Mussel research strenghtens graphene

Polydopamine acts as binder to achieve high mechanical and electrical properties

24-Oct-2018 - Researchers demonstrated the mussel-inspired reinforcement of graphene fibers for the improvement of different material properties. A research group under Professor Sang Ouk Kim applied polydopamine as an effective infiltrate binder to achieve high mechanical and electrical properties for ...

Taming defects in nanoporous materials to put them to a good use

Fundamental aspects of defective materials that can be employed to capture CO2

10-Aug-2018 - The word "defect" universally evokes some negative, undesirable feature, but researchers at the Energy Safety Research Institute (ESRI) at Swansea University have a different opinion: in the realm of nanoporous materials, defects can be put to a good use, if one knows how to tame them. Metal ...

The culprit of some GaN defects could be nitrogen

04-Jul-2018 - As silicon-based semiconductors reach their performance limits, gallium nitride (GaN) is becoming the next go-to material to advance light-emitting diode (LED) technologies, high-frequency transistors and photovoltaic devices. Holding GaN back, however, is its high numbers of defects. This ...

Better kesterite solar cells with germanium

03-Apr-2018 - Specific changes in the composition of kesterite-type semiconductors make it possible to improve their suitability as absorber layers in solar cells. As a team at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin showed, this is particularly true for kesterites in which tin was replaced by germanium. The scientists ...

Graphene forged into three-dimensional shapes

28-Sep-2017 - Researchers from Finland and Taiwan have discovered how graphene, a single-atom-thin layer of carbon, can be forged into three-dimensional objects by using laser light. A striking illustration was provided when the researchers fabricated a pyramid with a height of 60 nm, which is about 200 times ...

Mapping the effects of crystal defects

16-Mar-2017 - New research offers insights into how crystal dislocations -- a common type of defect in materials -- can affect electrical and heat transport through crystals, at a microscopic, quantum mechanical level. Dislocations in crystals are places where the orderly three-dimensional structure of a ...

X-ray imaging captures material defect process for the first time

19-Jan-2017 - From blacksmiths forging iron to artisans blowing glass, humans have for centuries been changing the properties of materials to build better tools - from iron horseshoes and swords to glass jars and medicine vials. In modern life, new materials are created to improve today's items, such as ...

First look inside nanoscale catalysts shows 'defects' are useful

13-Jan-2017 - Using one of the world's brightest light sources to peer inside some of the world's smallest particles, scientists have confirmed a longstanding hypothesis: that atomic disorder or "defects" at the edges of nanoparticles is what makes them effective as chemical change agents. The process by which ...

New theory overcomes a longstanding polymer problem

Technique for calculating elasticity could aid design of new materials

20-Sep-2016 - All polymers have a distinctive degree of elasticity — how much they will stretch when a force is applied. However, for the past 100 years, polymer scientists have been stymied in their efforts to predict polymers’ elasticity, because the materials usually have structural flaws at the molecular ...

Scientists gain new insights into atomic disordering of complex metal oxides

09-Mar-2016 - A study led by the University of Tennessee and the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory could soon pay dividends in the development of materials with energy-related applications. Three UT researchers—Maik Lang, assistant professor of nuclear engineering ; Haidong Zhou, assistant ...