Hokkaido University

Researchers have developed a new crystalline material that can release and capture oxygen on demand. That allows for efficient electricity production from hydrogen with low emissions from fuel cells, and without breaking down over repeated use.

Hokkaido University’s ongoing research into hydrogels has borne fresh fruit: a new polymer-based material that, unlike other polymers, hardens when heated – by 1,800 times.

​It's always helpful if materials let you know when they're under stress, so that changes can be made before catastrophic failures occur. A new polymer is designed to provide such a warning, as it glows when stretched.

Scientists have found a way to create materials that actually get stronger the more you use them. By mimicking the mechanism that allows living muscles to grow and strengthen after exercise, the polymer breaks down under mechanical stress, then regrows itself into a stronger configuration.

Scientists at Hokkaido University have developed a new set of hydrogel composites that combine gels with woven fiber fabric to create a material that is five times stronger than carbon steel.

Japanese researchers have developed a device that can switch between insulating/non-magnet and metallic/magnet states simultaneously by electrochemical reaction at room temperature, with one potential application​ in flash storage that could double capacity.