tour said. “If we can use less concrete in our roads, buildings and bridges, we can eliminate some of the emissions at the very start.”

Recycled tire waste is already used as a component of Portland cement, ...

A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in South Korea has developed a simple method for converting 2D drawings to 3D objects. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes their technique and possible uses for it.

Over the past several decades, 3D printing has become a popular way to create three-dimensional objects in a relatively simple manner. Such printing allows for on-demand supply of simple products. In this new effort, the researchers have developed another way to create 3D objects without the need for a printer.

The technique involves hand-drawing (or conventionally printing) a 2D image on an object using a special pen with special ink and then submerging the object in a tub of water...

New compound may replace toxic mercury cadmium telluride and gallium arsenide in near-infrared devices. NIMS and the Tokyo Institute of Technology have jointly discovered that the chemical compound Ca3SiO is a direct transition semiconductor, making it a potentially promising infrared LED and infrared detector component. This compound — composed of calcium, silicon and oxygen — is cheap to produce and non-toxic. Many of the existing infrared semiconductors contain toxic chemical elements, such as cadmium and tellurium. Ca3SiO may be used to develop less expensive and safer near-infrared semiconductors.

Infrared wavelengths have been used for many purposes, including optical fiber communications, photovoltaic power gene...