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 next generation of batteries is likely to depend on new solid-state electrolytes, but research has been hampered by the sheer volume of material options and the parameters involved.

A recent review summarizes the progress made in graphene-semiconductor hybrid photodetectors over the past decade. It begins by introducing key photodetector performance indicators, providing the basis for an accurate performance evaluation. The review then elucidates the photoelectric conversion mechanism of graphene-semiconductor hybrid photodetectors.

Skoltech scientists have proposed a fast, scalable, wasteless chemical treatment technique for endowing carbon nanotube films with all the right properties to improve the performance of solar panels, touchscreens, and more.

The Nanomaterials Modeling group of Dr. Grajciar and Dr. Heard from the Faculty of Science, Charles University develops and applies a range of computational methods to study materials with significant industrial potential as well as existing industrially exploited materials with the aim of their optimization.

Materials that can maintain a magnetized state by themselves without an external magnetic field (i.e., permanent magnets) are called ferromagnets. Ferroelectrics can be thought of as the electric counterpart to ferromagnets, as they maintain a polarized state without an external electric field.

Wounds that are superficial for some can be life-threatening for others. With diabetic wounds, healing can be slow, particularly in the feet, increasing the tissue's susceptibility to infection. Foot ulcers and other diabetic foot complications have similar mortality rates to some cancers, yet progress toward improved treatments has plateaued. Now, researchers may have found a better way to kickstart the healing process.

Blue energy has the potential to provide a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. In simple terms, it involves harnessing the energy produced when the ions in a salt solution move from high to low concentrations.

Researchers probed the transit of cations across a nanopore membrane for the generation of osmotic energy. The team controlled the passage of cations across the membrane using a voltage applied to a gate electrode. This control allowed the cation-selective transport to be tuned from essentially zero to complete cation selectivity. The findings are expected to support the application of blue energy solutions for sustainable energy alternatives worldwide.

Imaging the hot turbulence of aircraft propulsion systems may now be possible with sturdy sheets of composite materials that twist light beams, according to research led by the University of Michigan and Air Force Research Laboratory.

A University of Houston researcher is reporting a new method to detect cancer which could make cancer detection as simple as taking a blood test. With a 98.7% accuracy rate, the method—which combines PANORAMA imaging with fluorescent imaging—has the potential to detect cancer at the earliest stage and improve treatment efficacy.

Lenses are used to bend and focus light. Normal lenses rely on their curved shape to achieve this effect, but physicists from the University of Amsterdam and Stanford University have made a flat lens of only three atoms thick that relies on quantum effects. This type of lens could be used in future augmented reality glasses.

RIKEN chemists have demonstrated a gold-nanocluster system that carries two components of a drug in a controlled ratio for maximum cancer-cell killing effect. The active drug remains safely masked until red light triggers its release, minimizing collateral damage to healthy cells near the tumor. The study is published in Chemical Science.

In our communication-centered society, Moore's law sets a high expectation for the increasing rate of the packing density of Si-based transistors. This drives the search for thickness-scalable high dielectric constant (high k) gate layers. Current material candidates, from simple binary oxides to complex polar oxides, all have failed to solve the "polarizability-scalability-insulation robustness" trilemma, hence contributing to the sum total of issues threatening the continuation of the Moore's law.

A research team has successfully synthesized three different crystalline phases of molybdenum boride with a strong Raman signal enhancement performance.

Researchers have unveiled a pioneering breeze wake-up anemometer (B-WA), employing a rolling-bearing triboelectric nanogenerator (RB-TENG) that provides a new strategy for low-energy consumption environmental monitoring. The ability of the B-WA to operate autonomously and efficiently in varying wind conditions marks a substantial advancement in the field of sustainable environmental monitoring.

Recently, a research group from Hefei Institutes of Physical Sciences of Chinese Academy of Sciences, developed an antielectric potential growth method for large-area preparation of Au-Ag heterodimer arrays. The prepared patterned Au-Ag dimer arrays have information resolution up to the nanometer scale due to the multipolar coupling resonance between the Au and Ag components.

To enhance the fields of drug development and medical research, there has been a strategic pivot from traditional animal experiments to the adoption of novel in vitro models. These models meticulously replicate human physiology, spurring the development of microphysiological systems or Organs-on-Chips.

A research team has designed a tandem catalyst to improve the electroreduction of nitrate into ammonia. By coupling Cu single atom catalysts with adjacent Co3O4 nanosheets, the team successfully regulated the adsorption energy of intermediates in the nitrate electroreduction process, promoting the synthesis of ammonia.

National University of Singapore (NUS) physicists have developed a computational imaging technique to extract three-dimensional (3D) information from a single two-dimensional (2D) electron micrograph. This method can be readily implemented in most transmission electron microscopes (TEMs), rendering it a viable tool for rapidly imaging large areas at a nano-scale 3D resolution (approximately 10 nm).

Researchers have demonstrated the ability to engineer materials that are both stiff and capable of insulating against heat. This combination of properties is extremely unusual and holds promise for a range of applications, such as the development of new thermal insulation coatings for electronic devices.