Engineering a Coating for Bacteria-Free Produce

Dr. Mustafa Akbulut, Professor of Chemical engineering, has teamed up with Horticultural Science Professor Luis Cisneros-Zevallos to engineer longer-lasting, bacteria-free produce. Read on to learn more about it.

New Ultrafast Imaging Technique Provides Insight into Combustion Processes

A team of scientists has developed an ultrafast imaging technique, called femtosecond laser sheet-compressed ultrafast photography, that can compile videos of incredibly transient details. Read on to learn more about it.

A New Hydrogel to Regrow Damaged Heart Tissue

University of Waterloo Chemical Engineering Researcher Dr. Elisabeth Prince teamed up with researchers from the University of Toronto and Duke University to design the synthetic material made using cellulose nanocrystals, which are derived from wood pulp. The material is engineered to replicate the fibrous nanostructures and properties of human tissues. Read on to learn more.

Wearable Sensors Detect Pathogens, Toxins

Researchers have developed a method to detect bacteria, toxins, and dangerous chemicals in the environment with a biopolymer sensor that can be printed like ink on a wide range of materials — including wearables. Read on to learn more.

An All-Liquid Iron Flow Battery for Better Energy Storage

Flow batteries can serve as backup generators for the electric grid. Flow batteries are one of the key pillars of a decarbonization strategy to store energy from renewable energy resources. Their advantage is that they can be built at any scale, from the lab-bench scale, as in this PNNL study, to the size of a city block.

New Cathode Material for Sodium-Ion Batteries

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have invented and patented a new cathode material that replaces lithium ions with sodium and would be significantly cheaper.

Liquid Crystals Hold the Key to Shapeshifting Robots

Robots and cameras of the future could be made of liquid crystals, thanks to a new discovery that significantly expands the potential of the chemicals already common in computer displays and digital watches. The findings are a simple and inexpensive way to manipulate the molecular properties of liquid crystals with light exposure.

Buzzing Loop-Current Leads to Break in Quantum Matter

A series of buzzing “loop-currents” could explain a recently discovered, never-before-seen phenomenon in a type of quantum material. The quantum material is known by the chemical formula Mn 3Si2Te6, but it’s safe to call it “honeycomb.” Read on to learn more.

A Combustion-Powered Quadrupedal Robot

Cornell researchers have combined soft microactuators with high-energy-density chemical fuel to create an insect-scale quadrupedal robot that is powered by combustion and can outrace, outlift, outflex, and outleap its electric-driven competitors.

Quantum-Limit-Approaching Chemical Sensing Chip

Study shows improvements to chemical sensing chip that aims to quickly and accurately identify drugs and other trace chemicals.

Infrared Technology for Chamber Clean Endpoint Detection

Efficient and complete chamber cleaning processes are critical for the success of CVD/ALD processes.

Novel Solid Electrolyte Materials for Improved Battery Performance

A team has designed a new blueprint for solid-state batteries that are less dependent on specific chemical elements, particularly critical metals that are challenging to source due to supply chain issues. Their work could advance solid-state batteries that are efficient and affordable.

Extractor for Chemical Analysis of Lipid Biomarkers in Regolith (ExCALiBR)

NASA Ames Research Center has developed a novel technology that provides an autonomous, miniaturized fluidic system for lipid analysis.

Copper Catalyst Converts Carbon Dioxide into Liquid Fuels

A research team has gained new insight by capturing real-time movies of copper nanoparticles as they convert CO2 and water into renewable fuels and chemicals: ethylene, ethanol, and propanol, among others.

Detecting COVID-Causing Virus with High-Tech Bubbles

A new technique enables the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in the air by using a nanotechnology-packed bubble that spills its chemical contents like a broken piñata when encountering the virus.

Bioelectronic Devices Enable Real-Time Sensing

If a chemical spill in a river goes unnoticed for 20 minutes, it might be too late to remediate. Living bioelectronic sensors developed at Rice University can help.

Suture of the Future Fights Infection

The smart bandage can dispense antibiotic, monitor wound-healing biomarkers, and report important data directly to doctors.

Conductive Cellulose Thread Shows Promise for Healthcare Applications

The thermoelectric textile produces a small amount of electricity when heated on one side.

New Nanoparticle-Based Sensors Can Measure Residual Herbicides in Food

The work shows the real-world viability of their easy-to-use and inexpensive methods of testing.

3D-Printed Sensors May Lead to Better Weather Research

Scientists have created the first completely digitally manufactured plasma sensors — also known as retarding potential analyzers (RPAs) — for orbiting spacecraft.

Compact MEMS-Based NIR Spectroscopy for Mobile Applications

This measurement technique is particularly useful for, but not limited to, samples containing organic compounds.

Technique Merges Solar Cell and Liquid Battery

A highly efficient and long-lasting solar flow battery generates, stores, and redelivers renewable electricity from the Sun in one device.

Novel Chemical Glucose Sensing Method Based on Boronic Acids and Graphene Foam

Since it is a chemical sensor instead of being enzyme-based, the new technology is robust, has a long shelf-life and can be tuned to detect lower glucose concentrations than current systems.

Novel Chemical Glucose Sensing Method Based on Boronic Acids and Graphene Foam

Since it is a chemical sensor instead of being enzyme-based, the new technology is robust, has a long shelf-life and can be tuned to detect lower glucose concentrations than current systems.

5 Ws of the Artificial Leaf

Researchers at University of Cambridge have developed floating “artificial leaves” that generate clean fuels from sunlight and water and could eventually operate on a large scale at sea.

High-Power Terahertz Laser for Sensing and Imaging

A terahertz laser was developed with high constant power, tight beam pattern, and broad electric frequency tuning for a wide range of applications in chemical sensing and imaging. The optimized...

Material for the Next Generation of Smart Sensors

Scientists have developed color-changing, flexible photonic crystals that could be used to develop sensors that warn when an earthquake might strike next. The wearable, robust, and low-cost...