Category Technology/Electronics

Scientists discovered how to control a material’s properties and stability to develop next-generation solar cells based on newly discovered hybrid perovskites (atomic structure shown above). Simulations revealed that hybrid perovskites could be viewed as super-alkali halides. The schematic illustrates a hybrid perovskite structure where the super halogens are the blue tetrahedrons, the metal atoms are green, and the alkali cation is in the middle (gray structure with pink and black atoms). Journal of Materials Chemistry A

Lead-free, more efficient solar cells and other optoelectronics devices will likely be based on a family of materials known as hybrid perovskites...

Simulated sunlight powers a solar cell that converts atmospheric carbon dioxide directly into syngas. Credit: University of Illinois at Chicago/Jenny Fontaine

1,000-fold improved chemistry leads to ‘artificial leaf’ that makes Syngas. A provisional patent application has been filed by the by University of Illinois researchers. Unlike conventional solar cells, which convert sunlight into electricity that must be stored in heavy batteries, the new device essentially does the work of plants, converting atmospheric carbon dioxide into fuel, solving 2 crucial problems at once. A solar farm of such “artificial leaves” could remove significant amounts of carbon from the atmosphere and produce energy-dense fuel efficiently.

“The new solar cell is not photovoltaic – it’s photosynthetic,” says Amin ...

The image above shows vortex laser on a chip. Because the laser beam travels in a corkscrew pattern, encoding information into different vortex twists, it’s able to carry 10 times or more the amount of information than that of conventional lasers. Credit: University at Buffalo.

Like a whirlpool, a new light-based communication tool carries data in a swift, circular motion. The optics advancement could become a central component of next generation computers designed to handle society’s growing demand for information sharing. It may also be a salve to those fretting over the predicted end of Moore’s Law, the idea that researchers will find new ways to continue making computers smaller, faster and cheaper.

“To transfer more data while using less energy, we need to rethink what’s inside thes...

Representative experiment of a modular microrobot. From (a), a 3-bead robotic microswimmer approaches and assemble with a single non-motile bead and transform into a 4-bead microswimmer. From (b–f), the microswimmer continues to approach and combine with single beads, and eventually modulate into a 9-bead microswimmer. At (g), the 9-bead microswimmer breaks into three different microswimmers under high rotation frequency due to increased shear stress leading to structural flexing.

Drexel Uni researchers have successfully pulled off a feat that both sci-fi fans and Michael Phelps could appreciate. Using a rotating magnetic field they show how multiple chains of microscopic magnetic bead-based robots can link up to reach impressive speeds swimming through in a microfluidic environment...