Materials

Solar panels can’t operate efficiently if they’re caked in dirt, but cleaning them regularly can be a time-consuming process. Engineers in Germany have now developed an ultra-thin coating that can make solar panels and other surfaces self-cleaning.

For some time now, a nanomaterial known as MXene has been touted as a faster-charging alternative to the lithium used in batteries. It could soon be an even more viable choice, as scientists have devised a method of making it last much longer.

Swedish government-owned mining company LKAB has reported the largest deposit of rare earth metals ever discovered in Europe – more than a million tonnes of rare earth oxides, which will be invaluable in the race toward decarbonization.

Scallops' soft bodies are well-protected by their hard shells, so … could those same shells protect human heads? That question was asked by the Japanese designers of the Shellmet, which is a helmet made partially of scallop shells.

Modern concrete starts to fall apart within decades – but ancient Roman structures are still standing strong after 2,000 years. Engineers have found an inclusion that helps ancient concrete self-heal cracks, and shown how we can recreate the recipe.

Heating and cooling systems are among the biggest guzzlers of energy. Berkeley Lab has now developed a new technology that heats and cools by switching a material between solid and liquid states, inducing a large temperature change from a small voltage.

Nanofibers have recently been utilized in many applications, ranging from wound dressings to high-strength composite materials. Scientists have now developed a faster and simpler method of producing those fibers, which was inspired by the silkworm.

Scientists at the University of Maryland have developed a novel gel sheet material with excellent absorption abilities, which they imagine finding use everywhere from messy kitchens to operating theaters.

Plastics are made to last, which is great while they’re being used but not so great after they’re discarded. Chemists have now developed a new kind of plastic that has all the durability of regular plastic, but biodegrades within months or even days.

Concrete sewage pipes lead a hard life, constantly being exposed to corrosive acid produced by bacteria in wastewater. A new additive could allow such concrete to self-heal – and it would do so using water treatment sludge.

Researchers at the University of Kent have developed a protein-based family of synthetic materials that can withstand supersonic impacts. Called TSAMs, they see these materials one day finding use in military and space applications.

While anti-fog sprays work to a certain extent, warming a glass surface is a better way of keeping it fog-free. A new coating material is designed to do so, and it utilizes light-absorbing gold nanoparticles instead of electricity.

By tinkering with fine details within wood, engineers in Sweden have come up with an interesting new way of harvesting electricity that leverages natural processes that already take place in drying wood.

Researchers in New Zealand and Australia have grown tiny metal snowflakes, cubes, rods and other shapes. The nanocrystals form like snow out of a liquid metal, demonstrated an intriguing new potential method for manufacturing nanoscale structures.

A simple alloy has claimed the crown for toughest material ever recorded. A team led by Berkeley Lab discovered not only its incredible toughness, but high strength and ductility that improve in colder temperatures, unlike most known materials.