Category Technology/Electronics

This is the newly-developed hetero-type dual photoelectrodes by Professor Jae Sung Lee and Professor Ji-Wook Jang’s joint reserach team. Credit: UNIST

An international team with UNIST has engineered a new artificial leaf that can convert sunlight into fuel with groundbreaking efficiency. In the study, the research presented a hetero-type dual photoelectrodes, in which 2 photoanodes of different bandgaps are connected in parallel for extended light harvesting. Their new artificial leaf mimics the natural process of underwater photosynthesis of aquatic plants to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, which can be harvested for fuel.

This study is expected to contribute greatly to the reduction and treatment of carbon dioxide emissions in accordance with the recent Paris Agreement on climate c...

Simulations by Rice University scientists show that placing cones between graphene and carbon nanotubes could enhance heat dissipation from nano-electronics. The nano-chimneys become better at conducting heat-carrying phonons by spreading out the number of heptagons required by the graphene-to-nanotube transition. Credit: Alex Kutana/Rice University

Scientists calculate tweaks to graphene would form phonon-friendly cones. A few nanoscale adjustments may be all that is required to make graphene-nanotube junctions excel at transferring heat. The Rice lab of theoretical physicist Boris Yakobson found that putting a cone-like “chimney” between the graphene and nanotube all but eliminates a barrier that blocks heat from escaping...

In a new study, Argonne scientists have discovered a way to confine the behavior of electrons by using extremely high magnetic fields. (Image by Argonne National Laboratory.)
In a new study, Argonne scientists have discovered a way to confine the behavior of electrons by using extremely high magnetic fields. (Image by Argonne National Laboratory.)

Olympic figure skaters and electrons have a lot in common. In figure skating competitions, the “free skate” segment gives the skater the flexibility to travel in whichever pattern he or she chooses around the rink. Similarly, in metals, electrons in outer orbitals can wander fairly freely.

However, when the magnetic field is increased dramatically, researchers have found that the motion of these electrons becomes much more tightly confined...

Duke University chemists have found that silver nanowire films like these conduct electricity well enough to form functioning circuits without applying high temperatures, enabling printable electronics on heat-sensitive materials like paper or plastic. Credit: Ian Stewart and Benjamin Wiley

By suspending tiny metal nanoparticles in liquids, Duke University scientists are brewing up conductive ink-jet printer “inks” to print inexpensive, customizable circuit patterns on just about any surface...