Category Technology/Electronics

Doped lithium titanate (LTO) nanoparticles could be incorporated into Li-ion batteries used in, for example, electric or hybrid automotive applications. Credit: Image courtesy of University of Eastern Finland

Lithium-ion batteries are a rapidly growing energy storage method due to their high energy density, especially in mobile applications such as personal electronics and electric cars. However, the materials currently used in Li-ion batteries are expensive, many of them, like lithium cobalt oxide (belonging to the EU Critical Raw Materials, CRMs), are difficult to handle and dispose of. Additionally, batteries using these materials have relatively short lifetimes.

New novel materials are being developed for next generation Li-ion batteries...

A) Classical configuration where the two rotating magnets (shown in rotation in red, green and blue arrows) share the same rotation axis (gray arrows). A similar setup is used in modern milk frothers and food mixers, as well as magnetic stirrers in chemistry labs. B) One configuration studied in this research with the rotating magnets having their rotation axes (gray arrows) perpendicular to each other. Credit: Image courtesy of Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University – OIST

The new milk frother you are using to prepare your cappuccino is likely using magnetic gears. Magnetic gears transmit rotary motion like mechanical gears but instead of teeth they use magnetic attraction and repulsion between rotating magnets...

Two-dimensional metastructured film with Titanium Oxide is fabricated as a photo-catalytic photoanode with exceptional visible light absorption. Credit: Copyright UNIST

A new multilayered (Au NPs/TiO2/Au) photoelectrode boosts ability of solar water-splitting to produce hydrogen. According to the research team, this special photoelectrode, inspired by the way plants convert sunlight into energy is capable of absorbing visible light from the sun, and then using it to split water molecules (H2O) into H2, O2.

This multilayered photoelectrode takes the form of 2D hybrid metal-dielectric structure, which mainly consists of 3 layers of gold (Au) film, ultrathin TiO2 layer (20 nm), and gold nanoparticles (Au NPs)...

Crystal structure of Ca-intercalated bilayer graphene fabricated on SiC substrate. Insertion of Ca atoms between two graphene layers causes the superconductivity. Credit: Copyright Tohoku University

Electrons in graphene take a special electronic state called Dirac-cone where they behave as if they have no mass. This allows them to flow at very high speed, giving graphene a very high level of electrical conductivity. This is significant because electrons with no mass flowing with no resistance in graphene could lead to the realization of an ultimately high-speed nano electronic device. The collaborative team of Tohoku Uni and Uni of Tokyo has developed a method to grow high-quality graphene on a silicon carbide (SiC) crystal by controlling the number of graphene sheets...