Science and Technology Daily International Department
Magnetic superconducting materials refer to superconducting materials containing magnetic ions, which can be used to accelerate particles in the Large Hadron Collider, build maglev vehicles, etc. The main problem currently in developing and mass-producing magnetic superconductors is the use of complex and expensive cooling equipment. Researchers at the Russian Quantum Center have obtained magnetic superconducting materials at room temperature for the first time. With this technology, quantum computers that do not require complex and expensive cooling devices can be created in the future. The experiments were performed on single crystal films of yttrium iron garnet, a substance that spontaneously magnetizes at certain temperatures.
Russian National Research Technical University and the Institute of Microelectronic Technical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences have developed a unique silicon nanocomposite material through deposited graphene coating technology. This research and development result will accelerate the development of "micro power plant" technology placed directly on the printed circuit board of electronic products.
Porous silicon structures are increasingly used in microelectronics and biomedicine. One of its important properties is that pores of varying sizes are evenly distributed throughout the material. In medicine, porous silicon membranes function as filters, for example in hemodialysis. In portable electronics, they are used as electrodes in microfuel cells, a promising hydrogen energy source that can be integrated into printed circuit boards. But when in contact with the working liquid (water or weakly alkaline solution), the nanoporous silicon is gradually destroyed. Thanks to the new method of treating the silicon structure, its surface resistance is reduced hundreds of times and its stability to weakly alkaline solutions is significantly improved. In addition, due to the formation of additional protrusions on the inner surface of the pores, the effective surface area of ??the material is more than doubled. All of this greatly improves the properties of microfuel cells and increases the durability of the expensive catalysts used in them.
In addition, the Russian Far Eastern Federal University and the Institute of Automated Process Control of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences have developed a technology for laser printing of silicon nanoparticles. The advantages of this technology are its speed, low manufacturing cost, and ability to cover large areas with particles. This will allow VR glasses and other electronics to become smaller and cheaper to manufacture. Silicon nanoparticles are the building blocks for producing tiny photoelectric switches, ultra-thin computer chips, microbial sensors and shielding coatings. With the help of laser-printed silicon nanoblocks, the main properties such as the amplitude, spectrum and propagation direction of the light waves incident on them can be controlled.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge in the UK have created a plant-based, sustainable, stretchable polymer film that mimics the properties of spider silk, one of nature's strongest materials. The new material is as strong as many common plastics in use today and could replace single-use plastics in many common household products. At the same time, the material can be safely degraded in most natural environments without the need for industrial composting equipment, and can also be industrialized for large-scale production.
Cambridge University researchers combine soft robotics manufacturing, ultra-thin electronics and microfluidics to develop an ultra-thin inflatable device that can treat the most severe limb pain, such as those that cannot be cured by painkillers Leg and back pain without invasive surgery. The device could be an effective long-term solution for treating intractable pain for millions of people around the world.
A collaborative research team led by the University of Liverpool has discovered a new inorganic material with the lowest thermal conductivity, also known as thermal conductivity, ever achieved. This discovery represents a new breakthrough in material design to control heat flow at the atomic scale, which will promote the accelerated development of new thermoelectric materials that convert waste heat into electricity and effectively utilize fuels, and find new ways to build a sustainable society.
The University of Cambridge has found a way to create sustainable, non-toxic and biodegradable glitter from cellulose, the main component of the cell walls of plants, fruits and vegetables, using Self-assembly technology can produce brightly colored films.
Cambridge University researchers have developed a soft yet strong new material that looks and feels like squishy jelly but can withstand the weight of an elephant standing on it and collapses when compressed Like a piece of super-hard, shatterproof glass. It can also completely return to its original shape, even though it is 80% water.
In the field of new materials, American scientists have used their unique ideas and achieved many breakthroughs. In 2004, graphene, the “king of new materials,” came out. Since then, people have been constantly trying to design new two-dimensional materials. Borene is considered to be stronger, lighter, and more flexible than graphene, and may become the next material after graphene. A "miracle nanomaterial".
Argonne National Laboratory and other institutions have developed borophene, which is composed of boron and hydrogen atoms. This two-dimensional material is only two atoms thick and stronger than steel. It is expected to be used in nanoelectronics. and quantum information technology. Northwestern University engineers have created a double-atom-thick borophene for the first time, which is expected to bring revolutionary changes to solar cells and quantum computing.
For the first time, scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed an ultra-thin magnet that is single atom thick and can operate at room temperature. It is expected to be used in the next generation of memory, computers, spintronics, quantum physics and other fields.
In addition, Carnegie University scientists have developed a new method to synthesize a new type of crystalline silicon with a hexagonal structure, which may be used to manufacture a new generation of electronic and energy devices. The performance of the new device will exceed that of existing devices made of ordinary cubic-structured silicon. Princeton University researchers have developed the world's purest gallium arsenide yet, containing just one impurity per 10 billion atoms, paving the way for further exploration of quantum phenomena.
The Japan Materials Research Institute has trial-produced a "diamond battery", also known as a "betavoltaic battery", which is a type of "nuclear battery" made of radioactive materials. The nuclei of radioactive substances are unstable and will release various radiations and decay. Among them, carbon 14 and nickel's radioactive isotope nickel 63 will release beta rays. The half-life of carbon-14 is about 5,700 years and that of nickel-63 is about 100 years, so long-life batteries can be realized. "Diamond batteries" use such radioactive materials to release beta rays to generate electricity. The "diamond battery" currently being trialled in Japan has a lifespan of up to 100 years and can be used as a power source for space and underground equipment.
A research team from Kochi University of Technology in Japan has developed a "nanoporous super-multiple catalyst" with a sponge structure that evenly contains 14 elements and has nanoscale micropores randomly connected. This catalyst is achieved by preparing an aluminum alloy containing 14 elements, preferentially dissolving aluminum in an alkaline solution for dealloying, and then gathering elements other than aluminum. Because the alloy only needs to be dissolved, it can be produced on a large scale.
The Japan Quantum Science and Technology Research and Development Agency, Tohoku University and the High Energy Accelerator Research Institute improved the composition of the alloy and found that hydrogen can be stored using aluminum and iron without using rare metals. Research has found that although aluminum and iron are metals that do not easily react with hydrogen, they can store hydrogen and turn it into new metal hydrogenation if they react with hydrogen at temperatures above 650°C in an environment with a pressure of over 70,000 atmospheres. things. Japan has developed this type of hydrogen storage alloy that does not use rare metals, which can realize low-cost transportation of hydrogen storage materials.
A research team composed of Tokyo Institute of Technology, Kumamoto University and others has developed a new material "fourteen-membered ring iron complex" that helps fuel cells achieve deplatinization. The research team produced an aromatic fourteen-membered ring iron complex with 14 atoms fixing iron atoms and a structure that is one circle smaller than the sixteen-membered ring complex. Potential scanning tests were used to evaluate the oxygen reduction catalytic activity of the newly prepared catalyst and it was found that it had better catalytic activity and durability than iron phthalocyanine. The team's subsequent goal is to increase the catalytic activity to about 30 times the current level by optimizing the surrounding structure of the fourteen-membered ring, so as to make platinum replacement catalysts practical.
In terms of nanotechnology, the Solid State Physics Laboratory of the University of Paris-Sud in France and the Institute of Physics of the Technical University of Graz in Austria conducted three-dimensional imaging of nanosurface phonons for the first time, which is expected to promote the development of new and more effective nanotechnology. develop. In order to develop new nanotechnologies, surface phonons must first be visualized at the nanometer scale. In the new study, scientists used an electron beam to excite lattice vibrations, measured them using special spectroscopic methods, and then performed tomographic reconstructions.
In terms of hydrogen energy, researchers from the French National Center for Scientific Research and the Technical University of Munich in Germany have developed a new hydrogen catalyst.
Hydrogenase is an enzyme that can not only catalyze the electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen, but also realize the reverse reaction of converting hydrogen into electricity. The researchers incorporated hydrogenase into the "redox polymer" so that the hydrogenase can be grafted onto the electrode. The researchers used this to create a system that can catalyze reactions in both directions. That is, the system can be used as a fuel cell, or it can perform the opposite chemical reaction to produce hydrogen by electrolyzing water.
In terms of nanomaterials, the French National Center for Scientific Research and the MIT Center for Concrete Sustainability have successfully used nanocarbon black to make cement conductive. The researchers did this by introducing nanocarbon materials, which are cheap and easy to produce on a large scale, into the mixture and verified their conductivity. By adding 4% by volume of nanocarbon black particles to the cement mixture, the resulting sample became electrically conductive. Applying a voltage as low as 5 volts increased the temperature of the cement sample to 41 degrees Celsius. Because it provides even heat distribution, this offers the possibility of indoor floor heating as an alternative to traditional radiant heating systems. In addition, it can also be used for de-icing road surfaces.
According to the "2021 Nanotechnology Development Implementation Plan" and the "Seventh Industrial Technology Innovation Plan (2019-2023) 2021 Implementation Plan", nanotechnology research funding provided by the Korean government has grown rapidly for three consecutive years.
Research at Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea demonstrates a new direction in preparing cathodes containing highly conductive actives without the use of traditional conductive agents by coating graphene coatings on nickel-rich oxides, further revealing The application feasibility of Gr nanotechnology.
A Korean research team has developed the best-performing nanofilm cathode yet that uses titanium disulfide as the active material and does not use a solid electrolyte.
The Korea Institute of Science and Technology has completed the mass production technology of metal nanoparticles for hydrogen fuel cell catalysts by utilizing the metal thin film deposition process used in semiconductor manufacturing processes. Special substrates are used during the manufacturing process to avoid metal deposition as a thin film.
A Korean research team succeeded in creating a conductive channel with a line width of 4.3 angstroms. The research used transparent, one-atom-thick two-dimensional black phosphorus as the conductive material. This material is expected to become a new generation of semiconductor devices to replace graphene. The findings were verified using transmission electron microscopy at atomic resolution.
The ultrafast pulse laser developed by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology inserts an additional resonator containing graphene into a fiber pulse laser oscillator operating in the femtosecond range, increasing the pulse frequency of existing lasers. 10,000 times.
The Israeli company Polaris Solutions said it has cooperated with the Israeli Ministry of Defense to develop a thermal vision stealth material called "Kit 300". The material is composed of metal, polymer and microfiber. It is mainly used to help soldiers avoid being detected by thermal imaging equipment at night, but it can also be customized in color and pattern according to the needs of combat environments (such as Gobi, jungle, etc.). Help soldiers disguise themselves under certain conditions. In addition, the material is waterproof, has high strength and flexibility, and can be bent into a U-shape as a temporary stretcher.
Researchers from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology published an article in Science magazine saying that they have developed an ultra-thin "two-dimensional material (composed of only one layer of atoms)" that Materials can "trap" light, and scientists can use special "quantum microscopes" to observe the propagation of light through them. This material is expected to pave the way for a new generation of micro-optical technology. Professor Kamina from the Israel Institute of Technology said that this discovery may reduce the diameter of optical fibers from 1 micron to 1 nanometer.
A research team from the Israel Institute of Technology published a paper stating that removing an oxygen atom from the original structure can significantly improve the conductive properties of ferroelectric materials. The researchers found that the atoms of the ferroelectric material barium titanate form a cube-like lattice structure. By removing an oxygen atom in the lattice structure, a unique topological structure called a "quadrupole" can be formed. The material's The electrical conductivity will be significantly improved, and this research will help reduce the energy consumption of electronic devices in the future.
Germany's Helmholtz Center for Energy and Materials Research in Berlin used X-ray microscopy technology to take 1,000 tomographic images in 1 second, setting a new world record in the field of materials research.
The center invented a self-assembled methyl monolayer film material placed between silicon and perovskite, which improved the filling performance and stability of solar cells, and set a world record for the efficiency of perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells. Jülich et al. synthesized and characterized a so-called two-dimensional material and demonstrated that the material is a topological insulator of magnons. The University of Augsburg has developed a stable compound based on the principle of quantum effects hindering magnetic order, which can replace paramagnetic salts to achieve ultra-low temperatures.
The Max Planck Institute for Colloids and Interfaces has developed a carbon nitride nanotube film that can catalyze various photochemical reactions with high conversion rates. These carbon nanotubes act as spatially isolated nanoreactors to convert wastewater into clean water. The Electron Synchrotron Radiation Accelerator in Germany uses high-intensity X-rays to observe the workings of individual catalyst nanoparticles, taking an important step toward better understanding of real industrial catalytic materials. Using the particle accelerator facility in Darmstadt, Germany, German scientists successfully synthesized and studied element 114, iridium. The results showed that the iridium core is not the so-called "island of stability."
The Fritz Haber Institute has discovered that by shining laser light on the semiconductor zinc oxide, the semiconductor surface can become metallic and then back again. Technical University of Munich and others found that coating the solid-state battery interface with nano-coatings can make the battery stable. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology has found that coating and drying two layers of electrodes simultaneously can shorten drying time to less than 20 seconds, increasing the production speed of lithium-ion batteries by at least a third.
For the first time in the world, the German Federal Institute for Materials Testing has certified standards for measuring fluorescence quantum efficiency, which can provide reliable and comparable characterization of new fluorescent substances and their measurement techniques. The University of Freiburg has developed an injection molding glass process that can be used to mass-produce complex glass structures and glass devices to replace previous plastic products. The Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics has developed a demineralization process that completely separates industrial carbon black from the mineral ash in vehicle tires.
In recent decades, the scientific community has become increasingly interested in the use of nanotechnology and the opportunities it offers in the fields of science, engineering, and biomedicine. Nanocrystals have unique physical properties compared to their bulk counterparts and, due to their small size, can easily enter living cells and even individual organelles. This enables the nanocrystals to be successfully used as carriers for drugs, which greatly facilitates their targeted delivery to individual cells and has great potential, especially in the chemotherapy of cancer.
Even more interesting are nanocrystals, which not only serve as passive agents for targeted drug delivery, but can also actively participate in biological processes within living cells. In October 2021, the Institute of Scintillation Materials of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine announced that the institute's Nanostructured Materials Room had conducted research on a new type of bioactive nanocrystals (nanozymes) in the field of nanobiomaterials. Crystals have enzyme-like properties and function in controlling the rate of biochemical processes in cells. They found that the properties of these nanocrystals mainly depended on their extremely strong antioxidant activity.
It is well known that so-called reactive oxygen species are constantly formed in living cells, and due to their extremely high oxidative capacity, they can destroy various components of living cells and thus have a negative impact on the body. These lesions accumulate as we age, and many scientists believe that this accumulation of structural changes in the body is one of the key causes of aging. In other words, effectively regulating the level of reactive oxygen species in living cells can become one of the factors that prevents various diseases and even delays aging. Enzyme molecules can control the levels of reactive oxygen species in living cells, and one of the most studied types of nanocrystals with enzyme-like antioxidant activity is cerium oxide nanocrystals. Scientists at the institute have confirmed that nanocrystals can slow down the aging process in mice. During the research process, the scientists also established the specific mechanism by which nanocrystals promote oxidative activity in environments with different acidities.