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Category: Technology

15 Sep

Researchers discover a material that can learn like the brain

by TMR Desk
Education, Technology
EPFL researchers have discovered that vanadium dioxide (VO2), a compound used in electronics, is capable of "remembering" the entire history of previous external stimuli. This is the first material to be identified as possessing this property, although there could be others. Mohammad Samizadeh Nikoo, a PhD student at EPFL's Power and Wide-band-gap Electronics Research Laboratory (POWERlab), made a chance discovery during his research on phase transitions in vanadium dioxide (VO2). VO2 has an insulating phase when relaxed at room temperature, and undergoes a steep insulator-to-metal transition at 68 °C, where its lattice structure changes. Classically, VO2 exhibits a volatile memory: "the material reverts back to the insulating state right after removing the excitation," says Samizadeh Nikoo. For his thesis, he set out to...
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14 Sep

Confirmed: Atmospheric helium levels are rising

by TMR Desk
Technology
A by-product released by use of fossil fuels has been increasing since 1974 Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego used an unprecedented technique to detect that levels of helium are rising in the atmosphere, resolving an issue that has lingered among atmospheric chemists for decades. The atmospheric abundance of the 4-helium (4He) isotope is rising because 4He is released during the burning and extraction of fossil fuels. The researchers report that it is increasing at a very small but, for the first time, clearly measurable rate. The 4He isotope itself does not add to the greenhouse effect that is making the planet warmer, but measures of it could serve as indirect markers of fossil-fuel use. The National Science Foundation-supported...
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14 Sep

Why natural gas is not a bridge technology

by TMR Desk
Technology
The study was headed by Professor Claudia Kemfert from the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) and Leuphana University Lüneburg in collaboration with Franziska Hoffart from Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Fabian Präger from Technische Universität Berlin and Isabell Braunger and Hanna Brauers from the University of Flensburg. Energy crisis is only one facet of the problem In the wake of the offensive war waged by Russia, the German government faces the challenge of reducing energy reliance on Russia and continuing to ensure an affordable and secure energy supply that is in line with climate goals. Efforts are currently being made to compensate for Russian natural gas, whose supply is curtailed and uncertain, by establishing new gas trade relations and new infrastructure. Claudia Kemfert, who...
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12 Sep

Cheaper hydrogen fuel cell could mean better green energy options

by TMR Desk
Technology
Imperial researchers have developed a hydrogen fuel cell that uses iron instead of rare and costly platinum, enabling greater use of the technology. Hydrogen fuel cells convert hydrogen to electricity with water vapour as the only by-product, making them an attractive green alternative for portable power, particularly for vehicles. However, their widespread use has been hampered in part by the cost of one of the primary components. To facilitate the reaction that produces the electricity, the fuel cells rely on a catalyst made of platinum, which is expensive and scarce. Now, a European team led by Imperial College London researchers has created a catalyst using only iron, carbon, and nitrogen -- materials that are cheap and readily available -- and shown that it...
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12 Sep

Fuel cells: Novel multi-proton carrier complex as efficient proton conductor at high temps

by TMR Desk
Technology
Researchers develop a highly symmetric ruthenium (III) complex with six imidazole-imidazolate groups for efficient high-temperature proton conduction in fuel cells. Fuel cells often fall short when it comes to operating at temperatures beyond 100 ֯C owing to their dependence on water as a proton conduction medium. To overcome this issue, a team of researchers from Japan designed a new hydrogen-bonded starburst-shaped metal complex consisting of ruthenium (III) ion and six imidazole-imidazolate groups. The resulting single molecular crystal shows excellent proton conductivity even at temperatures as high as 180°C and as low as -70 °C. As the world is moving towards more environment-friendly and sustainable sources of energy, fuel cells are receiving a lot of attention. The main advantage of fuel cells is...
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