Washington State University researchers have developed an environmentally-friendly, plant-based material that for the first time works better than Styrofoam for insulation. The foam is mostly made from nanocrystals of cellulose, the most abundant plant material on earth. The researchers also developed an environmentally friendly and simple manufacturing process to make the foam, using water as a solvent…
Goodbye Foam Coolers, Hello Biodegradable Coolers
A single-use cooler, such as the Styrofoam box cooler, may seem like an easy-to-use, disposable item, but in fact, it’s terrible for our environment. This non-biodegradable cooler is an outdoor accessory many utilize while fishing or camping, but it is so environmentally unfriendly that some government bodies have banned its sale, according to New Atlas.…
Dow addresses EMI shielding challenges with conductive silicone adhesive
Today at the Battery Show Europe 2019 (Hall 1, Stand 349) Dow introduced its new DOWSIL EC-6601 Electrically Conductive Adhesive — a next-generation material engineered for reliable performance and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) in demanding electrical and electronics applications in the transportation, communications. and consumer markets. This novel adhesive combines strong electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding capabilities…
Latest Material from Markforged Has Superhuman Power
Markforged, a manufacturer of metal and carbon fiber 3D printers, announced the availability of Onyx FR, a new, V-0 rated flame-retardant material designed for industries like aerospace, automotive, and defense. Onyx FR features unmatched strength, superior print quality, high-quality surface finish – all while resisting fire and propagating a flame. “Manufacturers choose Markforged because our…
No Ink Needed for These Graphene Artworks
When you read about electrifying art, “electrifying” isn’t usually a verb. But an artist working with a Rice University lab is in fact making artwork that can deliver a jolt. The Rice lab of chemist James Tour introduced laser-induced graphene (LIG) to the world in 2014, and now the researchers are making art with the…
Self-Powered Wearable Tech
For emerging wearable tech to advance, it needs improved power sources. Now researchers from Michigan State University have provided a potential solution via crumpled carbon nanotube forests, or CNT forests. Changyong Cao, director of MSU’s Soft Machines and Electronics Laboratory, led a team of scientists in creating highly stretchable supercapacitors for powering wearable electronics. The…
Graphene Sponge Helps Lithium Sulphur Batteries Reach New Potential
To meet the demands of an electric future, new battery technologies will be essential. One option is lithium sulphur batteries, which offer a theoretical energy density more than five times that of lithium ion batteries. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, recently unveiled a promising breakthrough for this type of battery, using a catholyte…
Shrinky Dinks Inspire Stronger Grippers
Shrinky Dinks may be a thing of our childhood past, but now, scientists are using them as the basis for their research. Shrinky Dinks—sheets of polystyrene plastic that kids can draw on and cook to make jewelry, toys, and more—are being used to make durable grippers that could be the foundation of future materials or…
We Accidentally Created a New Wonder Material That Could Revolutionize Batteries and Electronics
Some of the most famous scientific discoveries happened by accident. From Teflon and the microwave oven to penicillin, scientists trying to solve a problem sometimes find unexpected things. This is exactly how we created phosphorene nanoribbons – a material made from one of the universe’s basic building blocks, but that has the potential to revolutionize a wide range…
Squid Skin Inspires Trendy Material for Blanket, Clothes, and Buildings
Squid skin is inspiring engineers in the design of an adaptive space blanket. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have developed a space blanket that provides users with the ability to control their temperature. “Ultra-lightweight space blankets have been around for decades—you see marathon runners wrapping themselves in them to prevent the loss of body…
Ice-Proof Coating for Big Structures Relies on a ‘Beautiful Demonstration of Mechanics’
A new class of coatings that sheds ice effortlessly from even large surfaces has moved researchers closer to their decades-long goal of ice-proofing cargo ships, airplanes, power lines and other large structures. The spray-on coatings, developed at the University of Michigan, cause ice to fall away from structures—regardless of their size—with just the force of…
Clearing an Icy Windshield is About to Get Easier
Scraping an icy windshield can be a seasonal struggle for those that live in colder climates. But engineers from UBC’s Okanagan campus are aiming to ease that winter frustration with a new surface coating that can shed ice from large areas using little effort. The new anti-ice coating is a new class of surfaces called…
Magnets in new product line from AML generate optimized magnetic fields
Advanced Magnet Lab Inc. (AML) now offers Perfect-Field Magnets (PFMs) that deliver stronger magnetic fields and up to 40 times better magnetic-field quality with less power consumption than comparable state-of-the-art Helmholtz coils. The PFMs are also 50% smaller than comparable Helmholtz coils. The Perfect-Field Magnet works in challenging applications with requirements currently not satisfied by…
New Nanomaterial to Replace Mercury
The nano research team led by professors Helge Weman and Bjørn-Ove Fimland at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s (NTNU) Department of Electronic Systems has succeeded in creating light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, from a nanomaterial that emits ultraviolet light. It is the first time anyone has created ultraviolet light on a graphene surface. “We’ve shown that it’s possible,…
A Guide to Etching Metals
Chemical etching is a metal machining technology that has numerous advantages over traditional sheet metalworking processes, key among which is its applicability to a range of metals and alloys — even ones that are difficult or even impossible to machine using traditional metal fabrication technologies. Q. What are the unique characteristics of chemical etching? A.…
Researchers Use 3D Printer to Print Glass
For the first time, researchers have successfully 3D printed chalcogenide glass, a unique material used to make optical components that operate at mid-infrared wavelengths. The ability to 3D print this glass could make it possible to manufacture complex glass components and optical fibers for new types of low-cost sensors, telecommunications components and biomedical devices. In The…
Morphing Origami Takes New Shape, Expanding Use Possibilities
Origami-based structures have been used to create deployable solar arrays for space, adaptable acoustic systems for symphony halls and even crash protection systems for flying drones. Now researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have created a new type of origami that can morph from one pattern into a different one, or even a hybrid…
Multistep Self-Assembly Opens Door to New Reconfigurable Materials
Self-assembling synthetic materials come together when tiny, uniform building blocks interact and form a structure. However, nature lets materials like proteins of varying size and shape assemble, allowing for complex architectures that can handle multiple tasks. University of Illinois engineers took a closer look at how nonuniform synthetic particles assemble and were surprised to find…
Professor Devises ‘Smart’ Building Materials That Move Themselves with No Motor
As a licensed architect concerned about the environment, Doris Sung became fed up catering to clients wanting steel and glass buildings with no regard to how such designs draw boatloads of energy, exacerbating global climate change. So after 20 years, she quit the business and began focusing on building a better mousetrap. The result has…
Need More Energy Storage? Just Hit ‘Print’
Researchers from Drexel University and Trinity College in Ireland, have created ink for an inkjet printer from a highly conductive type of two-dimensional material called MXene. Recent findings, published in Nature Communications, suggest that the ink can be used to print flexible energy storage components, such as supercapacitors, in any size or shape. Conductive inks have…
Fabrics That Protect Against Chemical Warfare Agents
A new coating for textile fibers shows promise for efficiently capturing toxic industrial chemicals and chemical warfare agents under real-world conditions, including high humidity. The research could lead to improved masks and personal protective equipment for soldiers and others at risk of exposure. Researchers at North Carolina State University and the U.S. Army’s Combat Capabilities…
Turtle-Friendly Plastic? A Crafty Sollution
Every year thousands of turtles come ashore along the beaches of the south Pacific coast of Nicaragua to lay their eggs. The female turtles return to the beaches on which they were born to lay an average of 100 ping-pong ball shaped eggs into nest holes dug out of the sand. The beaches in this…
Wonder Material: Individual 2D Phosphorene Nanoribbons Made for the First Time
Tiny, individual, flexible ribbons of crystalline phosphorus have been made by UCL researchers in a world first, and they could revolutionise electronics and fast-charging battery technology. Since the isolation of 2-dimensional phosphorene, which is the phosphorus equivalent of graphene, in 2014, more than 100 theoretical studies have predicted that new and exciting properties could emerge by producing…
Using Bacteria to Protect Roads from Deicer Deterioration
Tiny bacteria could soon be chipping in to keep roads from chipping away in the winter, according to Drexel University researchers who are looking into new ways to make our infrastructure more resilient. Chemicals, like calcium chloride—commonly called “road salts—are used to prevent the ice formation and snow accumulation that can lead to dangerous travel conditions.…
Concrete Pillars Use Stick-On Wraps to Extend Structure’s Lifespan
Concrete pillars may be able to take comfort from stick-on wraps in order to prevent further cracking and extend a structure’s lifespan. Developed by the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU), and JTC, these ready-to-stick wraps help repair concrete structures. The new technology could be fundamental for urban cities to rehabilitate their older structures, such as…