E-Mail
IMAGE: Michael Grätzel, winner of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Basic Sciences. view more
Credit: BBVA FOUNDATION
The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Basic Sciences category has gone in this thirteenth edition to Paul Alivisatos (University of California, Berkeley, United States) and Michael Grätzel (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland) for their fundamental contributions to the development of new nanomaterials already in use for the production of renewable energies and in latest-generation electronics. Grätzel s groundbreaking work includes the invention of a dye-sensitized solar cell named after him, reads the committee s citation, while Alivisatos has made pioneering contributions in using semiconductor nanocrystals for energy and display applications.
E-Mail
IMAGE: Simulation of a vertical-axis tidal turbine: the flow area shows the complex dynamics in the turbine rotor (Hoerner 2020) view more
Credit: Stefan Hoerner
Tidal hydroelectric power plants of the future will be able to generate green electricity significantly more efficient by using optimized turbines. Engineers from the University Otto von Guericke of Magdeburg are developing turbine blades with built-in motors. These integrated drives ensure that during each revolution, the turbine blades adjust optimally to the water flow, and thus avoid the dangerous stall condition.
This term describes the separation of flow away from the surface of turbine blades, airplane wings or rotor blades. Stall means that lift forces that power the turbines or keep a plane in the air suddenly drop, while the drag forces increase dramatically. In turbines, this leads to a loss of efficiency, and over longer periods of time, to material failures and fatigue fractures in the
E-Mail
IMAGE: A Tetris-like grid of high-entropy carbides (blue) and borides (red) is expected to produce super-hard materials that can literally stir two pieces of steel together. view more
Credit: Duke University
A nationwide collaboration led by researchers at Duke University s Center for Autonomous Materials Design is working to synthesize inexpensive materials hard enough to literally stir two pieces of steel together with little wear and tear.
Funded by a five-year, $7.5 million grant through the Department of Defense s Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) competition, the team will also develop a suite of AI-materials tools capable of the on-demand designing of similar materials with properties tailored to a wide range of applications.
E-Mail
IMAGE: To realize a hydrogen fuel-based future, it is necessary to be able to produce it efficiently in an eco-friendly manner view more
Credit: Incheon National University
To combat climate change, shifting from fossil fuels to clean and sustainable energy sources is imperative. A popular candidate in this regard is hydrogen, an eco-friendly fuel that produces only water when used. However, the efficient methods of hydrogen production are usually not eco-friendly. The eco-friendly alternative of splitting water with sunlight to produce hydrogen is inefficient and suffers from low stability of the photocatalyst (material that facilitates chemical reactions by absorbing light). How does one address the issue of developing a stable and efficient photocatalyst?
E-Mail
IMAGE: Graphene Flagship researchers have developed a new measurement standard for the analysis of graphene and layered materials that could accelerate production and optimise device fabrication. view more
Credit: Graphene Flagship
X-ray scans revolutionised medical treatments by allowing us to see inside humans without surgery. Similarly, terahertz spectroscopy penetrates graphene films allowing scientists to make detailed maps of their electrical quality, without damaging or contaminating the material. The Graphene Flagship brought together researchers from academia and industry to develop and mature this analytical technique, and now a novel measurement tool for graphene characterisation is ready.
The effort was possible thanks to the collaborative environment enabled by the Graphene Flagship European consortium, with participation by scientists from Graphene Flagship partners DTU, Denmark, IIT, Italy, Aalto University, Finland, AIXTRON, UK, imec, Belgium