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Categories: Energy: Technology, Engineering: Graphene
Published 'Green' hydrogen: How photoelectrochemical water splitting may become competitive
(via sciencedaily.com) Sunlight can be used to produce green hydrogen directly from water in photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells. So far, most systems based on this 'direct approach' have not been energetically competitive. However, the balance changes as soon as some of the hydrogen in such PEC cells is used in-situ for a catalytic hydrogenation reaction, resulting in the co-production of chemicals used in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The energy payback time of photoelectrochemical 'green' hydrogen production can be reduced dramatically, the study shows.
Published Researchers create breakthrough spintronics manufacturing process that could revolutionize the electronics industry
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed a breakthrough process for making spintronic devices that has the potential to create semiconductors chips with unmatched energy efficiency and storage for use in computers, smartphones, and many other electronics.
Published Mind-control robots a reality?
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed biosensor technology that will allow you to operate devices, such as robots and machines, solely through thought control.
Published Another crystalline layer on crystal surface as a precursor of crystal-to-crystal transition
(via sciencedaily.com) Ice surfaces have a thin layer of water below its melting temperature of 0 degrees Celsius. Such premelting phenomenon is important for skating and snowflake growth. Similarly, liquid often crystallizes into a thin layer of crystal on a flat substrate before reaching its freezing temperature, i.e. prefreezing. The thickness of the surface layer usually increases and diverges as approaching the phase transition (such as melting and freezing) temperature. Besides premelting and prefreezing, whether similar surface phenomenon exists as a precursor of a phase transition has rarely been explored. Scientists now propose that a polymorphic crystalline layer may form on a crystal surface before the crystal-crystal phase transition and names it pre-solid-solid transition.
Published Nano cut-and-sew: New method for chemically tailoring layered nanomaterials could open pathways to designing 2D materials on demand
(via sciencedaily.com) A new process that lets scientists chemically cut apart and stitch together nanoscopic layers of two-dimensional materials -- like a tailor altering a suit -- could be just the tool for designing the technology of a sustainable energy future. Researchers have developed a method for structurally splitting, editing and reconstituting layered materials, called MAX phases and MXenes, with the potential of producing new materials with very unusual compositions and exceptional properties.
Published Minimizing electric vehicles' impact on the grid
(via sciencedaily.com) Some projections show that widespread adoption of electric vehicles might require costly new power plants to meet peak loads in the evening. A new study shows that placing EV charging stations strategic ways and setting up systems to initiate charging at delayed times could lessen or eliminate the need for new power plants.
Published Propeller advance paves way for quiet, efficient electric aviation
(via sciencedaily.com) Electrification is seen as having an important role to play in the fossil-free aviation of tomorrow. But electric aviation is battling a trade-off dilemma: the more energy-efficient an electric aircraft is, the noisier it gets. Now, researchers have developed a propeller design optimization method that paves the way for quiet, efficient electric aviation.
Published Game-changing high-performance semiconductor material could help slash heat emissions
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have engineered a material with the potential to dramatically cut the amount of heat power plants release into the atmosphere.
Published Researchers develop soft robot that shifts from land to sea with ease
(via sciencedaily.com) Most animals can quickly transition from walking to jumping to crawling to swimming if needed without reconfiguring or making major adjustments. Most robots cannot. But researchers have now created soft robots that can seamlessly shift from walking to swimming, for example, or crawling to rolling using a bistable actuator made of 3D-printed soft rubber containing shape-memory alloy springs that react to electrical currents by contracting, which causes the actuator to bend. The team used this bistable motion to change the actuator or robot's shape. Once the robot changes shape, it is stable until another electrical charge morphs it back to its previous configuration.
Published Are piezoelectrics good for generating electricity? Perhaps, but we must decide how to evaluate them
(via sciencedaily.com) A 'best practice' protocol for researchers developing piezoelectric materials has been developed by scientists. The protocol was developed by an international team led by physicists in response to findings that experimental reports lack consistency. The researchers made the shocking discovery that nine out of 10 scientific papers miss experimental information that is crucial to ensure the reproducibility of the reported work.
Published 3D internal structure of rechargeable batteries revealed
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have pioneered a technique to observe the 3D internal structure of rechargeable batteries. This opens up a wide range of areas for the new technique from energy storage and chemical engineering to biomedical applications.
Published Experiment unlocks bizarre properties of strange metals
(via sciencedaily.com) Physicists are learning more about the bizarre behavior of 'strange metals,' which operate outside the normal rules of electricity.
Published Microscopy: Highest resolution in three dimensions
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed a super-resolution microscopy method for the rapid differentiation of molecular structures in 3D.
Published Electrocatalysis under the atomic force microscope
(via sciencedaily.com) A further development in atomic force microscopy now makes it possible to simultaneously image the height profile of nanometer-fine structures as well as the electric current and the frictional force at solid-liquid interfaces. A team has succeeded in analyzing electrocatalytically active materials and gaining insights that will help optimize catalysts. The method is also potentially suitable for studying processes on battery electrodes, in photocatalysis or on active biomaterials.
Published New kind of transistor could shrink communications devices on smartphones
(via sciencedaily.com) One month after announcing a ferroelectric semiconductor at the nanoscale thinness required for modern computing components, a team has now demonstrated a reconfigurable transistor using that material. Their work paves the way for single amplifiers that can do the work of multiple conventional amplifiers, among other possibilities.
Published New 'camera' with shutter speed of 1 trillionth of a second sees through dynamic disorder of atoms
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed a new 'camera' that sees the local disorder in materials. Its key feature is a variable shutter speed: because the disordered atomic clusters are moving, when the team used a slow shutter, the dynamic disorder blurred out, but when they used a fast shutter, they could see it. The method uses neutrons to measure atomic positions with a shutter speed of around one picosecond, a trillion times faster than normal camera shutters.
Published Electric vehicle batteries could get big boost with new polymer coating
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have developed a polymer coating that could enable longer lasting, more powerful lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. The advance opens up a new approach to developing EV batteries that are more affordable and easy to manufacture.
Published Graphene quantum dots show promise as novel magnetic field sensors
(via sciencedaily.com) Trapped electrons traveling in circular loops at extreme speeds inside graphene quantum dots are highly sensitive to external magnetic fields and could be used as novel magnetic field sensors with unique capabilities, according to a new study.
Published Controlling electric double layer dynamics for next generation all-solid-state batteries
(via sciencedaily.com) Development of all-solid-state batteries is crucial to achieve carbon neutrality. However, their high surface resistance causes these batteries to have low output, limiting their applications. To this end, researchers have employed a novel technique to investigate and modulate electric double layer dynamics at the solid/solid electrolyte interface. The researchers demonstrate unprecedented control of response speed by over two orders of magnitude, a major steppingstone towards realization of commercial all-solid-state batteries.
Published Extreme fast charging capability in lithium-ion batteries
(via sciencedaily.com) Lithium-ion batteries dominate among energy storage devices and are the battery of choice for the electric vehicle industry. Improving battery performance is a constant impetus to current research in this field. Towards this end, a group of researchers has synthesized a lithium borate-type aqueous polyelectrolyte binder for graphite anodes. Their new binder helped improve Li-ion diffusion and lower impedance compared to conventional batteries.