News by Subject Chemistry & Physics

Rice University theorists find that flexoelectric effects in double-walled carbon nanotubes could be highly useful for photovoltaic applications.

The modules that the major space agencies plan to erect on the Moon could incorporate an element contributed by the human colonizers themselves: the urea in their pee. European researchers have found that it could be used as a plasticizer in the concrete of the structures.

For the first time, researchers who explore the physical and chemical properties of electrical energy storage have found a new way to improve lithium-ion batteries. They successfully increased not only the voltage delivery of a lithium-ion battery but also its ability to suppress dangerous conditions that affect the current range of batteries. This improved lithium-ion battery could make longer journeys in electric vehicles possible and lead to the creation of a new generation of home energy storage, both with improved fire safety.

Scientists at The University of Tokyo developed a new computer simulation model that includes microbubble nucleation to explain the flow slippage of fluids inside pipes. This work may help improve the flow rate of viscous fluids in commercial applications, as in the energy industry.

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are clean and highly efficient power generation systems, which can generate electrical energy but are limited by their high operating temperatures and infrequent applications. Researchers from the Tokyo University of Science led by Dr. Tohru Higuchi, in their new study, explore how the efficiency of SOFCs can be increased by lowering their operating temperature and could be an alternative to nuclear and thermal power generation in the future.

Transistors work electrically, but data can be transmitted more quickly by using light. Scientists from Forschungszentrum Jülich have now come a step closer to integrating lasers directly in silicon chips. Together with researchers from Centre de Nanosciences et de Nanotechnologies in Paris and the French company STMicroelectronics as well as CEA-LETI Grenoble, they have developed a compatible semiconductor laser made of germanium and tin, whose efficiency is comparable with conventional GaAs semiconductor lasers on Si.