New research has identified a nanostructure that improves the anode in lithium-ion batteries. Instead of using graphite for the anode, the researchers turned to silicon: a material that stores more charge but is susceptible to fracturing. The team deposited silicon atoms on top of metallic nanoparticles to form an arched nanostructure, increasing the strength and structural integrity of the anode. Electrochemical tests showed the batteries had a higher charge capacity and longer lifespan.
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IMAGE: Physicists have developed a new method that enables emulation of complex calculations at lightning speed. This could yield new insights about the quantum properties of strongly interacting matter such as. view more
Credit: Illustration: Andreas Ekström and Yen Strandqvist/Chalmers University of Technology
A calculation so complex that it takes twenty years to complete on a powerful desktop computer can now be done in one hour on a regular laptop. Physicist Andreas Ekström at Chalmers University of Technology, together with international research colleagues, has designed a new method to calculate the properties of atomic nuclei incredibly quickly.
Credit: Christian Fleury (INRS)
An interdisciplinary team of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) used an innovative imaging technique for a better understanding of motor deficits in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The researchers were able to follow the escape behaviour of normal and disease zebrafish models, in 3D. Their results have recently been published in
Optica, the flagship journal of the Optical Society (OSA).
Professor Jinyang Liang, expert in ultra-fast imaging and biophotonics, joined an effort with Professor Kessen Patten, specialist in genetics and neurodegenerative diseases. The two groups were able to track the position of zebrafish in real time and capture the 3D motion, using a special imaging technique called dispersion-eliminated coded-aperture light field, or DECALF.
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A material that can be used in technologies such as solar power has been found to self-heal, a new study shows.
The findings - from the University of York - raise the prospect that it may be possible to engineer high-performance self-healing materials which could reduce costs and improve scalability, researchers say.
The substance, called antimony selenide (Sb2Se3), is a solar absorber material that can be used for turning light energy into electricity.
Professor Keith McKenna from the Department of Physics said: The process by which this semi-conducting material self-heals is rather like how a salamander is able to re-grow limbs when one is severed. Antimony selenide repairs broken bonds created when it is cleaved by forming new ones.
Credit: Taro Hitosugi
Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), Tohoku University, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, and Nippon Institute of Technology, demonstrated by experiment that a clean electrolyte/electrode interface is key to realizing high-capacity solid-state lithium batteries. Their findings could pave the way for improved battery designs with increased capacity, stability, and safety for both mobile devices and electric vehicles.
Liquid lithium-ion batteries are everywhere, being found in the majority of everyday mobile devices. While they possess a fair share of advantages, liquid-based batteries carry notable risks as well. This has become clear to the public in recent years after reports of smartphones bursting into flames due to design errors that caused the battery s liquid electrolyte to leak and catch fire.