NANOTECHNOLOGYDiamonds are known to be among the stiffest materials known to man. A new study finds a worthy competitor to the naturally-occurring cubic diamonds - in the form of lab-made hexagonal diamonds.
In the Information Age, electronic devices are almost everywhere - pushing developers and researchers to find lighter and more flexible materials that could prevent interference between devices and minimize radiation exposure to humans.
Two-dimensional (2D) materials are the subjects of increased scientific interest, potentially improving electronic devices past the limitations of conventional silicon substrates.
While carbon nanotube fibers are known to be less durable than the nanotubes within them, a new study could help close the gap between these materials.
A research team from the University of Manchester in the UK has overtaken Egyptian linen's finest Egyptian linen for the world's finest woven fabric, recognized by the Guinness World Records.
A new design for ultra-efficient, nano-thin piezoelectric materials could revolutionize self-powered electronics, such as wearable gadgets and medical implants like pacemakers.
A team from the University of Illinois Chicago worked to develop a "Swiss Army Knife" catalyst - made up of ten different elements aside from Oxygen that helps natural gas burn cleaner.
Although diamond is widely believed to be hard and unbendable, thin films have been found to exhibit elastic deformation - and this new property can have profound impacts on various applications.
Carbon spheres - small spherical structures that have found large applications in carbon capture and energy storage - can now be created faster and more sustainably in a novel technique developed by researchers.
Though fiber optic cables have made communication and data transmission even faster than previously possible, it is still subject to physical limitations and data losses. A new study has found a way to reduce signal losses from glass-based fiber optic cables.
A new powerful and low-cost technique has been devised for converting agricultural waste and used cooking oil into biodiesel, and even converting food waste and plastic to recycled products.
A team from the University of Michigan has developed self-erasing chips that can prevent counterfeiting in electronics, or send alerts in the event of tampering with cargo or shipments.
A team from Cornell University has fabricated a miniature magnetic field sensor, using an ultrathin graphene "sandwich," that offers detection over a greater temperature change with enough sensitivity to sense subtleties in magnetic fields.
Some fluids exhibit a solid-like response to stress, suddenly thickening and becoming solids for a moment upon disturbance - and scientists have captured the exact moment it happens.
The age-old question of how sharp razors and blades are dulled by shaving something as soft and thin as human hair has been observed by engineers from MIT.
Seen as the future of computing, quantum computers have exciting potential for solving problems beyond the capacity of classical supercomputers. While quantum computers are still mostly under development, one sample has displayed the capability to work on materials problems.