Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), United States, have developed a new type of ‘chain mail’ fabric that is flexible like cloth but can stiffen on demand.  The lightweight fabric is 3D-printed from nylon plastic polymers and comprises hollow octahedrons (a shape with eight equal triangular faces) that interlock … Continue reading ‘Smart’ Fabric That Can Stiffen on Demand (Material Science) →

The Science Scientists demonstrated that ultrathin films of samarium nickel oxide can mask the thermal radiation emitted by hot materials. Samarium nickel oxide is a quantum material. These are materials that have strange and incredible properties due to quantum mechanics. The cloaking mechanism is due to the material undergoing a unique, gradual transition from insulator … Continue reading Quantum Materials Cloak Thermal Radiation (Material Science) →

Researchers at Ural Federal University (UrFU) and the Institute of Metallurgy of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (UrB RAS) have developed and successfully tested technology for waste-free processing of slag (electric arc and ladle). This technology helps obtain valuable materials, cast iron, Portland cement clinker. The main thing is that it … Continue reading It Was Figured Out How To Dispose of Metallurgical Slag (Material Science) →

Osaka City University study shows how alginic acid improves artificial bones in 3 ways New research shows that mixing low viscosity alginic acid with calcium phosphate cement (CPC), a material commonly used as a bone replacement, confers 3 functional improvements: shorter setting time, increased compressive strength, and acquisition of porosity. One reason for the increased … Continue reading Alginic Acid Improves Artificial Bones, Study Shows (Material Science) →

The Microfluidics Cluster of the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country has created a paramagnetic ring that encapsulates water droplets under a magnetic field A study carried out by the UPV/EHU’s Microfluidics Cluster, published by the prestigious journal Advanced Functional Materials, has presented and characterised the formation and properties of a superparamagnetic ring, which fits snugly … Continue reading The Movement of Small Water Droplets Is Controlled By Means Of A Magnet (Material Science) →

Phosphate glass is a versatile compound that has generated interest for its use in fuel cells and as biomaterials for supplying therapeutic ions. P2O5-the compound that forms the structural network of phosphate glass, is made up of phosphorus, an element that can adopt many different bonding configurations in combination with oxygen. The physicochemical properties crucial … Continue reading Unravelling How Ions Move in Phosphate Glass (Material Science) →

Cornell researchers are proposing a new way to modulate both the absorptive and the refractive qualities of metamaterials in real time, and their findings open intriguing new opportunities to control, in time and space, the propagation and scattering of waves for applications in various areas of wave physics and engineering. The research published in the … Continue reading Metamaterials Research Challenges Fundamental Limits in Photonics (Material Science) →

Curtin University researchers have found applying a thin invisible layer of graphene oxide to silicon forms an impermeable barrier, which could be used to protect artwork, prevent corrosion of metals, and produce higher efficiency solar cells. Lead author Dr Nadim Darwish from Curtin’s School of Molecular Life Sciences said while protective layers on silicon were … Continue reading Impermeable Graphene Oxide Protects Silicon from Oxidation (Material Science) →

Scientists at Mackenzie Presbyterian University’s Graphene and Nanomaterials Research Center (MackGraphe) in São Paulo, Brazil, collaborating with colleagues at Pennsylvania State University in the United States and other institutions, have described in the journal Science Advances a method of improving the efficiency of transistors made of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), a material already widely used as a solid lubricant. MoS2 … Continue reading Gold Atoms Enhance Electrical Conductivity Of Transistors (Material Science) →