Category Physics

Triple External Quantum Efficiencies: New material TADF developed

Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence Process in OLED Devices Credit: Osaka University

Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence Process in OLED Devices Credit: Osaka University

~Clue to development of light-weighted, flexible, high-contrast lighting. An international joint research group succeeded in developing a novel thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) material which displays emission of light in colors from green to deep-red through Intersystem Crossing from the singlet to the triplet excitons, a world first. The results will contribute to R&D in white TADF light emitting devices for indoor and outdoor use through combination with TADF materials that emit light in shorter wavelengths (deep blue to yellow).

Over the last few decades, research on organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) has greatly advanced...

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‘Squishy’ Motors and Wheels give Soft Robots a new Ride

Rutgers University engineers created unique elastomeric rotary actuators based on pneumatically driven peristaltic motion. Using silicone-based wheels, these motors enable a new of soft locomotion -- not found in nature -- that can withstand impact, traverse irregular terrain and operate in water. For soft robotics, this innovation represents progress toward providing torque without bending actuators. Credit: Xiangyu Gong

Rutgers University engineers created unique elastomeric rotary actuators based on pneumatically driven peristaltic motion. Using silicone-based wheels, these motors enable a new class of soft locomotion — not found in nature — that can withstand impact, traverse irregular terrain and operate in water. For soft robotics, this innovation represents progress toward providing torque without bending actuators. Credit: Xiangyu Gong

Rutgers engineers, in a breakthrough, create a soft motor that could power versatile soft robots. A small, squishy vehicle equipped with soft wheels rolls over rough terrain and runs under water...

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Scientists just made it Cheaper to Produce Hydrogen from Water

Electrocatalytic water splitting is about to get less costly, thanks to research at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Credit: Image courtesy of KTH The Royal Institute of Technology

Electrocatalytic water splitting is about to get less costly, thanks to research at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Credit: Image courtesy of KTH The Royal Institute of Technology

A hydrogen-fuel economy could finally become a reality with the recent discovery of a cheap, stable and efficient means of getting hydrogen from water. Scientists at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm have unlocked one major barrier to exploiting this renewable energy source. Because the best-performing catalysts for electrochemical oxidation, or “water splitting,” are expensive precious metals, the team led by KTH Professor Licheng Sun is one of many worldwide searching for cheaper alternatives. Sun had earlier developed molecular catalysts for water oxidation (Nature Chem...

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This Message will Self-Destruct

A new electron-beam (e-beam) technique adds carbon atoms to two-dimensional graphene, the equivalent of “writing” on the surface and controlling the electronic properties at the nanoscale. These electronic properties change over time, which could allow a device to function one way now and another way later – allowing the original information to “disappear.” The schematic shows the ability to draw an electron-rich carbon region (black rectangle labeled “FEBID Carbon”). Carbon deposition is induced near the e-beam and controlled by an electron dose. The atomic force microscopy image of the junction between the graphene domains shows an electron-rich, carbon-enhanced region (left) and electron-deficient region (right). Such a nanoscale junction between domains with different electronic properties could control how a device functions.

A new electron-beam (e-beam) technique adds carbon atoms to two-dimensional graphene, the equivalent of “writing” on the surface and controlling the electronic properties at the nanoscale. These electronic properties change over time, which could allow a device to function one way now and another way later – allowing the original information to “disappear.” The schematic shows the ability to draw an electron-rich carbon region (black rectangle labeled “FEBID Carbon”). Carbon deposition is induced near the e-beam and controlled by an electron dose. The atomic force microscopy image of the junction between the graphene domains shows an electron-rich, carbon-enhanced region (left) and electron-deficient region (right)...

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