An international research team developed a superionic conductor that negatively charged hydrogen, called hydride ions, diffuses fast. To better expedite hydrogen conductivity in the intermediate range, an international research team developed the first superionic conductor based on a negatively charged hydrogen atom, called a hydride ion. The team published their results, which produced superior conductivity…

Many semiconducting materials are possible candidates for solar cells. In recent years, perovskite semiconductors in particular have attracted attention, as they are both inexpensive and easy to process and enable high efficiencies. Now a new study shows how terahertz (TRTS) and microwave spectroscopy (TRMC) can be used to reliably determine the mobility and lifetime of…

Membrane filters don’t require much energy to purify water, making them popular for wastewater treatment. To keep these materials in tip-top condition, they’re commonly cleaned with large amounts of strong chemicals, but some of these agents destroy the membranes in the process. Now, researchers have developed reusable nanoparticle catalysts that incorporate glucose to help efficiently…

Researchers overcome the limitations of traditional polarimetric underwater imaging by developing a new method that can automatically produce clear images through murky water. The new technology could be useful for searching for drowning victims, documenting submerged archaeological artifacts and monitoring underwater farms. Imaging clearly underwater is extremely challenging because the water and the particles in…

A new study found that measuring the time it takes for a radar pulse to travel from a satellite to the sea surface and back again can reveal the thickness of river ice and dates when it is safe to travel on ice roads and bridges in Arctic regions. Many northern communities in Canada rely…

Carbon capture and storage describes the process of injecting carbon dioxide from industrial sources into underground geological reservoirs, theoretically for thousands of years. Researchers used supercomputers to understand how carbon dioxide storage works at the level of micrometer-wide pores in rock. They found that two factors greatly impact the amount of carbon dioxide that can…

Insights into the oxidation of hydrocarbons at vanadium pentoxide pave the way for a new catalyst design. In the crystal structure of vanadium pentoxide, three different types of oxygen atoms are distinguished by how they link neighbouring vanadium atoms. The vibrational spectra of the oxide measured by Raman spectroscopy differ when the oxygen atoms with…

Sun-facing satellites monitor the Sun’s ultraviolet (UV) light to give us advance warning of solar storms. But over the course of just a year or two, the metal filters in the detectors mysteriously lose their ability to transmit UV light. Now, scientists have found the first evidence indicating that carbonization is not the problem. Sun-facing…

A new study shows how biometric data can be used to find potentially challenging and dangerous areas of urban infrastructure. By analyzing eye-tracking data from cyclists navigating Philadelphia’s streets, researchers found that these individual-based metrics can provide a more proactive approach for designing safer roadways for bicyclists and pedestrians. Current federal rules for installing safe…

New research could help in boosting the efficiency of nuclear power plants in the near future. By using a combination of physics-based modeling and advanced simulations, they found the key underlying factors that cause radiation damage to nuclear reactors, which could then provide insight into designing more radiation-tolerant, high-performance materials. «Reactors need to run at…