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Categories: Engineering: Graphene, Environmental: Wildfires
Published Another crystalline layer on crystal surface as a precursor of crystal-to-crystal transition


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


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 New model provides improved air-quality predictions in fire-prone areas


Globally, wildfires are becoming more frequent and destructive, generating a significant amount of smoke that can be transported thousands of miles, driving the need for more accurate air pollution forecasts. Researchers have now developed a deep learning model that provides improved predictions of air quality in wildfire-prone areas and can differentiate between wildfires and non-wildfires.
Published A mechanistic and probabilistic method for predicting wildfires


In the event of dry weather and high winds, power system-ignited incidents are more likely to develop into wildfires. The risk is greater if vegetation is nearby. A new study provides the methodology for predicting at what point during a high wind storm, powerline ignition is likely.
Published 3D internal structure of rechargeable batteries revealed


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 Microscopy: Highest resolution in three dimensions


Researchers have developed a super-resolution microscopy method for the rapid differentiation of molecular structures in 3D.
Published Smoke particles from wildfires can erode the ozone layer


A new study finds that smoke particles in the stratosphere can trigger chemical reactions that erode the ozone layer -- and that smoke particles from Australian wildfires widened the ozone hole by 10 percent in 2020.
Published To help dry forests, fire needs to be just the right intensity, and happen more than once


Research into the ability of a wildfire to improve the health of a forest uncovered a Goldilocks effect -- unless a blaze falls in a narrow severity range, neither too hot nor too cold, it isn't very good at helping forest landscapes return to their historical, more fire-tolerant conditions.
Published Graphene quantum dots show promise as novel magnetic field sensors


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 Wildfires in 2021 emitted a record-breaking amount of carbon dioxide


Carbon dioxide emissions from wildfires, which have been gradually increasing since 2000, spiked drastically to a record high in 2021, according to an international team of researchers.
Published Experts demand fire safety policy change over health impact of widely used flame retardants


Leading environmental health experts have called for a comprehensive review of the UK's fire safety regulations, with a focus on the environmental and health risks of current chemical flame retardants.
Published New material may offer key to solving quantum computing issue


A new form of heterostructure of layered two-dimensional (2D) materials may enable quantum computing to overcome key barriers to its widespread application, according to an international team of researchers.
Published The quantum twisting microscope: A new lens on quantum materials


One of the striking aspects of the quantum world is that a particle, say, an electron, is also a wave, meaning that it exists in many places at the same time. Researchers make use of this property to develop a new type of tool -- the quantum twisting microscope (QTM) -- that can create novel quantum materials while simultaneously gazing into the most fundamental quantum nature of their electrons.
Published Ramping up domestic graphite production could aid the green energy transition


Given the growing importance of graphite in energy storage technologies, a team of esearchers has conducted a study exploring ways to reduce reliance on imports of the in high-demand mineral, which powers everything from electric vehicles (EVs) to cell phones.
Published A fifth of California's Sierra Nevada conifer forests are stranded in habitats that have grown too warm for them


Researchers created maps showing where warmer weather has left trees in conditions that don't suit them, making them more prone to being replaced by other species. The findings could help inform long-term wildfire and ecosystem management in these 'zombie forests.'
Published Smooth sailing for electrons in graphene


Physicists have directly measured, for the first time at nanometer resolution, the fluid-like flow of electrons in graphene. The results have applications in developing new, low-resistance materials, where electrical transport would be more efficient.
Published From plastic waste to valuable nanomaterials


Scientists create carbon nanotubes and other hybrid nanomaterials out of plastic waste using an energy-efficient, low-cost, low-emissions process that could also be profitable.
Published New technique maps large-scale impacts of fire-induced permafrost thaw in Alaska


Researchers have developed a machine learning-based ensemble approach to quantify fire-induced thaw settlement across the entire Tanana Flats in Alaska, which encompasses more than 3 million acres. They linked airborne repeat lidar data to time-series Landsat products (satellite images) to delineate thaw settlement patterns across six large fires that have occurred since 2000. The six fires resulted in a loss of nearly 99,000 acres of evergreen forest from 2000 to 2014 among nearly 155,000 acres of fire-influenced forests with varying degrees of burn severity. This novel approach helped to explain about 65 percent of the variance in lidar-detected elevation change.
Published Virtual and augmented reality: Researchers pioneer process to stack micro-LEDs


Researchers are using emerging technology to demonstrate a process that will enable more immersive and realistic virtual and augmented reality displays with the world's smallest and thinnest micro-LEDs.
Published Wildfires are increasingly burning California's snowy landscapes and colliding with winter droughts to shrink California's snowpack


A research team examined what happens to mountain snowpacks when sunny, midwinter dry spells occur in forests impacted by severe wildfire.