Films made of aluminum-plastic laminates (APL) have long been used extensively to extend the shelf life of chips, roasted and powdered coffee, milk, fruit juices and other foods. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they were used ...
Polymers
Aug 10, 2023
0
17
Organic solar cells (OSCs), which use organic polymers to convert sunlight into electricity, have received considerable attention for their desirable properties as next-generation energy sources. These properties include ...
Polymers
Sep 15, 2022
0
13
A team of Florida State University researchers has uncovered a way to use low-energy light to manipulate photopolymers or plastic films—a finding that has implications for a wide range of technologies that use light as ...
Polymers
Jun 28, 2022
0
428
In the future, you may have a squid to thank for your coffee staying hot on a cold day. Drawing inspiration from cephalopod skin, engineers at the University of California, Irvine invented an adaptive composite material that ...
Biotechnology
Mar 28, 2022
0
147
The microscopic components that make up computer chips must be made at staggering scales. With billions of transistors in a single processor, each made of multiple materials carefully arranged in patterns as thin as a strand ...
Nanomaterials
Mar 24, 2022
0
218
Stretchy films and squishy gels help make wearable electronics, soft robotics and biocompatible tissues a reality. But too much force can cause these polymers to break apart without warning. To detect stress before it's too ...
Polymers
Feb 23, 2022
0
65
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Columbia Engineering have discovered a new method to improve the toughness of materials that could lead to stronger versions of body armor, bulletproof ...
Condensed Matter
Dec 13, 2021
0
249
A triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is an energy-harvesting device that converts mechanical energy into electricity through contact separation or relative sliding movements of two opposite tribo-polar materials. Researchers ...
Nanophysics
Nov 23, 2021
0
29
Hard times for burglars and safecrackers: Empa researchers have developed an invisible "keyhole" made of printed, transparent electronics. Only authorized persons know where to enter the access code.
Materials Science
Mar 18, 2021
0
6
Materials that simultaneously have contrasting properties—for example, they are soft on the one hand and hard on the other, with a gradual transition between the two properties—could enable completely new applications ...
Nanomaterials
Nov 3, 2020
0
16
