Lifeboat Foundation

Using self-healing silicon microparticles, scientists have developed the first battery electrode that heals itself.

Researchers have made the first battery electrode that heals itself, opening a new and potentially commercially viable path for making the next generation of lithium-ion batteries for electric cars, cell phones, and other devices.

The secret is a stretchy polymer that coats the electrode, binds it together, and spontaneously heals tiny cracks that develop during battery operation, said the team from Stanford University and the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

A new study from researchers at Tyndall National Institute and the National University of Singapore shows that subtle changes in the intermolecular van der Waals interactions in the active component of a molecular diode can improve the device performance by more than a factor of ten.

A team of scientists from Tyndall National Institute at University College Cork and the National University of Singapore have designed and fabricated ultra-small devices for energy-efficient electronics. By finding out how molecules behave in these devices, a ten-fold increase in switching efficiency was obtained by changing just one carbon atom. These devices could provide new ways to combat overheating in mobile phones and laptops, and could also aid in electrical stimulation of tissue repair for wound healing. The breakthrough creation of molecular devices with highly controllable electrical properties will appear in the February issue of Nature Nanotechnology. Dr. Damien Thompson at the Tyndall National Institute, UCC and a team of researchers at the National University of Singapore led by Prof. Chris Nijhuis designed and created the devices, which are based on molecules acting as electrical valves, or diode rectifiers.

Dr. Thompson explains “These molecules are very useful because they allow current to flow through them when switched ON and block current flow when switched OFF. The results of the study show that simply adding one extra carbon is sufficient to improve the device performance by more than a factor of ten. We are following up lots of new ideas based on these results, and we hope ultimately to create a range of new components for electronic devices.” Dr. Thompson’s atom-level computer simulations showed how molecules with an odd number of carbon atoms stand straighter than molecules with an even number of carbon atoms. This allows them to pack together more closely. Tightly-packed assemblies of these molecules were formed on metal electrode surfaces by the Nijhuis group in Singapore and were found to be remarkably free of defects. These high quality devices can suppress leakage currents and so operate efficiently and reliably.

A collaborative research team has developed a novel method to measure minuscule nanoscale forces in liquids, using a technique that significantly enhances measurement sensitivity and resolution. This breakthrough could transform biological research and advance biomedical technology.

Groundbreaking research has introduced a new method for measuring extremely small forces at the nanoscale within aqueous environments, expanding our understanding of the microscopic realm.

The significant nanotechnology advance was achieved by researchers from Beihang University in China with RMIT University and other leading institutions including the Australian National University and University of Technology Sydney.

In a newly published study, scientists detail the development of electronic biosensors that can be regenerated and reused repeatedly.

Imagine a swarm of tiny devices only a few hundred nanometers in size that can detect trace amounts of toxins in a water supply or the very earliest signs of cancer in the blood. Now imagine that these tiny sensors can reset themselves, allowing for repeated use over time inside a body of water – or a human body.

Improving nanodevice biosensors is the goal of Mark Reed, Harold Hodgkinson Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science. Reed and his colleagues have reported a recent breakthrough in designing electronic biosensors that can be regenerated and reused repeatedly.

Researchers at the Fritz Haber Institute have advanced nanoscale optoelectronics by developing a method to control single-molecule photoswitching with atomic precision.

This method utilizes localized surface plasmons on semiconductor platforms to precisely adjust molecular configurations, enhancing device efficiency and adaptability. This innovation promises significant improvements in the miniaturization and functionality of future electronic and photonic devices, potentially impacting a wide range of applications including sensors and photovoltaic cells.

Groundbreaking Discovery in Nanoscale Optoelectronics.

Researchers from NC State and Johns Hopkins have developed a breakthrough technology that leverages DNA for data storage and computing, offering capabilities such as storing, retrieving, computing, and rewriting data.

This technology is made viable by innovative polymer structures called dendricolloids, enhancing data density and preservation. It enables functions similar to electronic devices and could potentially secure data for millennia, providing a promising foundation for the future of molecular computing.

DNA Data Storage and Computing.

New research from North Carolina State University shows that unique materials with distinct properties akin to those of gecko feet – the ability to stick to just about any surface – can be created by harnessing liquid-driven chaos to produce soft polymer microparticles with hierarchical branching on the micro-and nanoscale.

The findings, published today (October 14, 2019) in the journal Nature Materials, hold the potential for advances in gels, pastes, foods, nonwovens, and coatings, among other formulations.

The soft dendritic particle materials with unique adhesive and structure-building properties can be created from a variety of polymers precipitated from solutions under special conditions, says Orlin Velev, S. Frank and Doris Culberson Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NC State and corresponding author of the paper.

Polymer precipitation under turbulent flows generates soft microparticles with branched dendritic coronas and high adhesive properties.

The team of chemists and composite materials researchers discovered a broadly applicable method of bonding plastics and synthetic fibers at the molecular level in a procedure called cross-linking. The cross-linking takes effect when the adhesive is exposed to heat or long-wave UV light making strong connections that are both impact-resistant and corrosion-resistant. Even with a minimal amount of cross-linking, the materials are tightly bonded.

“It turns out the adhesive is particularly effective in high-density polyethylene, which is an important plastic used in bottles, piping, geomembranes, plastic lumber, and many other applications,” says Professor Abbas Milani, director of UBC’s Materials and Manufacturing Research Institute, and the lead researcher at the Okanagan node of the Composite Research Network. “In fact, commercially available glues didn’t work at all on these materials, making our discovery an impressive foundation for a wide range of important uses.”

UVic Organic Chemistry Professor Jeremy Wulff, whose team led the design of the new class of cross-linking materials, collaborated with the UBC Survive and Thrive Applied Research to explore how it performed in real-world applications.