Machine learning accelerates the chase for safer, better batteries

Faster and more cost-effective development of new solid-state electrolyte materials

04-Jun-2024 - As the clean transition drives uptake of electric vehicles and energy storage for an electricity grid with ever greater dependence on variable renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, the danger from battery fires grows as well. To limit this risk while improving battery performance, the ...

Improving sodium ion batteries with mechanically robust nanocellular graphene

16-Apr-2024 - Ever since its discovery in 2004, graphene has been revolutionizing the field of materials science and beyond. Graphene comprises two-dimensional sheets of carbon atoms, bonded into a thin hexagonal shape with a thickness of one atom layer. This gives it remarkable physical and chemical ...

Drawing inspiration from plants: A metal-air paper battery for wearable devices

"Not only did the battery demonstrate impressive performance results, it operates without using toxic materials"

08-Apr-2024 - For over two millennia, paper has been a staple of human civilization. But these days, the usage of paper is not limited to writing. It is also playing a pivotal role in ushering in a greener future. Lightweight and thin paper-based devices help reduce dependence on metal or plastic materials, ...

Towards an environmentally means of producing ammonia

Electrocatalytic ammonia synthesis

27-Mar-2024 - A team of researchers has unveiled a promising alternative to the conventional means of synthesizing ammonia, one that is more environmentally friendly. Details of their research were published in theJournal of Materials Chemistry A. When Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch invented a means to synthesize ...

Nanoporous intermetallic compounds that boost hydrogen production

20-Oct-2022 - Hydrogen has the highest energy density (120 MJ/kg) of all known substances, approximately three times more than diesel or gasoline, meaning it could play a pivotal role in sustainable energy systems. But the efficient production of hydrogen by simple water splitting requires highly performing ...

Micro-engineered electrodes could cut battery manufacturing costs

"As 3D printers gain increasing resolution, sodium ion batteries could eventually outperform lithium ion ones"

09-Aug-2022 - New, easily fabricated, high performance carbon microlattice electrodes could soon be used to make cheaper batteries powered by readily available sodium ions. The approach was published by Tohoku University researchers and colleagues in the journal Small. Lithium ion batteries are used in a wide ...

A 4 V-class metal-free organic lithium-ion battery gets closer to reality

High-voltage environmentally friendly organic lithium-ion batteries

19-Apr-2022 - A joint research team from Tohoku University and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has made a significant advancement towards high-voltage metal-free lithium-ion batteries that use a small organic molecule, croconic acid. The breakthrough moves us closer to realizing metal-free, ...

A new method for atomic-resolution electron microscopes

Electron lens formed by light

13-Apr-2022 - Electron microscopy enables researchers to visualize tiny objects such as viruses, the fine structures of semiconductor devices, and even atoms arranged on a material surface. Focusing down the electron beam to the size of an atom is vital for achieving such high spatial resolution. However, when ...

Harnessing sea pineapples and blood waste for metal-air-battery catalysts

“We could utilize two industrial waste products - ones that have historically been difficult to dispose of - and applied them to produce green hydrogen”

11-Feb-2022 - Sea pineapples, an edible ascidian, are a delicacy in Japan. The Tohoku region is famed for its sea pineapple production - known as hoya in Japanese. Now, a research group has established a new use for the scores of sea pineapple shells that get discarded every year. Led by professor Hiroshi ...

A single molecule makes a big splash in the understanding of the two types of water

“Because water plays such an important role in chemistry and biology, and even in understanding our universe, we expect our findings to have a wide-ranging impact”

10-Jan-2022 - It plays a fundamental role in human existence and is a major component of our universe, yet there are still things we don’t understand about water. To address the knowledge gaps, a collaborative team of Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, and Tohoku ...