http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (Phys.org) —The mention of a two-dimensional material with excellent electrical and optical properties may first bring to mind graphene. However, this description also fits another class of materials called transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Although TMDs in bulk form have been studied for decades—before graphene was even discovered—only recently they have been isolated to monolayers. With recent advances in nanomaterial characterization, scientists have recognized the potential of monolayer TMDs in applications such as LEDs, optical energy conversion, and other 2D optoelectronics technologies. http://phys.org/news287245266.html Nanotechnology Wed, 08 May 2013 15:40:01 EST news287245266 (Phys.org) —The search for cleaner, low temperature nuclear fuels has produced a shock result for a team of experts at The University of Nottingham. http://phys.org/news287148089.html Chemistry Tue, 07 May 2013 12:22:58 EST news287148089 (Phys.org) —Combining wonder material graphene with other stunning one-atom thick materials could create the next generation of solar cells and optoelectronic devices, scientists have revealed. http://phys.org/news286721581.html Nanotechnology Thu, 02 May 2013 14:00:01 EST news286721581 Applying femtosecond X-ray methods, researchers at the Max-Born-Institute in Berlin (Germany) and the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (Switzerland) observed an extremely fast, collective electron transfer of ~100 molecular ions after excitation of a single electron in a crystal of transition metal complexes. http://phys.org/news285408964.html Physics Wed, 17 Apr 2013 09:16:13 EST news285408964 (Phys.org) —Taking their inspiration from Nature, scientists at the University of New South Wales have developed a new method for carrying out chemical reduction – an industrial process used to produce fuels and chemicals that are vital for modern society. http://phys.org/news283424399.html Chemistry Mon, 25 Mar 2013 10:00:06 EST news283424399 (Phys.org) —Scientists have found evidence for the existence of magnetic superatoms—small, compact clusters of atoms whose electrons occupy a set of orbitals around the entire cluster rather than around the individual atoms. If scientists can synthesize superatoms with magnetic properties, then one day they may use them to create new spin-dependent electronics. http://phys.org/news283168346.html Physics Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:00:04 EST news283168346 The transistor is the ultimate on-off switch. When a voltage is applied to the surface of a semiconductor, current flows; when the voltage is reversed, current is blocked. Researchers have tried for decades to replicate these effects in transition metal oxides by using a voltage to convert the material from an insulator to a metal, but the induced change only occurs within a few atomic layers of the surface. http://phys.org/news279551272.html Physics Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:08:01 EST news279551272 The strong binding of gold on electronically modified calcium oxide can now be understood in detail. In a computational study, researchers at the University of Jyväskylä Nanoscience Center have shown how redox chemistry entirely determines the adsorption strength of gold on the modified oxide where one metal atom is replaced with molybdenum. http://phys.org/news278056874.html Chemistry Tue, 22 Jan 2013 06:01:34 EST news278056874 Transition metal oxides are known for their interesting properties, including high-temperature superconductivity and resistance that can be tuned with a magnetic field. Researchers have mainly focused on oxides made from '3d' transition metals—the elements from scandium to zinc—but they are starting to uncover new material properties in oxides containing the much heavier '5d' transition metal elements found between hafnium and mercury. http://phys.org/news274097854.html Physics Fri, 07 Dec 2012 10:30:06 EST news274097854 (Phys.org)—Materials called transition metal oxides have physicists intrigued by their potentially useful properties—from magnetoresistance (the reason a hard drive can write memory) to superconductivity. http://phys.org/news266041641.html Physics Wed, 05 Sep 2012 05:27:32 EST news266041641 The Korean team of Professor Keon Jae Lee from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, KAIST has developed a high performance flexible all-solid-state battery, an essential energy source for flexible displays. http://phys.org/news263468441.html Nanotechnology Mon, 06 Aug 2012 10:40:55 EST news263468441 Solar cells, light emitting diodes, displays and other electronic devices could get a bump in performance because of a discovery at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory that establishes new boundaries for controlling band gaps. http://phys.org/news249059677.html Chemistry Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:15:40 EST news249059677 It is not just in laptop computers, mobile telephones and LED screens that scarce metals are to be found but also in solar cells, batteries for mobile technologies and many other similar applications. The rising demand for these metals increases the risk of a bottleneck in supplies. http://phys.org/news247219316.html Technology Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:02:16 EST news247219316 (PhysOrg.com) -- The transition-metal monoxide FeO is an archetypal example of a Mott insulator—a material that should conduct electricity under conventional band theories but becomes an insulator when measured, especially at low temperatures—and a major iron-bearing component of the Earth’s interior. Understanding the high-pressure behavior of this material is important for both solid-state physics and Earth science. But despite considerable study over the past 30 years, the origin of the well-known high-pressure-induced cubic-rhombohedral ferroic transition in FeO, which is a distortion of the original cubic structure to that of as rhomboid shape, has been not well understood. http://phys.org/news247134884.html Physics Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:40:01 EST news247134884 University of Toronto materials science and engineering (MSE) researchers have demonstrated for the first time the key mechanism behind how energy levels align in a critical group of advanced materials. This discovery is a significant breakthrough in the development of sustainable technologies such as dye-sensitized solar cells and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). http://phys.org/news239805939.html Nanotechnology Sun, 06 Nov 2011 13:10:04 EST news239805939 (PhysOrg.com) -- Titanium oxide doped with cobalt produces magnetic properties at room temperature via a newly discovered mechanism. http://phys.org/news223709101.html Physics Wed, 04 May 2011 06:25:37 EST news223709101 French researchers have succeeded in creating a conductive layer on the surface of strontium titanate (SrTiO3), a transparent insulating material considered to be very promising for the development of future microelectronics applications. Two nanometers thick, this conductive layer is a two-dimensional metallic electron gas (2DEG) that is part of the insulating material. Easy to produce, it opens new possibilities for electronics based on transition metal oxides (the SrTiO3 family), taking advantage of these materials' vast range of physical properties (superconductivity, magnetism, thermoelectricity, etc.) to integrate a number of different functions in a single microelectronic device. A paper explaining this unexpected discovery, arising from research at the SOLEIL synchrotron, was published in the January 13, 2011 issue of Nature magazine. http://phys.org/news214565988.html Nanotechnology Tue, 18 Jan 2011 09:40:15 EST news214565988 Drugs made using unusual metals could form an effective treatment against colon and ovarian cancer, including cancerous cells that have developed immunity to other drugs, according to research at the University of Warwick and the University of Leeds. http://phys.org/news175157795.html Chemistry Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:57:05 EST news175157795 (PhysOrg.com) -- To successfully compete in a global marketplace, manufacturers continually search for better materials: faster drying and less hazardous paint, longer-lasting sunscreen, and faster computers. Transition metal and complex oxide materials exhibit a range of properties unparalleled by any other class of materials. http://phys.org/news172422021.html Chemistry Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:03:32 EST news172422021