Headline: A touch-responsive fabric armband -- for flexible keyboards, wearable sketchpads

■ Release Date: 2023.5.2

■ Published by: American Chemical Society

■ Keywords: graphene, electrode, hydrogel

■ Abstract:

It's time to roll up your sleeves for the next advance in wearable technology -- a fabric armband that's actually a touch pad. Researchers say they have devised a way to make playing video games, sketching cartoons and signing documents easier. Their proof-of-concept silk armband turns a person's forearm into a keyboard or sketchpad. The three-layer, touch-responsive material interprets what a user draws or types and converts it into images on a computer.

Headline: Self-folding origami machines powered by chemical reaction

■ Release Date: 2023.5.2

■ Published by: Cornell University

■ Keywords: catalytic metals, palladium, gold

■ Abstract:

Scientists have harnessed chemical reactions to make microscale origami machines self-fold -- freeing them from the liquids in which they usually function, so they can operate in dry environments and at room temperature.

Headline: Gluing' soft materials without glue

■ Release Date: 2023.5.3

■ Published by: American Chemical Society

■ Keywords: graphite, electroabrasion, gel

■ Abstract:

If you're a fan of arts and crafts, you're likely familiar with the messy, sticky, frustration-inducing nature of liquid glues. But researchers now have a brand-new way to weld squishy stuff together without the need for glue at all. They've demonstrated a universal, 'electroadhesion' technique that can adhere soft materials to each other just by running electricity through them.

Headline: Engineers tap into good vibrations to power the Internet of Things

■ Release Date: 2023.5.3

■ Published by: University of Waterloo

■ Keywords: copper chloride, clean energy, metal-halide

■ Abstract:

In a world hungry for clean energy, engineers have created a new material that converts the simple mechanical vibrations all around us into electricity to power sensors in everything from pacemakers to spacecraft.

Headline: Researchers develop an additive to efficiently improve the efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells

■ Release Date: 2023.5.4

■ Published by: City University of Hong Kong

■ Keywords: perovskite, solar, cell

■ Abstract:

Perovskite solar cells (PVSCs) are a promising alternative to traditional silicon-based solar cells because of their high power-conversion efficiency and low cost. However, one of the major challenges in their development has been achieving long-term stability. Recently, a research team made a breakthrough by developing an innovative multifunctional and non-volatile additive which can improve the efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells by modulating perovskite film growth. This simple and effective strategy has great potential for facilitating the commercialization of PVSCs.

Headline: Exciton fission: One photon in, two electrons out

■ Release Date: 2023.5.5

■ Published by: Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society

■ Keywords: photovoltaics, solar, cell

■ Abstract:

Photovoltaics, the conversion of light to electricity, is a key technology for sustainable energy. Since the days of Max Planck and Albert Einstein, we know that light as well as electricity are quantized, meaning they come in tiny packets called photons and electrons. In a solar cell, the energy of a single photon is transferred to a single electron of the material, but no more than one. Only a few molecular materials like pentacene are an exception, where one photon is converted to two electrons instead. This excitation doubling, which is called exciton fission, could be extremely useful for high-efficiency photovoltaics, specifically to upgrade the dominant technology based on silicon. Researchers have now deciphered the first step of this process by recording an ultrafast movie of the photon-to-electricity conversion process, resolving a decades-old debate about the mechanism of the process.