Can defects turn inert materials into useful, active ones?

Demonstrating that a material thought to be always chemically inert, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), can be turned chemically active holds potential for a new class of catalysts with a wide range of applications, according ...

Designer emulsions

ETH material researchers are developing a method with which they can coat droplets with controlled interfacial composition and coverage on demand in an emulsion in order to stabilise them. In doing so they are fulfilling ...

New glass-ceramic emits light when under mechanical stress

Researchers have created a new glass-ceramic that emits light in response to mechanical stress, a property known as mechanoluminescence. With further development, the new material could be used to create a light source that ...

Physicists confine electrons inside nano-pyramids

(Phys.org)—Quantum dots are nanostructures of semiconducting materials that behave a lot like single atoms and are very easy to produce. Given their special properties, researchers see huge potential for quantum dots in ...

Light-emitting silicon for photonic computing

If computers transmitted data using photons instead of electrons, they would perform better and use less power. European researchers are now studying a new light-emitting alloy of silicon and germanium to obtain photonic ...

Working out makes hydrogels perform more like muscle

Human skeletal muscles have a unique combination of properties that materials researchers seek for their own creations. They're strong, soft, full of water, and resistant to fatigue. A new study by MIT researchers has found ...

Nanoparticles, made to order—inside and out

A new coating technology developed at MIT, combined with a novel nanoparticle-manufacturing technology developed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, may offer scientists a way to quickly mass-produce tailored ...

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