Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

Researchers created a novel functional composite of gallium with putty or paste-like physical properties. The composite possesses excellent electromagnetic shielding as well as thermal conductivity. Gallium is a highly useful element that has accompanied the advancement of human civilization throughout the 20th century. Gallium is designated as a technologically critical element, as it is essential for the fabrication of semiconductors and transistors...

Rapid, accurate communication worldwide is possible via fiber optic cables, but as good as they are, they are not perfect. Now, researchers from Penn State and AGC Inc. in Japan suggest that the silica glass used for these cables would have less signal loss if it were manufactured under high pressure.

“Signal loss means that we have to use amplifiers every 80 to 100 kilometers (50 to 62 miles),” said John C. Mauro, professor of materials science and engineering, Penn State. “After that distance, the signal wouldn’t be detected properly. Across continents or across oceans that becomes a big deal.”

Glass fibers lose signal strength because of Rayleigh scattering — scattering of light that comes from fluctuations in the glass’s atomic structure.

“Glass, on an atomic scale, is he...

Converting polyethylene packaging into high-value products incentivizes plastics recycling. Only a small percentage of plastic bags and other polyethylene packaging is recycled because only low-value products can be made from this waste. Chemists have created a catalytic process that preserves the desirable properties of polyethylene while adding another attribute – stickiness – that increases the value of the recycled product...

Chemists at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) have developed a way to integrate liquids directly into materials during the 3D printing process. This allows, for example, active medical agents to be incorporated into pharmaceutical products or luminous liquids to be integrated into materials, which allow monitoring of damage. The study was published in “Advanced Materials Technologies”.

3D printing is now widely used for a range of applications. Generally, however, the method is limited to materials which are liquefied through heat and become solid after printing...