Category: Technology

Researchers discover potential defects in ‘the world’s second-favorite semiconductor’ — gallium nitride (GaN), used in satellites, space crafts, and nuclear devices.
All of these uses expose GaN to high-energy particle irradiation, leading to a lot of different issues, some of which are grouped as “defect pairs”.
Studying all the 21 different types of defect pairs that can form, researchers decided to perform first-principles calculations.
The results of these calculations will be fundamental for future multiscale simulations of radiation damages to GaN semiconductors.
All of this data will help scientists engineer GaN-based devices with longer lifetimes, and resistant to radiation.

Bulleted by Michał Słupski
on March 31, 2020

Nanocarbons are being studied by scientists because they have potential to be used to clean water—they attract water pollutants, but their force is weak on their own.
One team found a way to improve the power of nanocarbons, by creating a method to make “amino-modified nanocarbons”.
The method is mixing a source of carbon with a source of amino groups, and zapping it with high voltage to create a plasma in liquid.
Then they put the modified nanocarbons through ten cycles of adsorbing heavy metal ions, and compared them to conventionally synthesized nanocarbons.
The modified nanocarbon was found suitable for repeatable use, and had the highest adsorption compared to conventional alternatives.

Bulleted by Michał Słupski
on March 24, 2020

chalmers.se

Scientists develop new material only from components that have been shown to work well in humans, in an effort to meet the demand for new medical materials.
They wanted to redesign plexiglass, using a process called nanostructuring, and forge it into a bone replacement alternative.
But the material ended up being soft and elastic, and might be suitable for a lot of different medical applications.
The team will first try to apply the material in urinary catheters

Bulleted by Michał Słupski
on March 16, 2020

New device could correct defects caused by scar tissue that forms after heart attacks.
It’s a polymer patch that adheres to the heart and bridges the area of scar tissue
The novelty of this device comes from the fact that it uses an innovative method to morph traditional materials into a device that can mimic heart muscle movement.
So far, it’s only been tested in the lab, and awaits trials in animals.

Bulleted by Michał Słupski
on February 17, 2020

Study proves that it’s possible to collect energy from the entire spectrum of visible sunlight, from infrared to ultraviolet, and transform it into hydrogen.
The team used just one molecule as a catalyst to make fuel, but the molecule is rhodium, which is limited in supply and hard to obtain.
There’s still a lot of work to be done – improving efficiency and finding cheaper materials – before this technology can go mainstream.

Bulleted by Michał Słupski
on February 17, 2020

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