Category Physics

A single circuit board, foreground, that when joined with others forms the experimental array of the quadrupole topological insulator. Credit: L. Brian Stauffer

Researchers have produced a “human scale” demonstration of a new phase of matter called quadrupole topological insulators that was recently predicted using theoretical physics. These are the first experimental findings to validate this theory. The team’s work with QTIs was born out of the decade-old understanding of the properties of a class of materials called topological insulators...

In a controlled environment, the fastest-growing orientation of graphene crystals overwhelms the others and gets “evolutionarily selected” into a single crystal, even on a polycrystalline substrate, without having to match the substrate’s orientation. An Oak Ridge National Laboratory-led team developed the novel method that produces large, monolayer single-crystal-like graphene films more than a foot long. Credit: Andy Sproles/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Dept. of Energy

A new method to produce large, monolayer single-crystal-like graphene films more than a foot long relies on harnessing a “survival of the fittest” competition among crystals...

An artist’s concept of two kinds of monolayer atomic crystal molecular superlattices. On the left, molybdenum disulfide with layers of ammonium molecules; on the right, black phosphorus with layers of ammonium molecules. Credit: UCLA

New kinds of ‘superlattices’ could lead to improvements in electronics, from transistors to LEDs. A research team led by UCLA scientists and engineers has developed a method to make new kinds of artificial “superlattices” – materials composed of alternating layers of ultra-thin “2D” sheets, which are only one or a few atoms thick...

This is the RMIT-developed proton battery connected to a voltmeter. The working prototype has an energy per unit mass already comparable with commercially-available lithium ion batteries. Credit: RMIT University

Working prototype could eventually replace lithum ion batteries. Researchers from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia have demonstrated for the first time a working rechargeable “proton battery” that could re-wire how we power our homes, vehicles and devices. The rechargeable battery is environmentally friendly, and has the potential, with further development, to store more energy than currently-available lithium ion batteries.

Potential applications for the proton battery include household storage of electricity from solar photovoltaic panels, as done currently by the Tesla ‘P...