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    Category Technology/Electronics

    New Battery Coating could improve Smart Phones and Electric Vehicles

    April 17, 2017, Categories  Technology/Electronics, Chemistry/Nanotechnology

    Illustrations of the design principles of using methyl viologen to form a stable coating to allow the stable cycling of lithium metal. Credit: UC Riverside

    Illustrations of the design principles of using methyl viologen to form a stable coating to allow the stable cycling of lithium metal. Credit: UC Riverside

    High performing lithium-ion batteries are a key component of laptops, smart phones, and electric vehicles. Currently, the anodes side of lithium ion batteries, are generally made with graphite or other carbon-based materials. But, the performance of carbon based materials is limited because of the weight and energy density, which is the amount of energy that can be stored in a given space. As a result, a lot of research is focused on lithium-metal anodes.

    The success of lithium metal anodes will enable many battery technologies, including lithium metal and lithium air, which can potentially increase the capacity of today’s best lithium-...

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    SAVI Camera ditches Long Lens for Distant Images

    April 17, 2017, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics

    A schematic shows the single-beam SAVI system developed at Rice and Northwestern universities. The system employs a single beam, multiple images and sophisticated software to capture detailed images from a distance.

    A schematic shows the single-beam SAVI system developed at Rice and Northwestern universities. The system employs a single beam, multiple images and sophisticated software to capture detailed images from a distance. Click on the image for a larger version. Courtesy of Jason Holloway

    Imaging array proves adept at capturing details as small as a fingerprint. A unique camera that can capture a detailed micron-resolution image from a distance uses a laser and techniques that borrow from holography, microscopy and “Matrix”-style bullet time. A prototype built and tested by engineers at Rice and Northwestern universities reads a spot illuminated by a laser and captures the “speckle” pattern with a camera sensor...

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    Computers Create Recipe for 2 new Magnetic Materials

    April 16, 2017, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics

    1. A microscopic look at the atomic structure of a cobalt-manganese-titanium mixture (Co2MnTi) that is one of the newly predicted and manufactured magnetic materials. Each color shows the distribution of a different element. The uniformity for each material matches the predictions for a stable three-element material. 2. A microscopic look at the atomic structure of a manganese-platinum-palladium mixture (Mn2PtPd), that is one of the newly predicted and manufactured magnetic materials. Each color shows the distribution of a different element. The uniformity for each material -- with the exception the small spots indicating a different phase state -- matches the predictions for a stable three-element material.

    1. A microscopic look at the atomic structure of a cobalt-manganese-titanium mixture (Co2MnTi) that is one of the newly predicted and manufactured magnetic materials. Each color shows the distribution of a different element. The uniformity for each material matches the predictions for a stable three-element material.
    2. A microscopic look at the atomic structure of a manganese-platinum-palladium mixture (Mn2PtPd), that is one of the newly predicted and manufactured magnetic materials. Each color shows the distribution of a different element. The uniformity for each material — with the exception the small spots indicating a different phase state — matches the predictions for a stable three-element material.

    Magnets built atom-by-atom in first effort of its kind, using high-throughput computa...

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    Battery Prototype Powered by Atmospheric Nitrogen

    April 14, 2017, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics, Chemistry/Nanotechnology

    The Structure and Rechargeability of a Room-Temperature Li-N2 Battery (A) Structure of a Li-N2 battery with a Li-foil anode, ether-based electrolyte, and CC cathode. (B) N2 fixation (blue) and N2 evolution (red) curves of a Li-N2 battery with a CC cathode at a current density of 0.05 mA cm−2. (C) CV curves of a Li-N2 battery at a scan rate of 0.05 mV s−1 in N2-saturated (black) and Ar-saturated (red) atmospheres. (D) Cyclic performance of a Li-N2 battery at a current density of 0.05 mA cm−2.

    The Structure and Rechargeability of a Room-Temperature Li-N2 Battery
    (A) Structure of a Li-N2 battery with a Li-foil anode, ether-based electrolyte, and CC cathode.
    (B) N2 fixation (blue) and N2 evolution (red) curves of a Li-N2 battery with a CC cathode at a current density of 0.05 mA cm−2.
    (C) CV curves of a Li-N2 battery at a scan rate of 0.05 mV s−1 in N2-saturated (black) and Ar-saturated (red) atmospheres.
    (D) Cyclic performance of a Li-N2 battery at a current density of 0.05 mA cm−2.

    As the most abundant gas in Earth’s atmosphere, nitrogen has been an attractive option as a source of renewable energy...

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