Carbon

MIT has developed a device that generates electricity using a completely new mechanism. “Particles” made of carbon nanotubes are dunked in an organic solvent, which induces a current to potentially power small robots or drive chemical reactions.

Researchers in Europe have developed an entirely new form of carbon, one that bears similarities to the wonder material graphene but with some useful differences that could open up new possibilities in electronics and advanced lithium batteries.

Have you ever wondered how many bubbles there are in your Friday knockoff beer? No? Well scientists apparently have, and in a new study they’ve finally answered the question nobody’s been asking, with a vague “a lot, we guess.”

Researchers at the National University of Singapore have put forward a new formula for stronger concrete that not only removes a large amount of damaging materials from the equation, but makes use of upcycled waste clay at the same time.

Concrete is pretty useful, which is why it’s the most widely used construction material in the world. Now, engineers have made it even more useful, creating concrete that can conduct electricity and produce heat, by mixing in nanocarbon black.

Researchers at Rice University have developed a new process to convert old tires into graphene, which can then be used to make concrete. Not only is it more environmentally friendly, but the team says the resulting concrete is substantially stronger.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has stumped up $100 million for a new XPrize competition that takes aim at the problem of carbon pollution, with hopes of unearthing technologies that can remove it from the atmosphere and ocean.

Exotic forms of carbon were predicted to exist under extremely high pressures. But in a new study researchers have examined carbon under the highest pressure ever studied in the lab, and found that diamond sticks around much longer than expected.

A new reactor converts carbon monoxide into acetic acid, using tiny copper cubes as a catalyst. The device is relatively simple and can operate for long periods, allowing the unwanted waste gas to be turned into an industrially useful product.

While 3D-printed aluminum parts are becoming increasingly common in the aerospace industry, any weaknesses in those parts can cause them to fail catastrophically. A new additive could help, by making the aluminum 1.5 times harder.

Researchers have grown “forests” of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) longer than ever before. Using a new method, the team grew bunches of nanotubes up to 14 cm (5.5 in) long, which should help make it easier to scale up production of this versatile material.

Silicon has been the material of choice for electronics for decades, but it’s beginning to bump up against efficiency limits. Now engineers at UC Berkeley have created metallic graphene nanoribbons, which can make wires for all-carbon electronics.