[Images above] Credit: NIST
NANOMATERIALS
Mapping the surfaces of MXenes atom by atom reveals new potential for the 2D materials
Researchers led by Drexel University and the University of California, Los Angeles provided the first clear look at the surface chemical structure that gives MXenes their capabilities using scanning tunneling microscopy and scanning tunneling spectroscopy.
Holography electron microscope attains unprecedented resolution
In collaboration with National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and National Institute for Materials Science, researchers from Hitachi, Kyushu University, RIKEN, and HREM Research achieved the world’s first observation of magnetic fields of individual lattice planes using Hitachi’s atomic-resolution holography electron microscope.
Microscopy method detects changes in atomic-level architecture of crystalline materials
Researchers from the University of Sydney harnessed the power of atom probe tomography to unlock the intricacies of short-range order in crystalline materials.
A genetic algorithm for phononic crystals
Researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science at the University of Tokyo experimentally proved a new genetic algorithm for the automatic inverse design—which outputs a structure based on desired properties—of phononic crystal nanostructures that allows the control of acoustic waves in the material.
ENERGY
Giant clams may hold the answers to making solar energy more efficient
Yale University researchers reported that solar panel and biorefinery designers could learn from iridescent giant clams living near tropical coral reefs. The giant clams have precise geometries that may just make them the most efficient solar energy systems on Earth.
Highly efficient and stable solar cells can now be mass produced like printing newspapers
Researchers at City University of Hong Kong developed highly efficient, printable, and stable perovskite solar cells. The cells can be mass produced at a speed comparable to newspaper printing, with a daily output of up to 1,000 solar panels. Owing to their flexible, semitransparent nature, they can also be made into light-absorbing glass windows.
BIOMATERIALS
3D-printed ceramic jaw implant successfully placed in patient for first time
In a major breakthrough for medical applications, a 3D-printed ceramic subperiosteal jaw implant was successfully placed in a patient for the first time. This innovation, fabricated by Lithoz, marks a significant advancement for medicine and is part of the EU-funded INKplant project, which aims to create 3D-printed implants to treat various pathologies.
ENVIRONMENT
New study highlights geochemical implications of deep-sea mining on marine ecosystems
A recent study investigated the geochemical implications of mining waste discharge into oxygen-deficient zones. One notable finding of the study: Researchers found elevated levels of copper in the plumes, posing a potential hazard to mesopelagic communities found at depths between 200–1,000 meters.
Strategies for protecting thermal barrier coatings against sediment corrosion
Tianjin University researchers found that the environmental sediments on the surface of airplane engine turbine blades have a significant concentration of iron, surpassing even the levels of magnesium, aluminum, and calcium in certain zones. Based on this finding, they proposed possible modifications of thermal barrier coatings to improve performance.
MANUFACTURING
New study improves fault diagnosis accuracy in machines with deep transfer learning
Researchers in China and the U.K. developed a program based on deep transfer learning to correct mislabeled data and align data distributions between the source and target domains for accurate fault diagnosis.
Scientists discover way to ‘grow’ subnanometer-sized transistors
Researchers at the Center for Van der Waals Quantum Solids within the Institute for Basic Science implemented a novel method to achieve epitaxial growth of 1D metallic materials with a width of less than 1 nm. The group applied this process to develop a new structure for 2D semiconductor logic circuits.
Researchers patent inexpensive method to improve creation of solid-state nanopores
Researchers at Southern Methodist University and the University of Rhode Island patented an inexpensive, easy-to-use method based on chemically tuned controlled dielectric breakdown to create solid-state nanopores and also self-clean blocked nanopores.
OTHER STORIES
An optical lens that senses gas
Researchers from the University of Jena developed a small optical lens, only a few millimeters in size, whose refractive behavior changes in the presence of gas. The molecular structure of the lens consists of a 3D lattice with cavities that can accommodate gas molecules, thereby affecting the optical properties of the material.
New probe reveals water–ice microstructures
Researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China developed a water–ice microstructures detection method using organic phosphorescent probes and phosphorescence spectroscopy.
Scientists propose new measure of flexibility for crystals
Researchers from Jawaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific Research studied the mechanisms underlying the flexibility of crystals of metal–organic frameworks. They attributed the flexibility to large structural rearrangements associated with soft and hard vibrations within a crystal that strongly couples to strain fields.
Editorial: Into the attosecond era
In an editorial, Nature Materials editors consider how the development of attosecond pulses has opened the door to probing electron dynamics at subatomic scales. Beyond atomic physics, this field is envisioned to also have a decisive impact on condensed-matter physics, chemistry and biology.