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Innovation - Materials Science - 24.03.2023

Detecting exhaustion with smart sportswear
Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed an electronic yarn capable of precisely measuring how a person's body moves. Integrated directly into sportswear or work clothing, the textile sensor predicts the wearer's exhaustion level during physical exertion. Exhaustion makes us more prone to injury when we're exercising or performing physical tasks.

Materials Science - Health - 23.03.2023

RWTH research team creates the world’s first non-spherical microbubbles
Anisotropic microbubbles open up forward-looking possibilities for ultrasound imaging and drug delivery . An international research team led by Anshuman Dasgupta and Twan Lammers from the Institute for Experimental Molecular Imaging at RWTH Aachen University has succeeded for the first time in generating stable non-spherical microbubbles.

Chemistry - Materials Science - 21.03.2023

New material to create green hydrogen
Researchers from the University of Twente developed a new composite material that outperforms the individual compounds by one to two orders of magnitude. The composite consists of several earth-abundant elements, that could potentially be used for efficient hydrogen generation without rare and precious metals like platinum.

Materials Science - Innovation - 17.03.2023

Muenster researchers work together with battery cell manufacturer
Unique Cooperation between LG Energy Solution, MEET Battery Research Center and Helmholtz Institute Münster Since the middle of last year, MEET Battery Research Center at the University of Münster and Helmholtz Institute Münster (HI MS) of Forschungszentrum Jülich cooperate with LG Energy Solution (LGES), a leading international manufacturer of battery cells.

Materials Science - 15.03.2023

Notre Dame: First Gothic cathedral to make massive use of iron
Study of metal components from Notre Dame site. Cyril FRESILLON / IRAMAT / NIMBE / ArScAn / CEA / Chantier Scientifique Notre-Dame de Paris / French Ministry of Culture / CNRS Is Notre Dame the original Iron Lady? Evidence of the earliest known use of the metal for the construction of a Gothic cathedral has been uncovered by a team of scientists 1 working at the Notre Dame research site (CNRS / French Ministry of Culture).

Materials Science - Innovation - 14.03.2023

University of Toronto researchers advance metal 3D printing technology for automotive, energy and biomedical applications
A team of University of Toronto researchers, led by Professor  Yu Zou  in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, is working to advance the field of metal additive manufacturing at the university's first metal 3D printing laboratory.

Materials Science - 13.03.2023

Are piezoelectrics good for generating electricity? Perhaps, but we must decide how to evaluate them
A -best practice- protocol for researchers developing piezoelectric materials has been developed by scientists - a first in this field of technology. A -best practice- protocol for researchers developing piezoelectric materials has been developed by scientists - a first in this cutting-edge field of technology.

Microtechnics - Materials Science - 13.03.2023

A robot inspired by earthworms
Scientists from the Adolphe Merkle Institute and Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, USA) have developed a flexible robot, inspired by earthworms, that can squeeze into small spaces and move in all directions regardless of the surface . Soft robots with worm-like mechanical properties and shape can, in principle, move over rough terrain and into tight spaces inaccessible to other robots.

Materials Science - Environment - 13.03.2023

Salt battery for home use
Jelle Houben defended his PhD thesis at the department of Applied Physics on March 9th. For several years now, energy storage in salt batteries has been advertised as an environmentally friendly concept that can help accelerate the heat transition. However, product development has only truly hit its stride since recently, says Jelle Houben, PhD candidate at TU/e.

Materials Science - Physics - 09.03.2023

Shape memory for nano-sized objects
Researchers at ETH Zurich achieved a shape memory effect for the first time with objects that are only a few nanometers in size. This can be used to manufacture tiny machinery and robotic devices on the nanoscale. Alloys that can return to their original structure after being deformed have a so-called shape memory.

Materials Science - Physics - 09.03.2023

Knots Smaller Than Human Hair Make Materials Unusually Tough
In the latest advance in nanoand micro-architected materials, engineers at Caltech have developed a new material made from numerous interconnected microscale knots. The knots make the material far tougher than identically structured but unknotted materials: they absorb more energy and are able to deform more while still being able to return to their original shape undamaged.

Materials Science - Chemistry - 07.03.2023

Electric Vehicle Batteries Could Get Big Boost With New Polymer Coating
Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ÜBerkeley Lab) have developed a conductive polymer coating - called HOS-PFM - that could enable longer lasting, more powerful lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. "The advance opens up a new approach to developing EV batteries that are more affordable and easy to manufacture,” said Gao Liu, a senior scientist in Berkeley Lab's Energy Technologies Area who led the development of the material.

Materials Science - Physics - 06.03.2023

A 4D printer for smart materials with magneto-and electro-mechanical properties has been developed
Researchers at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) have created software and hardware for a 4D printer with applications in the biomedical field. In addition to 3D printing, this machine allows for controlling extra functions: programming the material's response so that shape-changing occurs under external magnetic field, or changes in its electric properties develops under mechanical deformation.

Physics - Materials Science - 06.03.2023

Forecast for accidents with nanomaterials
Researchers have for the first time estimated how probable the accidental release of nanomaterials will be in the future. They based this on models from the nuclear industry. For a risk assessment, the results now have to be linked to information about the hazardous nature of the materials. Every year, more than two million tonnes of nanomaterials are produced and used for a wide variety of consumer goods.

Materials Science - Physics - 02.03.2023

Integrating humans with AI in structural design
A process that seeks feedback from human specialists proves more effective at optimization than automated systems working alone. Close Modern fabrication tools such as 3D printers can make structural materials in shapes that would have been difficult or impossible using conventional tools. Meanwhile, new generative design systems can take great advantage of this flexibility to create innovative designs for parts of a new building, car, or virtually any other device.

Innovation - Materials Science - 28.02.2023

Go-ahead for digitally manufactured concrete staircase
The next unit at NEST, the research and innovation building of Empa and Eawag, goes by the name of STEP2. For about two years, partners from research and industry have been working on various innovations in the fields of circular economy, digital and industrial fabrication, building envelope and energy systems, turning them into products ready for market entry.

Materials Science - Chemistry - 23.02.2023

New study takes close look at energy storage
Researchers from Giessen and Münster publish detailed analysis of prospects for the development of solid-state batteries / Review in Nature Energy Research into electrochemical energy storage devices and their development are among those fields of material sciences in which most work is being done worldwide.

Materials Science - Chemistry - 23.02.2023

On the Road to Better Solid-State Batteries
A team from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ÜBerkeley Lab) and Florida State University has designed a new blueprint for solid-state batteries that are less dependent on specific chemical elements, particularly critical metals that are challenging to source due to supply chain issues. Their work, reported recently in the journal Science , could advance solid-state batteries that are efficient and affordable.

Materials Science - Innovation - 23.02.2023

3D printing with bacteria-loaded ink produces bone-like composites
Researchers have published a method for 3D-printing an ink that contains calcium carbonate-producing bacteria. The 3D-printed mineralized bio-composite is unprecedently strong, light, and environmentally friendly, with a range of applications from art to biomedicine. Nature has an extraordinary knack for producing composite materials that are simultaneously light and strong, porous and rigid - like mollusk shells or bone.

Chemistry - Materials Science - 23.02.2023

Researchers enhance durability of low-cost solar cells made from nano-sized crystals
An international team of researchers has developed a new technique to enhance the durability of inverted perovskite solar cells - an important step toward commercialization of an emerging photovoltaic technology that could significantly reduce the cost of solar energy. Unlike traditional solar cells, which are made from wafers of extremely high-purity silicon, perovskite solar cells are built from nano-sized crystals.