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New ceramics promise hotter gas turbines that produce more power
Skoltech researchers have identified promising ceramic materials for metal coatings that would boost gas turbine efficiency. If further experimental tests prove successful, the coatings will enable power plants to produce more electricity and jet planes to consume less fuel. With the material discovery technique tried and tested, the researchers intend to continue the search and find more candidates with perhaps even better properties. The study is published in Physical Review Materials. Thermal barrier coatings are used to protect turbine blades at power plants and in jet engines. The blades themselves are made of nickel-based superalloys. These offer a great combination of high-temperature strength, toughness, and resistance to degradation. However, as things get really hot, the superalloy softens and may even melt. Protective coatings make it possible to operate turbines at higher temperatures without compromising their integrity. And in this case, higher temperature means greater efficiency.
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Conduction of catalytic properties from buried transitional metals to exposed inert main group metals
The electronic interaction between buried single transitional metal and adjacent aluminum atoms via metallic bonding can be well demonstrated. Inspired by the disappearance of surface transitional metal species on an aluminum substrate upon annealing, the research group of Zhenpeng Hu (School of Physics, Nankai University) performed density functional (DFT) calculations. Some d-block metals are found to show a self-dispersion and sinking tendency and can be well stabilized in the subsurface region of single-crystal aluminum. A new study on this topic led by Prof. Landong Li (College of Chemistry, Nankai University), Prof. Zhenpeng Hu, and Prof. Fan Yang (School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University) appears in National Science Review.
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The First Law of Thermodynamics
Also known as a form of the law of conservation of energy, the first law of thermodynamics essentially states that any energy that goes into (or out of) a system alters the energy of that system by the same amount. It is written in terms of work, heat transfer, and internal energy. Mathematically, the change in internal energy of a system is equal to the difference between the heat transfer into a system and the work done by the system.
Sources/Further Reading: (Image source - NASA) (OpenStax) (Wikipedia)
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Life and the Elements: Terbium
Terbium has no known biological role and its compounds are considered to have low to moderate toxicity.
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Scientists reveal the first unconventional superconductor that can be found in mineral form in nature
Scientists from Ames National Laboratory have identified the first unconventional superconductor with a chemical composition also found in nature. Miassite is one of only four minerals found in nature that act as a superconductor when grown in the lab. The team's investigation of miassite revealed that it is an unconventional superconductor with properties similar to high-temperature superconductors. Their findings, published in Communications Materials, further scientists' understanding of this type of superconductivity, which could lead to more sustainable and economical superconductor-based technology in the future. Superconductivity is when a material can conduct electricity without energy loss. Superconductors have applications including medical MRI machines, power cables, and quantum computers. Conventional superconductors are well understood but have low critical temperatures. The critical temperature is the highest temperature at which a material acts as a superconductor.
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New 'papertronics' offer biodegradable alternative to traditional circuits
As the Internet of Things connects more devices into a collective network—even single-use sensors like food packaging, agriculture or "smart bandages"—the need for biodegradable electronics grows increasingly urgent. Binghamton University Professor Seokheun "Sean" Choi sought to investigate his ideas about integrated papertronics. A new research paper published in Advanced Sustainable Systems reports his latest findings—and they could revolutionize how we monitor the world around us. "The biggest problem with paper for electronics is that the paper is highly porous and rough," said Choi, a faculty member in the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "These properties are very helpful for paperfluidics, because those devices require high surface area and roughness—but for electronics, they pose a critical challenge."
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Good prospects for altermagnets in spin-based electronics
Altermagnets represent a newly recognized class of materials in magnetism that could enable novel applications in spin-based electronics. Their magnetically ordered state consists of an antiparallel arrangement of microscopic magnetic moments, so-called spins, as in antiferromagnets. In contrast to antiferromagnetism, however, the altermagnetic state with zero net-magnetization enables the generation of electrical currents with spin polarization, as required in spin-based electronics. Thus, altermagnets combine the advantages of antiferromagnets, i.e., ultrafast dynamics, and ferromagnets, i.e., large spin polarization. In collaboration with a theoretical team led by Professor Jairo Sinova and Dr. Libor Šmejkal, experimental physicist Dr. Sonka Reimers and her colleagues in Professor Mathias Kläui's lab at the Institute of Physics at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have demonstrated altermagnetic electronic band splitting associated with spin polarization in CrSb.
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Brazilian scientists obtain a material that could be useful for hydrogen production
Hydrogen (H2) is considered a possible alternative to fossil fuels, which are responsible for a large proportion of atmospheric emissions and global warming, but production costs must be lowered if it is to become a viable option. In an article published in the journal Electrochimica Acta, scientists at the Center for Development of Functional Materials (CDMF), a Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center (RIDC) hosted at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) in São Paulo state, Brazil, describe the synthesis of a nickel phosphide electrode that showed high efficiency in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysis. This type of reaction, which is still costly, breaks down water molecules to release hydrogen ions in a process known as hydrolysis.
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New research on tungsten unlocks potential for improving fusion materials
In the pursuit of clean and endless energy, nuclear fusion is a promising frontier. But in fusion reactors, where scientists attempt to make energy by fusing atoms together, mimicking the sun's power generation process, things can get extremely hot. To overcome this, researchers have been diving deep into the science of heat management, focusing on a special metal called tungsten. New research, led by scientists at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, highlights tungsten's potential to significantly improve fusion reactor technology based on new findings about its ability to conduct heat. This advancement could accelerate the development of more efficient and resilient fusion reactor materials. Their results were published today in Science Advances.
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Waste Gases from Iron and Steel Production
Not all byproducts produced in manufacturing are solid wastes that need to be disposed of - many processes, including the production of iron and steel, have gaseous byproducts. In the case of the iron and steel industry, they produce massive amounts of carbon dioxide, estimated in 2022 as 8% of global emissions. Historically, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen are produced when processing iron, however, carbon monoxide (being toxic) is generally reacted further to convert it to carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide and nitrogen are then typically allowed to be released into the atmosphere. As with many other waste products in this day and age, research is ongoing to find uses for the excess CO2, as well as reduce the amount produced and find new ways to produce irons and steels.
Sources/Further Reading: (Image source - 2022 article) (2021 article) (Chemistry World) (Max Planck Research) (Clarke Energy)
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Elemental Naming: Terbium
Discovered by Swedish chemist Carl Gustaf Mosander in 1843, terbium was named, alongside yttrium, erbium, and ytterbium, after the Swedish village of Ytterby, from which the rare earth mineral yttria was discovered and named.
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New high-speed microscale 3D printing technique
3D-printed microscopic particles, so small that to the naked eye they look like dust, have applications in drug and vaccine delivery, microelectronics, microfluidics, and abrasives for intricate manufacturing. However, the need for precise coordination between light delivery, stage movement, and resin properties makes scalable fabrication of such custom microscale particles challenging. Now, researchers at Stanford University have introduced a more efficient processing technique that can print up to 1 million highly detailed and customizable microscale particles a day. "We can now create much more complex shapes down to the microscopic scale, at speeds that have not been shown for particle fabrication previously, and out of a wide range of materials," said Jason Kronenfeld, Ph.D. candidate in the DeSimone lab at Stanford and lead author of the paper that details this process, published today in Nature.
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Beetles living in the dark teach us how to make sustainable colors
Inspired by beetle cuticles, scientists have developed optical structures that can produce vibrant, iridescent and completely biodegradable colors using chitin—the world's second most abundant organic material. "Extreme scarcity conditions have enabled natural materials to evolve into some of the most extraordinary materials on Earth, such as incredibly strong spider silk and impact-resistant seashells," said Javier Fernandez, Associate Professor of Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). Throughout history, scientists have consistently turned to nature for inspiration to solve problems and develop new technologies, from da Vinci's flying machines modeled after birds to efficient swimsuits that mimic shark skin.
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You don't need glue to hold these materials together—just electricity
Is there a way to stick hard and soft materials together without any tape, glue or epoxy? A new study published in ACS Central Science shows that applying a small voltage to certain objects forms chemical bonds that securely link the objects together. Reversing the direction of electron flow easily separates the two materials. This electroadhesion effect could help create biohybrid robots, improve biomedical implants and enable new battery technologies. When an adhesive is used to attach two things, it binds the surfaces either through mechanical or electrostatic forces. But sometimes those attractions or bonds are difficult, if not impossible, to undo. As an alternative, reversible adhesion methods are being explored, including electroadhesion (EA). Though the term is used to describe a few different phenomena, one definition involves running an electric current through two materials causing them to stick together, thanks to attractions or chemical bonds. Previously, Srinivasa Raghavan and colleagues demonstrated that EA can hold soft, oppositely charged materials together, and even be used to build simple structures. This time, they wanted to see if EA could reversibly bind a hard material, such as graphite, to a soft material, such as animal tissue.
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Soft support can make unexpectedly stable glass
Glasses are ubiquitous materials found in building materials, beverage containers, soft electronics, and mobile phone screens. The creation of naturally dense and rigid glass occurs through a process known as aging. It involves a slow transformation that can take place over millennia to hundreds of millions of years and is marked by the gradual densification and rigidification of a liquid cooled below its melting point. However, in 2007 researchers found that stable glasses can also be produced by condensing the material from the vapor phase, using a process called physical vapor deposition. Vapor deposition allows molecules that have just arrived at the surface to pack better, producing better-aged glasses. Now, a team of researchers led by Zahra Fakhraai of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Arts & Sciences, in collaboration with scientists at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, have discovered a method to further expedite this aging process, redefining the fundamental principles that have guided the formation of stable glass. Their findings are published in the journal Nature Materials.
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Professor Kangwoo Cho and PhD candidate Jiseon Kim from the Division of Environmental Science & Engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) collaborated with the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) to devise a novel catalyst aimed at enhancing the efficiency of reactions using contaminated municipal sewage to produce hydrogen -- a green energy source. Their research recently featured in the international journal Advanced Functional Materials. With the growing environmental concerns of pollution associated with fossil fuel, hydrogen has garnered increased interest. Water electrolysis technology is a sustainable process that leverages Earth's abundant water to produce hydrogen. However, the concurrent oxygen evolution reaction during hydrogen production is notably slow, resulting in a considerably low energy conversion efficiency.
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Displacive and Reconstructive Phase Transformations
One way to categorize phase transformations is the way in which atoms move to create the new phase. Displacive, also known as diffusionless, transformations are those in which the atoms shift in position relative to each other but do not move throughout the lattice and generally maintain the same neighbors. Displacive transformations do not involve diffusion or compositional changes. Contrarily, reconstructive, also known as diffusive or diffusional, transformations, are those in which atoms move throughout the lattice and rearrange themselves relative to each other. Reconstructive phase transformations involve diffusion, and can (but don't always) involve compositional changes.
Graphite to diamond is a reconstructive phase transformation, as is the formation of pearlite in steels. Quartz to cristobalite is a displacive phase transformation, as is the formation of martensite in steels.
Sources/Further Reading: (Image source - Steel Microstructures) (Diffusionless 2001 book chapter) (Diffusional 2014 book chapter) (Phase transformations book chapter) (University of Cambridge)
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