Lifeboat Foundation

When searching for catalysts for the energy transition, materials consisting of at least five elements are considered highly promising. But there are theoretically millions of them—how do we identify the most powerful one?

A Bochum-based research team led by Professor Alfred Ludwig, head of the Materials Discovery and Interfaces Department (MDI), has succeeded in placing all possible combinations of five elements on a carrier in a single step. In addition, the researchers developed a method to analyze the electrocatalytic potential of each of the combinations in this micromaterial library in high throughput.

This is how they hope to speed up the search for potential catalysts by a considerable degree. The team from Ruhr University Bochum published its findings in the journal Advanced Materials.

Researchers in Drexel University’s College of Engineering have developed a thin film device, fabricated by spray coating, that can block electromagnetic radiation with the flip of a switch. The breakthrough, enabled by versatile two-dimensional materials called MXenes, could adjust the performance of electronic devices, strengthen wireless connections and secure mobile communications against intrusion.

The team, led by Yury Gogotsi, Ph.D., Distinguished University and Bach professor in Drexel’s College of Engineering, previously demonstrated that the two-dimensional layered MXene materials, discovered just over a decade ago, when combined with an electrolyte solution, can be turned into a potent active shield against electromagnetic waves.

Continue reading “Blocking radio waves and electromagnetic interference with the flip of a switch” »

Australia has all the key critical minerals to power the next 100 years.

An Australian-based startup, Recharge Industries Pty, is planning to build a A$300 million (US$210 million) factory that can build lithium-ion batteries that do not have materials imported from China, Bloomberg.

Though Australia is the world’s largest supplier of lithium, a vital battery metal, it currently sends most of its battery raw materials to be processed into components in China.

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We’ve still got a long way to go.

Scientists found that solar sails, not rockets, could be the best option to return materials mined from asteroids back to Earth.

A team of researchers at the Korean Advanced Institute of Science (KAIST) has succeeded in developing a new artificial muscle using graphene-liquid crystal composite fibers.

The team, led by Professor Kim Sang-ouk of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, stressed that the artificial muscle was found to be the most similar to human muscle among those reported to the scientific community so far.

Also, the artificial muscle showed up to 17 times stronger strength when compared to human muscles.

Electronics engineers are continuously trying to develop thinner, more efficient and better performing transistors, the semiconductor devices at the core of most modern electronics. To do this, they have been evaluating the potential of a broad range of materials.

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), compounds based on transition metals and chalcogen elements, have very attractive electronic and mechanical properties that make them promising candidates for the development of future generations of transistors. Most notably, they have an atomically thin structure with no dangling bonds and a bandgap similar to that of silicon.

Despite their advantageous characteristics, TMDs have not yet been used to create transistors on a large scale. The main reason for this is the weak adhesion energy at the interface between these materials and substrates, which makes their widespread fabrication challenging.

How do you connect with nature?
Sophia explores the relationship between art, nature, and existence while perceiving her environment using an adaptive-style-transfer neural network.

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A quantum camera can take images using light that has never actually illuminated the subject. It could be useful for imaging particularly fragile tissues and materials.

Working with one of the world’s preeminent thermoelectric materials researchers, a team of researchers in the Clemson Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Clemson Nanomaterials Institute (CNI) has developed a new, fool-proof method to evaluate thermoelectric materials.

Department of Physics and Astronomy Research Assistant Professor Sriparna Bhattacharya, Engineer Herbert Behlow, and CNI Founding Director Apparao Rao collaborated with world-renowned researcher H. J. Goldsmid, professor emeritus at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia, to create a one-stop method for evaluating the efficiency of thermoelectric materials.

Goldsmid is considered by many to be the “father of thermoelectrics” for his pioneering work in thermoelectric materials. Bhattacharya first connected with Goldsmid on LinkedIn, telling him she had confirmed one of his theoretical predictions during her graduate studies at Clemson University.