Feature Channels: Materials Science

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Professor Étienne Ghys, Permanent Secretary of the French Academy of Sciences and Emeritus Research Director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), delivered a thought-provoking HKIAS Distinguished Lecture on "Soccer Balls: Their History, Geometries, and Aerodynamics" on 30 October 2024 at City University of Hong Kong. The event, facilitated by Professor Neil Chada from the Department of Mathematics, attracted a diverse audience of academics and students. Notably, Ms Camélia Aissat, Deputy Consul of Education and Culture and Mr Louis Doucet, Head of Press and Communication from the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong & Macau, also showed keen interest and attended the lecture.

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A Florida State University chemist will use a three-year, $1.185 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to study platinum group elements, or PGEs, at the molecular level in order to identify more affordable and abundant alternatives.

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In the quest for more efficient electronic devices, heat dissipation has become a critical issue. A new study presents a significant advancement in the preparation of thermal conductive polymer composites containing liquid metal, offering a solution to the persistent challenge of heat management in high-power electronics.

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The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) has become the first in the world to observe the structural evolution of solute molecules in extremely supersaturated aqueous solutions, revealing that changes in molecular symmetry impact on the formation of new metastable material phases.

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Relaxor ferroelectrics have greatly enhanced electrical and mechanical properties that originate in the materials’ domain structure. Knowing how quickly these materials’ properties can change is critical to understanding them. However, scientists have not been able to measure how fast these materials can respond. This study measured this reaction speed using ultrafast electron diffraction at the atomic level to obtain snapshots of the evolving domain structure.

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At The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, researchers are turning everyday glass waste into a possible innovative solution for coastal erosion and to be used in sustainable agriculture.

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Argonne materials scientist Mercouri Kanatzidis received the award for chemistry in materials from the American Chemical Society, the nation’s leading professional society for chemists.

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Polypropylene, a plastic used in everything from car parts and lawn chairs to food packaging and clothing, may soon become more environmentally friendly because of West Virginia University research.

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The use of in vitro new approach methodologies (NAMs) to assess the potential for respiratory irritation depends on several factors, including the specifics of exposure methods and cell/tissue-based test systems. A new workshop report co-authored by the American Cleaning Institute (ACI) examines this topic in the context of human health risk assessment for cleaning products as discussed at a 1-day public workshop held in March 2023.

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Imagine tires that charge a vehicle as it drives, streetlights powered by the rumble of traffic, or skyscrapers that generate electricity as the buildings naturally sway and shudder. These energy innovations could be possible thanks to researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

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After years of testing, a new version of CDA was found to be the fastest degrading bioplastic material tested in seawater—and it’s a promising replacement for other foam plastic materials, like Styrofoam, which can linger in the environment for many years.

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In an Argonne-led project, researchers used X-ray microscopy to discover a ferroelectric material that tailors its response to controlled ultrafast external stimuli, such as light pulses. The material might be applicable to energy-efficient microelectronics.

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The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has awarded $600,000 to Penn State’s Silicon Carbide Innovation Alliance (SCIA) to develop a series of educational courses, workshops, and paid academic and industrial internships focused on workforce development in Pennsylvania for the growing semiconductor industry.

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Argonne researchers recently discovered a way to control electronic bonding in a semiconducting material using light and magnetic fields, paving the way toward new quantum devices.

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Expansion of Washington Clean Energy Testbeds will enable fabrication of pouch cells to accelerate the next generation of faster-charging, higher-energy-density, and earth-friendly batteries.

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New research conducted at Argonne National Laboratory shows that colloidal quantum shells could revolutionize the production of X-ray imaging scintillators.

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Dr. Ho-Il Ji from the Hydrogen Energy Materials Research Center at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) announced that they have developed a new synthesis method that can significantly reduce the sintering temperature required for the densification process of the electrolyte in next-generation high-efficiency protonic ceramic cells.

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Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have designed and tested the world’s highest voltage polarized electron gun, a key piece of technology needed for building the world’s first fully polarized Electron-Ion Collider (EIC).

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A new solution deposition process for semiconductors yields high-performing transistors by introducing more defects, counterintuitively. Researchers used these devices to construct high-speed logic circuits and an operational high-resolution inorganic LED display.