Category Physics

Pure platinum with thin fixed foils of yttrium have been used to create the new nanoalloys that are ten times as effective as pure platinum in fuel cells. Credit: Mia Halleröd Palmgren CC BY 3.0

A new type of nanocatalyst can result in the long-awaited commercial breakthrough for fuel cell cars. Research results from Chalmers University of Technology and Technical University of Denmark show that it is possible to significantly reduce the need for platinum, a precious and rare metal, by creating a nanoalloy using a new production technique. The technology is also well suited for mass production.

“A nano solution is needed to mass-produce resource-efficient catalysts for fuel cells. With our method, only 1/10 as much platinum is needed for the most demanding reactions...

In certain materials, light waves can change their direction of polarization. Credit: TU Wien

The ‘quantized magneto-electric effect’ has been demonstrated for the first time in topological insulators at TU Wien, which is set to open up new and highly accurate methods of measurement. A light wave sent through empty space always oscillates in the same direction. However, certain materials can be used to rotate the direction in which the light is oscillating in a magnetic field, ie ‘magneto-optical’ effect. Rather than switching the direction of the light wave continually,’topological insulators’ do so in quantum steps in clearly defined portions. The extent of these quantum steps depends solely on fundamental physical parameters, such as the fine-structure constant...

A self-healing structural color hydrogel inspired by nature A set of self-healing hydrogel films with different structural colors. Credit: Yuanjin Zhao.

A team of researchers at Southeast University in China has developed a self-healing structural hydrogel with a wide variety of applications. It has been noted for several years that one area where humanoid robots are lacking is skin tone—most robots have a pasty white complexion, which is both disturbing and likely to lead to social problems once robots become mainstream. Most artificial skin is not able to heal itself, which means that robots need skin replacement if it gets damaged or accidentally colored in undesirable ways. There is also the issue of colors fading...