Articles tagged with Materials Engineering
A Brown University study found that small cracks in a device's electrode layer can drive deeper cracks into the polymer substrate layer, compromising mechanical integrity. Researchers identified hundreds of polymers that could mitigate this elastic mismatch and prevent cracking.
A multilayer film developed by University of California engineers reflects heat while letting through light needed for photosynthesis. This could make greenhouses more water- and energy-efficient, with minimal impact on crop yields. The film reduces near-infrared light passing through by almost 90%.
Researchers created phase diagrams for organic solar cells and found that mixing behavior depends on temperature, requiring additional parameters for accurate prediction. The work could accelerate the development of improved materials for high-efficiency solar cells.
Scientists developed hollow microspheres with adjustable pore size, adhesion, and lubricity properties using mucus and polydopamine. These spheres can be used as drug delivery agents and may prevent tissue damage or provide a protective coating.
Researchers created a new material platform for non-volatile memories using covalent organic frameworks (COFs) and successfully installed electric-field-responsive dipolar rotors. The COFs' unique sln topology allows the rotors to flip without steric hindrance, enabling high thermal durability up to near 400°C.
Researchers developed a wide-band and high-sensitivity magnetic Barkhausen noise measurement system to understand energy loss mechanisms in soft magnetic materials. The study revealed that damping caused by eddy currents generated during DW motion is the main cause of excess eddy current losses.
Researchers at Princeton University have developed a new type of origami that changes its shape and properties in response to external stimuli. By introducing elastic components, they can execute precise folding patterns not previously possible. This technology has potential applications in prosthetics, antennas, and other devices.
Researchers at Harvard SEAS have developed a gentler, more sustainable way to break down keratins and turn leftover wool and feathers into useful products. The process uses concentrated lithium bromide to create an environment favorable for spontaneous protein unfolding.
A newly developed mesoporous WO₃ film exhibits exceptional efficiency and stability for photoelectrochemical water splitting, enabling advanced tandem devices for renewable hydrogen production. The film achieved unprecedented efficiency and long-term stability, particularly in neutral pH conditions.
Professor Paul Motzki is developing ultra-flat, compact, and lightweight cooling units using shape memory alloys and dielectric elastomer actuators. He aims to create climate-friendly and energy-efficient alternative to conventional systems.
Researchers have discovered that soft gels and lotions retain residual stress from the mixing process, affecting their behavior over time. The study reveals that common products like hair gel and shaving cream hold onto these stresses for longer periods than previously assumed.
Researchers create novel design framework to accelerate improvements in shock-absorbing foam materials. The framework allows designers to customize the material's geometry for optimal performance without adding weight or volume, challenging conventional wisdom.
Researchers developed novel artificial bone scaffolds with high deformation recovery capabilities, exceeding those of natural bone and conventional metallic scaffolds. These scaffolds allow for flexible adjustments of properties like strength and modulus to meet specific implantation site requirements.
Researchers develop biodegradable film using calcium caseinate, modified starch and nanoclay for sustainable food packaging. The film breaks down within 13 weeks in normal soil conditions, offering a potential solution to reduce plastic waste.
Researchers are making progress in overcoming technical hurdles to create layered structures, continuous gradients, and fully three-dimensional architectures with programmable material variation. Optimized laser parameters and build sequences can enhance strength, control heat flow, and improve energy absorption.
A new fiber with a sponge-like interior offers improved thermal management and durability. The fiber's phase-change core absorbs and releases heat slowly, maintaining comfort in extreme temperatures.
Researchers developed a technique to monitor corrosion and cracking in nuclear reactors using real-time 3D imaging. By directly imaging material failure processes, scientists can design safer reactors that deliver higher performance.
MIT researchers developed a sustainable electrolyte that quickly breaks down when submerged in organic solvents, allowing for easy recycling of components. The new material could revolutionize the battery industry by simplifying the recycling process and reducing electronic waste.
Researchers at the University of Michigan created woven metamaterials that return to their original shape after repeated compressions, while continuous sheets permanently deform. The structures demonstrated high stiffness and resilience, making them suitable for applications like soft robotics, car parts and architectural components.
Researchers from Shinshu University have developed a unique fiber-based pressure sensor that can detect small changes in pressure, enabling fine-tuned tactile sensing. The fibers exhibit a multi-wall structure that increases resistance when compressed, making them ideal for applications such as soft robotics and wearable devices.
ETH Zurich researchers discovered that Belgian ales like Tripel and Dubbel have stable foam due to surface viscoelasticity or Marangoni stresses. The study also found that beer foam stability depends on protein content and structure, with LTP1 playing a key role in stabilizing foam.
Researchers have confirmed the existence of hidden motions in granular materials like soil and snow, which can control their movement. This discovery could help understand how landslides and avalanches work, as well as benefit industries such as construction and grain filling.
The new Harvard device can turn purely digital electronic inputs into analog optical signals at high speeds, addressing the bottleneck of computing and data interconnects. It has the potential to enable advances in microwave photonics and emerging optical computing approaches.
A new technique for controlling phase boundaries in thin films allows researchers to engineer lead-free energy storage materials with promising dielectric properties. By manipulating the film thickness, they can control the distribution of crystalline structures and enhance specific characteristics of the material.
Recent developments in metalenses focus on increasing structural complexity, broadening achromatic bandwidth, and improving efficiency. Dual-metalens systems offer high-dimensional light-field modulation and parallel imaging capabilities.
A new magnet manufacturing process has been developed that produces strong permanent magnets quickly and uses less energy and is less expensive. The technique, called friction stir consolidation, eliminates porosity in the magnetic material and reduces oxidation.
Researchers have developed a smart hydrogel surface that can instantly recognize whether it's in contact with oil or water and switch its behavior to separate the two. The surface achieves a record-breaking separation speed of 17,750 liters per square meter per hour, three to five times faster than most current membranes.
The research, led by MIT mechanical engineering graduate student Marwa AlAlawi, developed a reconfigurable antenna using auxetic metamaterials that can change its frequency range by changing its physical shape. The device is durable, inexpensive, and can be fabricated using a laser cutter.
Researchers have developed a new way to 'edit' the internal layers of MAX phases, leading to the creation of novel layered inorganic materials. The discovery enables the transformation of covalent-bonded ternary compounds into 2D materials with tunable properties.
Researchers have discovered a way to turn material defects into an advantage for spintronic devices. By exploiting these imperfections, the team was able to boost both orbital Hall conductivity and angle, leading to a threefold improvement in switching energy efficiency.
A team of FSU chemists has developed a new form of X-ray materials that can meet the needs of large-area applications. They created amorphous films by combining non-crystalline organic molecules with metal halides, enabling efficient conversion of X-rays into electrical signals for image generation.
A partnership between Macquarie University and Lithium Universe has licensed breakthrough silver extraction technology to transform how Australia recycles solar panels. The new method extracts valuable metal without destroying the panels, addressing a growing waste problem.
HIT researchers created multi-material, multi-responsive, multi-shape shape memory polymer (SMP) gradient metamaterials with tunable properties. These smart materials can adapt to different tasks without extra tools or infrastructure, enabling applications such as secure information storage and soft robotic systems.
Researchers have developed a novel way to reach the unexplored mesosphere using lightweight flying structures that can float using sunlight. The devices, which were built at Harvard and other institutions, levitated in low-pressure conditions and demonstrated potential for climate sensing and exploration.
The book provides a roadmap for sustainable and ethical leadership in engineering management, focusing on ESG reporting, CSR integration, and industry-specific insights. It offers practical tools and strategies for professionals to make informed decisions that reduce ecological impact and improve resource efficiency.
Researchers at Rice University have demonstrated a strong form of quantum interference between phonons, revealing record levels of interference. The breakthrough could lead to new technologies in sensing, computing, and molecular detection.
Newly developed DNA nanostructures form flexible, fluid, and stimuli-responsive condensates without chemical cross-linking. These findings pave the way for adaptive soft materials with potential applications in drug delivery, artificial organelles, and bioengineering platforms.
Physicists from the IFJ PAN in Cracow have successfully produced homogeneous coatings of titanium oxide nanotubes on large metal surfaces, overcoming the obstacle of crystal grain boundaries. The method combines nanoparticle lithography and electrochemical anodization, enabling controlled material properties.
Scientists have created the highest-performing underwater adhesive hydrogel technology, exceeding 1 MPa in adhesive strength, using data mining and machine learning. The gels can withstand repeated ocean tides and wave impacts, making them suitable for biomedical engineering and deep-sea exploration applications.
A team at ETH Zurich has created a method to spatially visualize chirality in nanostructures using just one image. This allows for the identification of left-handed and right-handed structures in samples, which can have different effects on biological systems and materials.
Reinforcement learning world models are introduced as a promising tool for modeling complex atomic level changes in catalyst surfaces. The review presents advancements in using Dreamer-based architectures and multi-objective optimization strategies to address long-standing challenges in catalytic surface modeling.
Researchers at the University of Missouri have created a more efficient method for manufacturing computer chips using ultraviolet-enabled atomic layer deposition (UV-ALD). This approach reduces the number of manufacturing steps, saving time and materials, while also minimizing the use of harmful chemicals.
Researchers developed a new 3D printing method that creates strong, high-quality silicon carbide (SiC) ceramic parts at lower temperatures. The method uses vat-polymerization and adds silica to improve material quality, resulting in comparable strength to ceramics sintered at higher temperatures.
Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, University of Freiburg, and Saarland University launched a global challenge to measure and describe surface topography. The results showed that current industry-standard methods are limited and that more precise measurements are needed to accurately predict surface behavior.
Researchers from the University of Illinois used electron ptychography to directly observe thermal vibrations in twisted bilayer WSe2 atoms. The technique achieved picometer-scale spatial resolution, confirming a previously unseen class of vibrational modes and presenting the highest resolution images ever taken of a single atom.
Researchers at National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology developed a technique to decompose polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) into gaseous products using electron beam irradiation. This process reduces energy required by 50% compared to traditional methods, making large-scale recycling of fluoropolymers more viable.
Standard perovskite solar cells perform well during summer months but decline in efficiency during darker periods. Small-scale perovskite cells can achieve up to 26.95% efficiency under standard conditions.
A research team has experimentally demonstrated a nonlinear wave phenomenon that changes its frequency depending on the direction of incoming waves. The system exhibits different responses to waves entering from one side versus the other, with potential applications in medical ultrasound imaging and noise control.
Scientists have identified a reliable method to achieve stabilization in compressed earth blocks using recycled glass particles and lime. Testing showed that a mix of 10% lime and 10% recycled glass produced the strongest blocks with no cracking under intense pressure.
Laser-generated nanoparticles offer a cleaner, scalable alternative to traditional chemical synthesis methods for electronics applications. The method, called laser ablation in liquids, produces surfactant-free, highly pure metal-based nanoparticles with tailored surface properties.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University developed a low-cost, long-lasting indoor formaldehyde sensor with a unique polymer coating. The coating extends the sensor's half-life by 200% and enables it to regenerate when performance degrades.
Researchers propose sparse-view irradiation processing VAM (SVIP-VAM) to reduce projection data and computation time. The method enables structure manufacturing with a reduced number of projections, increasing the feasibility of sparse-view printing.
Researchers found that low concentrations of SO2 and NO2 in flue gas improve CO2 capture stability, but high concentrations lead to decreased adsorption capacity and catalytic reforming ability. The study suggests that coating layers of calcium-containing compounds on Ni nanoparticles contribute to deactivation.
A team at Binghamton University has developed a process to convert food waste into biodegradable plastic, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and offering a sustainable alternative. The process utilizes bacteria to synthesize polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) plastic, which can be harvested and shaped into various products.
The European Research Council has awarded three ERC Proof of Concept grants to Göttingen University professors, enabling the development of initiatives that can benefit Europe's economy and society. The projects focus on harnessing renewable energy, reducing chemical waste, and improving biomedical image analysis.
Researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a new type of adhesive that could improve the comfort and safety of wearable medical devices. The adhesive, made from polyelectrolyte-complex coatings, is water-based and has been shown to match the strength of commercial-grade adhesives while reducing skin irritation.
Twisted trilayer graphene creates a pattern that changes the material's properties and can turn it into a superconductor. Researchers used a microscope to probe the properties of supermoiré patterns, revealing new states of matter with precisely controllable properties.
Researchers at Rice University developed a new glass coating that forms a thin, tough layer that reflects heat and resists scratches and moisture. The coating improves energy savings by 2.9% compared to existing alternatives, making it a promising solution for cities with cold winters.
The collaboration aims to increase print quality and consistency for large-format 3D printing, enabling applications in hydroelectric dams, oil and gas industries, and more. ORNL's slicing software and JuggerBot 3D equipment will be refined to process thermosets independently and simultaneously.
MXene materials have been engineered to respond to light, enabling their use in soft robotics applications. This breakthrough could lead to the development of new types of robots that can change shape and function in response to external stimuli.