Halogen bonding for selective electrochemical separation

Path to sustainable chemical processing demonstrated

20-Aug-2024 - With a new polymer that only attracts certain substances from solutions when electrically activated, researchers have taken a major step towards sustainable chemical separation. A team based at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has reported the first demonstration of selective ...

Increasing solid-state electrolyte conductivity and stability using helical structure

12-Aug-2024 - Solid-state electrolytes have been explored for decades for use in energy storage systems and in the pursuit of solid-state batteries. These materials are safer alternatives to the traditional liquid electrolyte—a solution that allows ions to move within the cell—used in batteries today. However, ...

Researchers can now predict properties of disordered polymers

04-Jun-2019 - Thanks to a team of researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, scientists are able to read patterns on long chains of molecules to understand and predict behavior of disordered strands of proteins and polymers. The results could, ...

Gaining control over soft-molecule synthesis

16-Jan-2019 - By gaining control over shape, size and composition during synthetic molecule assembly, researchers can begin to probe how these factors influence the function of soft materials. Finding these answers could help advance virology, drug delivery development and the creation of new materials. "We ...

Electrostatic force takes charge in bioinspired polymers

06-Nov-2017 - Researchers at the University of Illinois and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst have taken the first steps toward gaining control over the self-assembly of synthetic materials in the same way that biology forms natural polymers. This advance could prove useful in designing new bioinspired, ...

Shining a light on damage within polymers

19-Aug-2016 - When it comes to even the most advanced materials, the adage "if it does not bend, it breaks" is often true. But before that final snap, most materials experience microscopic damage that could be fixed -- but only if you know it's there. In a study researchers introduce a new technique that ...

New research may enhance display & LED lighting technology

Large-area integration of quantum dots and photonic crystals produce brighter and more efficient light

11-Aug-2015 - Recently, quantum dots (QDs) have moved from the research lab into commercial products. However, QDs are expensive to make so there's a push to improve their performance and efficiency, while lowering their fabrication costs. Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have ...

Repeated self-healing now possible in composite materials

17-Apr-2014 - Internal damage in fiber-reinforced composites, materials used in structures of modern airplanes and automobiles, is difficult to detect and nearly impossible to repair by conventional methods. A small, internal crack can quickly develop into irreversible damage from delamination, a process in ...

Off-the-shelf materials lead to self-healing polymers

06-Feb-2014 - Look out, super glue and paint thinner. Thanks to new dynamic materials developed at the University of Illinois, removable paint and self-healing plastics soon could be household products. U. of I. materials science and engineering professor Jianjun Cheng, graduate student Hanze Ying and ...

Prof. Scott R. White honoured with the Humboldt Research Award

04-Feb-2013 - Scott R. White, professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a world-leading expert in material science. He is well-known for pioneering the development of self-healing polymerbased materials. As a member of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and ...