Cracking the metal code

Feb 16, 2024 (Nanowerk News) A new approach uses data from one type of test on small metal alloy samples to extract enough information for building databases that can be used to predict the properties and potentials of new materials. The details were published in the journal Science and Technology...

Advanced artificial photosynthesis catalyst uses CO2 more efficiently to create biodegradable plastics

Feb 16, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Amid growing global concern over climate change and plastic pollution, researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University are making great strides in the sustainable production of fumaric acid – a component of biodegradable plastics such as polybutylene succinate, which is commonly used for food packaging. The researchers...

Five thousand atoms are all you need for ferroelectricity

Feb 16, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Ferroelectricity is a property of certain materials that creates a spontaneous or induced electric polarization of molecules, resulting in electric field inside the material. The polarization state can be permanent or reversed to opposite direction by the application of an external electric field. Ferroelectric materials...

Unlocking the full potential of Auger electron spectroscopy

Feb 15, 2024 (Nanowerk News) A new computational approach makes more realistic assumptions about the redistribution of energy during the Auger process, improving the accuracy of Auger electron spectroscopy. Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) is an incredibly useful technique for probing material samples – but current assumptions about the process ignore...

Altermagnetism experimentally demonstrated

Feb 15, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism have long been known to scientists as two classes of magnetic order of materials. Back in 2019, researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) postulated a third class of magnetism, called altermagnetism. This altermagnetism has been the subject of heated debate among...

1,000 atomic qubits and rising

Feb 15, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Making quantum systems more scalable is one of the key requirements for the further development of quantum computers because the advantages they offer become increasingly evident as the systems are scaled up. Researchers at TU Darmstadt have recently taken a decisive step towards achieving this...

Electricity from waste heat thanks to new piston machine

Feb 15, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Good ideas sometimes take surprising turns. For years, experts at Empa had been working on an innovative valve control system for combustion engines with electro-hydraulically actuated valves, which make it possible to make the gas change much more flexible than with conventional camshaft technology. In...

Scientists discover two-dimensional waveguides

Feb 15, 2024 (Nanowerk News) The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), in collaboration with Kansas State University, announce the discovery of slab waveguides based on the two-dimensional material hexagonal boron nitride. This milestone has been reported in the journal Advanced Materials ("Hexagonal Boron Nitride Slab Waveguides for Enhanced Spectroscopy of...