Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

Simple Method to produce High-Performing Lithium Selenium Batteries

Fig. 1
Schematic illustration of the procedures for synthesising cobalt single atoms/nitrogen-doped hollow porous carbon (CoSA-HC) particles.

Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are considered the best hope for next-generation battery technology, thanks to their long-life cycle, high specific power and energy density. However, they have not met the ever-increasing demands of emerging technologies such as electric vehicles. Li-Se battery technology is increasingly considered a real alternative to LIBs because of its high theoretical volume capacity and much higher conductivity.

In the first study of its kind, published by the Nature Communications journal, engineers from Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute (ATI), in collaboration with the team at University Technology of Sydney det...

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Key Advance for Printing Circuitry on Wearable Fabrics

Perovskite crystal structure
Image:e Perovskite crystal structure

Electronic shirts that keep the wearer comfortably warm or cool, as well as medical fabrics that deliver drugs, monitor the condition of a wound and perform other tasks, may one day be manufactured more efficiently thanks to a key advance by Oregon State University researchers.

The breakthrough involves inkjet printing and materials with a crystal structure discovered nearly two centuries ago. The upshot is the ability to apply circuitry, with precision and at low processing temperatures, directly onto cloth — a promising potential solution to the longstanding tradeoff between performance and fabrication costs.

“Much effort has gone into integrating sensors, displays, power sources and logic circuits into various fabrics for the creation of we...

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Researchers 3D print Biomedical Parts with Supersonic Speed

Cells adhering to titanium alloy
This image shows cells adhering to a titanium alloy created by cold-spray 3D printing, which demonstrates the material’s biocompatibility.

Forget glue, screws, heat or other traditional bonding methods. A Cornell University-led collaboration has developed a 3D printing technique that creates cellular metallic materials by smashing together powder particles at supersonic speed.

This form of technology, known as “cold spray,” results in mechanically robust, porous structures that are 40% stronger than similar materials made with conventional manufacturing processes. The structures’ small size and porosity make them particularly well-suited for building biomedical components, like replacement joints.

The team’s paper, “Solid-State Additive Manufacturing of Porous Ti-6Al-4V by Supe...

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New Catalyst turns Greenhouse Gases into Hydrogen Gas

New catalyst turns greenhouse gases into hydrogen gas
Schematic comparison, SEM images, the correlation between the number of ALD cycles and the particle size/population, and x-ray photoelectron curves for the samples. (A) Conventional exsolution for LSTN and (B) corresponding SEM image of LSTN. Scale bar, 500 nm. (C) Topotactic exsolution via ALD for LSTN-20C-Fe and the corresponding SEM image of (D) LSTN-20C-Fe after reduction. Scale bar, 500 nm. Credit: Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology

A new nanocatalyst that recycles major greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), into highly value-added hydrogen (H2) gas has been developed...

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