A breakthrough in decoding the growth process of Hexagonal Boron Nitride (hBN), a 2D material, and its nanostructures on metal substrates could pave the way for more efficient electronics, cleaner energy solutions and greener chemical manufacturing, according to new research from the University of Surrey. 

A team led by Prof. SHEN Wenjie and Prof. LI Yong from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), collaborating with Prof. LI Weixue from University of Science and Technology of China of CAS and Prof. WANG Yuemin from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, successfully regulated the atomic structure of active sites for hydrogenation reaction. 

How to achieve high-level integration of composite micro-nano structures with different structural characteristics through a minimalist and universal process? In International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, researchers from Zhejiang University, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, and Aalborg University revealed a controllable ultrafast laser-induced focal volume light field and experimentally succeeded in highly efficient one-step composite structuring in multiple transparent solids based on focal volume optical printing.  Their work reports a highly universal all-optical fabrication of composite micro-nanostructures in various transparent solids with independent controllability in multiple degrees of freedom, expands the current cognition of ultrafast laser-based material modification in transparent solids, and establishes a new scientific aspect of strong-field optics, namely, focal volume optics for composite structuring transparent solids.

While compound extreme events across the bulk of the planet are characterized by hot and dry conditions, those over polar ice sheets are predominantly associated with hot and wet conditions, according to a new study by an international research team. Analyzing 42 years of global weather, the researchers found that extreme warm events, or heatwaves, and extreme precipitation events, such as heavy rainfall, overlapped far more in Antarctica than in lower latitudes. This co-occurrence may also accelerate polar ice sheet melting, the team said.

 

Funded by the Department of Energy, these centers are part of an effort that brings together national laboratories, universities and industry to invent and accelerate novel microelectronics technologies to operate efficiently or in extreme environments.

As more products begin to depend on battery-based energy storage systems, shifting away from metal-based solutions will be critical to facilitating the green energy transition. Now, a team at Northwestern University has transformed an organic industrial-scale waste product into an efficient storage agent for sustainable energy solutions that can one day be applied at much larger scales.