Feb 27, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Current lithium-ion battery technology does not have the energy density necessary to meet the demands for renewable energy. In theory, lithium-sulfur batteries could be a viable alternative with a higher specific capacity and energy density. However, sulfur has disadvantages that currently limit its practical adoption....
Improving organic solar cells with propeller-shaped isomers
Feb 27, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Imagine technology as a race car speeding down a track – it can only go as fast as its engine allows. But just when it seemed like organic solar cells hit a roadblock, along comes 3PNIN, a game-changing molecule shaped like a propeller, ready to...
Water-reactive liquid metal composite grows for stretchable electronics
Feb 27, 2024 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Gallium-based liquid metal composites hold promise for stretchable electronics, soft robotics and biointegrated devices that can bend and conform like plastic. Their moldability also presents opportunities for directly printing flexible circuits that repair themselves. But these metastable fluids - which lack rigid crystalline bonds keeping...
3D printed artificial eyes faster to make and more realistic
Feb 27, 2024 (Nanowerk News) A faster and less laborious method for modelling and 3D printing more realistic custom eye prostheses is reported in Nature Communications ("Automatic data-driven design and 3D printing of custom ocular prostheses"). The prostheses produced may have a more natural appearance and a better fit, compared...
Novel nanocrystal harnesses full solar spectrum for hydrogen production
Feb 27, 2024 (Nanowerk News) The sunlight received by Earth is a mixed bag of wavelengths ranging from ultraviolet to visible to infrared. Each wavelength carries inherent energy that, if effectively harnessed, holds great potential to facilitate solar hydrogen production and diminish reliance on non-renewable energy sources. Nonetheless, existing solar...
Supramolecule combination of fullerene and metalloporphyrin improves zinc-air battery function
Feb 27, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Zinc-air batteries are an inexpensive, powerful battery alternative that can be used on the small scale to power electronics or on the large scale for electric vehicles or energy storage. These batteries work when oxygen from the air oxidizes zinc, but the difficulty in oxygen...
Nanotweezers accelerate phage therapy
Feb 27, 2024 (Nanowerk News) With antibiotic resistance looming as a formidable threat to our health, scientists are on a constant quest for alternative ways to treat bacterial infections. As more and more bacterial strains outsmart drugs we have been relying on for decades, a possible alternative solution may be...
AI-driven lab speeds catalysis research
Feb 27, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Researchers have developed a “self-driving” lab that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and automated systems to provide in-depth analyses of catalytic reactions used in chemical research and manufacturing. The new tool, called Fast-Cat, can provide more information in five days than is possible in six months...
Trapping and excitation of the simplest molecule
Feb 27, 2024 (Nanowerk News) H2+ was one of the first molecules to form after the Big Bang. It consists of the most fundamental components that were formed very early on in the universe: two hydrogen nuclei (the protons) and one electron. The electron binds the two protons together to...
Turning beer waste into nanocellulose for eco-friendly packaging
Feb 27, 2024 (Nanowerk News) It all starts with the mash: the mixture of malt and water, which is stirred and gently heated for several hours. The resulting liquid is known as the wort, and eventually, several processing steps later, as beer. The remaining malt – known as brewer's spent...