Controlling next-generation energy conversion materials with simple pressure
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 23-Dec-2025 14:11 ET (23-Dec-2025 19:11 GMT/UTC)
Singlet fission (SF) offers a way to boost energy conversion in photosensitive materials by splitting energy from a single high-energy photon into two lower-energy excited states. In a recent study, researchers at Kyushu University developed a set of pressure-responsive SF-active molecules with flexible polar linkers. Their experiments revealed that adjusting pressure and changing the solvent can reversibly control SF rates, paving the way for advanced energy conversion materials and phototherapeutic applications.
The Ubicquia Innovation Center for Intelligent Infrastructure will accelerate the development and deployment of advanced industrial sensors, large language models, AI, and real-time analytics to digitize and monitor critical infrastructure across utility, municipal, commercial, and industrial sectors. The center will drive research that strengthens power grids, boosts energy efficiency, and enhances public safety through smarter, data-driven solutions.
A theoretical framework predicts the emergence of non-reciprocal interactions that effectively violate Newton’s third law in solids using light, report researchers from Japan. They demonstrate that by irradiating light of a carefully tuned frequency onto a magnetic metal, one can induce a torque that drives two magnetic layers into a spontaneous, persistent “chase-and-run” rotation. This work opens a new frontier in non-equilibrium materials science and suggests novel applications in light-controlled quantum materials.
Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes (APDs) are capable of detecting single photons by harnessing a process called avalanche multiplication. 4H-SiC APDs have demonstrated high sensitivity in the deep ultraviolet range. However, at higher wavelengths of light, APDs require advanced architectures to improve their unity-gain quantum efficiency to maintain single-photon sensitivity. Optimizing avalanche photodiodes for high wavelength operation brings several design challenges. Researchers have now created a numerical model with a calibrated 4H-SiC material library for designing avalanche photodiodes for near-ultraviolet photodetection.
Microorganisms in the Black Sea can produce large amounts of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O). However, this gas never reaches the atmosphere because it is swiftly consumed by other microorganisms, which convert it to harmless dinitrogen gas (N2). Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology have now investigated this process and identified the key players involved.