Could bread mold build a better rechargeable battery?

You probably don't think much of fungi, and especially those that turn bread moldy, but researchers have evidence that might just change your mind. Their findings suggest that a red bread mold could be the key to producing more sustainable electrochemical materials for use in rechargeable batteries.

Measuring chemistry: Local fingerprint of hydrogen bonding captured in experiments

Scientists have been able for the first time to measure how new bonds influence molecules: they have reconstructed the 'energy landscape' of acetone molecules and thereby empirically established the formation of hydrogen bonds between acetone and chloroform molecules.

New technique for rapidly killing bacteria using tiny gold disks and light

Researchers find that the light-activated gold nanoparticles destroy potentially deadly bacterial cells in seconds.

Researchers demonstrate the first electrochemical reaction based on hydride ions in an oxide-based solid-state cell for next-gen batteries

Scientists examined how the structure of their oxyhydride compounds changed with composition and synthesis conditions. They also studied characteristics of the electronic structure that suggested an ionic Li-H bond in the compound, namely the existence of H? in the oxides.

Research shows how nanowires can be formed (w/video)

Scientists show how different arrangements of atoms can be combined into nanowires as they grow. Researchers learning to control the properties of materials this way can lead the way to more efficient electronic devices.

Replacement for silicon devices looms big with discovery

Two-dimensional electronic devices could inch closer to their ultimate promise of low power, high efficiency and mechanical flexibility with a novel processing technique.

Capturing 'black gold' with light

New research has found a simple and effective way of capturing graphenes and the toxins and contaminants they attract from water by using light. The findings could have significant implications for large-scale water purification.

Semiconductor-inspired superconducting quantum computing devices

A microwave-free approach to superconducting quantum computing uses design principles gleaned from semiconductor spin qubits.

Nanospheres able to transport negatively charged ions through the cell membrane

Researchers describe a novel recognition process of inorganic anions such as chlorides or carbonates, using small cyclic peptides.

Better adhesion than previously thought in van der Waals force

The quantum mechanical description of the force between uncharged atoms and molecules demonstrated in real structures.

Unravelling graphene: Novel technique used to study graphene's response to air

An international team of scientists has performed novel measurements of graphene's electrical response to synthetic air, exposing a distinct knowledge gap that needs to be bridged before the commercialisation of graphene-based gas sensors.

Democratizing high-throughput single molecule force analysis

New inexpensive technology platform enables multiplexed single molecule analysis under force.

New particle could form the basis of energy-saving electronics

The Weyl fermion, just discovered in the past year, moves through materials practically without resistance. Now researchers are showing how it could be put to use in electronic components.

Nuclear techniques reveal 'tunability' of membranes for enhanced electrical conductivity in graphene

Small angle neutron scattering (SANS) has brought insight into how ions are transported at the nano level in stacked membranes of graphene, materials that have many unique properties. The research was aimed to develop graphene into a more versatile material.

A unique magnetic material for protective clothes

Researchers have developed a cobalt and nickel-based super-resistance material with implanted ultrafine hard-magnetic strontium ferrite particles.

Researchers cleave few-layer samples of magnetic material NiPS3

Researchers report first successful atomically thin sheets of a magnetic Van der Waals material.

Electron rivers

Usually, the movement of electrons in a real material is rather different from the flow of water in a river. However, in extraordinary materials like the metal oxide PdCoO2, 'electron rivers' can exist, as predicted theoretically over fifty years ago and now demonstrated by scientists.