Materials & Coatings

High Atomic Number Coatings for Fabrics

This new approach is useful for building radiation shields via the Z-grading method, the process of layering metal materials with different atomic numbers to provide radiation protection for protons, electrons, and x-rays.

First 3D-Printed Nanostructured Alloy is Strong, Ductile

"The potential of harnessing the combined benefits of additive manufacturing and HEAs for achieving novel properties remains largely unexplored."

Achieving Desired Level of Wettability for Unlikely Materials

MIT researchers have developed a way of making even the most unlikely pairings of materials take on a desired level of wettability.

3D Printing Materials with Tunable Mechanical Properties

The researchers created these sensing structures using just one material and a single run on a 3D printer.

Liquid Metal Turns Motion into Electricity, Even Underwater

The soft and stretchable device converts movement into electricity and can work in wet environments.

Antimicrobial Coating for Orthopedic Implants Prevents Dangerous Infections

The coating is customizable to individuals and requires less than 10 minutes to prepare and use.

Pressure Sensors for Improved Dexterity in Robots

Made from 3D graphene foam, the sensors use a piezoresistive approach, meaning when the material is put under pressure it dynamically changes its electric resistance, easily detecting and adapting to the range of pressure required, from light to heavy.

Getting a Grip with ‘Necrobotic’ Spiders

An open-access study in Advanced Science outlines the process by which Preston and lead author Faye Yap harnessed a spider’s physiology in a first step toward a novel area of research they call “necrobotics.”

Automated Fabric Circuit and Antenna Fabrication

The technology allows for higher surface conductivity, improved impedance control, expanded design and application potential, and greater choice of materials for optimized performance.

Method Miniaturizes Light-Based Chips

But they’re not yet small enough to compete in computing and other applications where electric circuits continue to reign.

Smartphone-Powered Microchip Enables At-Home Medical Diagnostic Testing

The innovation opens the door for faster and more affordable at-home medical testing.

Flexible Backing Improves Brain-Computer Interface

Adding a flexible backing to this kind of brain-computer interface allows the device to more evenly conform to the brain’s complex curved surface and to more uniformly distribute the microneedles that pierce the cortex.

Recyclable Feedstocks for Additive Manufacturing

One common limitation of AM has been that produced articles cannot be recycled without substantial energy costs.

A New Fabrication Process Produces Smart Textiles

By incorporating a special type of plastic yarn and using heat to slightly melt it — a process called thermoforming — the researchers were able to greatly improve the precision of pressure sensors woven into multilayered knit textiles, which they call 3DKnITS.

A Semiconductor Material with Superior Performance

Cubic boron arsenide provides high mobility to both electrons and holes, and it has excellent thermal conductivity. It is, according to the researchers, the best semiconductor material ever found.

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.

Electronic Skin Anticipates and Perceives Touch from Different Directions for the First Time

Scientists develop a new approach for miniaturization of soft ultra-compact and highly integrated sensor units for directional tactile sensitivity in e-skin systems.

Thin, Stretchable Biosensors Could Make Surgery Safer

Researchers formulated and synthesized the bio-inks, with the goal of creating create an ultra-soft, thin, and stretchable material for biosensors that is capable of seamlessly interfacing with the surface of organs.

A Biodegradable Filtration System for Waste Metal Recovery

This invention is a method of removing or adsorbing a target substance or material.

Using AI to Help Scale Up Advanced Solar Cell Manufacturing

The system makes it possible to integrate data from prior experiments, and information based on personal observations by experienced workers, into the machine learning process.

Organic Steam Generator Uses Sunlight to Purify Water

Researchers have developed an inexpensive and eco-friendly steam generator to desalinate and purify water using sunlight.

Glassy Electrolyte Holds Promise for an All-Solid-State Sodium Battery

Lithium-ion batteries are currently the preferred technology for powering electric vehicles, but they’re too expensive for long-duration grid-scale energy storage systems.

Extending the Lifetime of Organic Aqueous Flow Batteries

Over the course of their research, the team discovered that these anthraquinones decompose slowly over time, regardless of how many times the battery has been used.

Designing Sodium-Ion Batteries with Extended Longevity

In batteries, electrolyte is the circulating “blood” that keeps the energy flowing. The electrolyte forms by dissolving salts in solvents, resulting in charged ions that flow between the positive and negative electrodes.

Rice ‘Metalens’ Could Disrupt Vacuum UV Market

Tests showed the metalens they made could focus its 197-nanometer output onto a spot measuring 1.7 microns in diameter, increasing the power density of the light output by 21 times.

Upside-Down Design Expands Wide-Spectrum Super-Camera Abilities

Plasmonics is a technology that essentially traps the energy of light in groups of electrons oscillating together on a metal surface.

Lignin-Based Jet Fuel Packs More Power

An experimental plant-based jet fuel could increase engine performance and efficiency, while dispensing with aromatics, the pollution-causing compounds found in conventional fuels.

Material Inspired by Chain Mail Transforms from Flexible to Rigid on Command

Applications include a smart fabric for exoskeletons, an adaptive cast that adjusts its stiffness as an injury heals, or a deployable bridge that could be unrolled and stiffened.