Category Technology/Electronics

Bottom: Platinum atoms attached to layers of lithium cobalt oxide contract when electricity is applied, boosting platinum catalytic efficiency by 90 percent. Top: Removing electrons separates the atoms and lowers efficiency by 40 percent. (1 Ångstrom = 0.1 nanometer) (Image credit: Haotian Wang)

A nanosize squeeze can significantly boost the performance of platinum catalysts that help generate energy in fuel cells, according to a new study by Stanford scientists. The team bonded a platinum catalyst to a thin material that expands and contracts as electrons move in and out, and found that squeezing the platinum a fraction of a nanometer nearly doubled its catalytic activity.

“In this study, we present a new way to fine...

Single crystals of the perovskite developed in this study; on the right a diagram showing the melting of the ferromagnetic state © M. Spina, E. Horváth/EPFL

EPFL scientists have developed a new perovskite material with unique properties to build next-gen hard drives. As we generate more and more data, we need storage systems, e.g. hard drives, with higher density and efficiency. But this also requires materials whose magnetic properties can be quickly and easily manipulated in order to write and access data on them. EPFL scientists have now developed a perovskite material whose magnetic order can be rapidly changed without disrupting it due to heating.

The lab of Laszló Forró synthesized a ferromagnetic photovoltaic material...

Experiments with ultracold magnetic atoms reveal liquid-like quantum droplets that are 20 times larger than previously observed droplets.

In experiments with magnetic atoms conducted at extremely low temperatures, scientists have demonstrated a unique phase of matter: The atoms form a new type of quantum liquid or quantum droplet state. These quantum droplets may preserve their form in absence of external confinement because of quantum effects. “Our Quantum droplets are in the gas phase but they still drop like a rock,” explains experimental physicist Francesca Ferlaino.

In the laboratory, her team observed how macrodroplets formed in a quantum gas...

An artificial diamond under the optical microscope. The diamond fluoresces because due to a number of nitrogen defects.

How can quantum information be stored as long as possible? An important step forward in the development of quantum memories has been achieved by a research team of TU Wien. Conventional memories used in today’s computers only differentiate between the bit values 0 and 1. In quantum physics, however, arbitrary superpositions of these 2 states are possible. Most of the ideas for new quantum technology devices rely on this “Superposition Principle.” One of the main challenges in using such states is that they are usually short-lived. Only for a short period of time can information be read out of quantum memories reliably, after that it is irrecoverable.

A team at TU Wien has...