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Categories: Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry, Physics: Optics
Published Lighting the path: Exploring exciton binding energies in organic semiconductors
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Organic semiconductors are materials that find applications in various electronic devices. Exciton binding energy is an important attribute that influences the behavior of these materials. Now, researchers have employed advanced spectroscopic techniques to accurately determine these energies for various organic semiconductor materials, with a high precision of 0.1 electron volts. Their study reveals unexpected correlations that are poised to shape the future of organic optoelectronics, influence design principles, and find potential applications in bio-related materials.
Published Unlocking the secrets of quasicrystal magnetism: Revealing a novel magnetic phase diagram
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Non-Heisenberg-type approximant crystals have many interesting properties and are intriguing for researchers of condensed matter physics. However, their magnetic phase diagrams, which are crucial for realizing their potential, remain completely unknown. Now, a team of researchers has constructed the magnetic phase diagram of a non-Heisenberg Tsai-type 1/1 gold-gallium-terbium approximant crystal. This development marks a significant step forward for quasicrystal research and for the realization of magnetic refrigerators and spintronic devices.
Published Efficiently moving urea out of polluted water is coming to reality
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a material to remove urea from water and potentially convert it into hydrogen gas. By building these materials of nickel and cobalt atoms with carefully tailored electronic structures, the group has unlocked the potential to enable these transition metal oxides and hydroxides to selectively oxidize urea in an electrochemical reaction. The team's findings could help use urea in waste streams to efficiently produce hydrogen fuel through the electrolysis process, and could be used to sequester urea from water, maintaining the long-term sustainability of ecological systems, and revolutionizing the water-energy nexus.
Published Chemists create a 2D heavy fermion
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have synthesized the first 2D heavy fermion. The material, a layered intermetallic crystal composed of cerium, silicon, and iodine (CeSiI), has electrons that are 1000x heavier and is a new platform to explore quantum phenomena.
Published Higher measurement accuracy opens new window to the quantum world
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team has developed a new measurement method that, for the first time, accurately detects tiny temperature differences in the range of 100 microkelvin in the thermal Hall effect. Previously, these temperature differences could not be measured quantitatively due to thermal noise. Using the well-known terbium titanate as an example, the team demonstrated that the method delivers highly reliable results. The thermal Hall effect provides information about coherent multi-particle states in quantum materials, based on their interaction with lattice vibrations (phonons).
Published The metalens meets the stars
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a 10-centimeter-diameter glass metalens that can image the sun, the moon and distant nebulae with high resolution. It is the first all-glass, large-scale metalens in the visible wavelength that can be mass produced using conventional CMOS fabrication technology.
Published Ultrafast laser pulses could lessen data storage energy needs
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A discovery from an experiment with magnetic materials and ultrafast lasers could be a boon to energy-efficient data storage.
Published Let it glow: Scientists develop new approach to detect 'forever chemicals' in water
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have created a new way to detect 'forever chemical' pollution in water, via a luminescent sensor.
Published Researchers optimize 3D printing of optically active nanostructures
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The shape, size and optical properties of 3-dimensional nanostructures can now be simulated in advance before they are produced directly with high precision on a wide variety of surfaces. Nanoprobes or optical tweezers with sizes in the nanometre range are now within reach.
Published Glowing COVID-19 diagnostic test prototype produces results in one minute
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Cold, flu and COVID-19 season brings that now-familiar ritual: swab, wait, look at the result. But what if, instead of taking 15 minutes or more, a test could quickly determine whether you have COVID-19 with a glowing chemical? In a new study, researchers describe a potential COVID-19 test inspired by bioluminescence. Using a molecule found in crustaceans, they have developed a rapid approach that detects SARS-CoV-2 protein comparably to one used in vaccine research.
Published New insight into frictionless surfaces is slippery slope to energy-efficient technology
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have made an insight into superlubricity, where surfaces experience extremely low levels of friction. This could benefit future technologies by reducing energy lost to friction by moving parts.
Published Study reveals a reaction at the heart of many renewable energy technologies
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Chemists have mapped how proton-coupled electron transfers happen at the surface of an electrode. Their results could help researchers design more efficient fuel cells, batteries, or other energy technologies.
Published Squishy, metal-free magnets to power robots and guide medical implants
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source 'Soft robots,' medical devices and implants, and next-generation drug delivery methods could soon be guided with magnetism -- thanks to a metal-free magnetic gel developed by researchers. Carbon-based, magnetic molecules are chemically bonded to the molecular network of a gel, creating a flexible, long-lived magnet for soft robotics.
Published Cheap substitute for expensive metal in an industrially common chemical reaction
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have helped minimize the cost of an important class of chemical transformations: converting nitriles into primary amines. Their experimental protocol uses a cheap nickel catalyst instead of an expensive noble metal, is convenient to conduct, and works for a broad range of starting materials. This work is an important advance in sustainable chemistry that might help lower the cost of producing nylon and many other everyday products.
Published Physicists identify overlooked uncertainty in real-world experiments
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The rules of statistical physics address the uncertainty about the state of a system that arises when that system interacts with its environment. But they've long missed another kind. In a new paper, researchers argue that uncertainty in the thermodynamic parameters themselves -- built into equations that govern the energetic behavior of the system -- may also influence the outcome of an experiment.
Published Solid-state qubits: Forget about being clean, embrace mess
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New findings debunk previous wisdom that solid-state qubits need to be super dilute in an ultra-clean material to achieve long lifetimes. Instead, cram lots of rare-earth ions into a crystal and some will form pairs that act as highly coherent qubits, a new paper shows.
Published The power of pause: Controlled deposition for effective and long-lasting organic devices
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In organic optoelectronic devices, the control of molecular deposition on thin films is important for optimal surface arrangement and device performance. In a recent study, researchers developed a new method for achieving stable deposition on thin films effectively. They also developed a tool to track real-time potential changes on the surface. These findings are expected to aid the improvement of organic devices, such as organic light-emitting diodes, in terms of efficacy and durability.
Published Core-shell 'chemical looping' boosts efficiency of greener approach to ethylene production
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) is now one step closer to leaving the lab and entering the real world. Researchers have developed an OCM catalyst that exceeds 30 percent when it comes to the production of ethylene.
Published New catalytic technique creates key component of incontinence drug in less time
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a unique catalyst that promises to revolutionize drug synthesis. It overcomes a common problem associated with the production of drugs from ketones. Using their catalyst, the researchers synthesized a key component of the commonly used incontinence drug oxybutynin. Their results underscore the potential of the catalyst to improve drug discovery and development.
Published Capturing greenhouse gases with the help of light
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers use light-reactive molecules to influence the acidity of a liquid and thereby capture of carbon dioxide. They have developed a special mixture of different solvents to ensure that the light-reactive molecules remain stable over a long period of time. Conventional carbon capture technologies are driven by temperature or pressure differences and require a lot of energy. This is no longer necessary with the new light-based process.