new material

Autonomous vehicles operate in a complex environment, and recognizing traffic signs is an important part of that. A new microstructured material reflects light in rainbow rings, which can make traffic signs easier for computer vision systems to read.

A new, surprisingly simple method merges two metals into one nanocrystal structure. This could allow almost any two metals to be combined, creating brand new types of intermetallic nanocrystals that could be useful for a whole range of applications.

Heating and cooling systems are some of the biggest energy guzzlers, but passive temperature control could reduce emissions. Phase-change materials show promise for this, and now engineers have developed a new PCM composite that can be 3D printed.

Researchers have created a new alloy made up of not two, but five different metals, and put it to work as a catalyst. The 2D material was able to convert carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide, potentially helping to turn the greenhouse gas into fuels.

As useful a material as leather is, it isn’t too environmentally friendly. Now, engineers at Tufts University have created a new leather-like material out of silk, which can be 3D printed into shape and easily recycled into new products as needed.

Scientists in the US have introduced a new player to the world of 2D materials in the form of an ultra-thin, ultra-strong material they've dubbed borophane, which they see one day finding use in advanced forms of electronics.

Whether it's a beam supporting a building or Scotch tape holding together a school science project, we're accustomed to the idea of materials becoming weaker as they age, but a newly created material might just flip the script in this regard.

Researchers at Lancaster University have developed a new material that can store energy for months, and potentially years, at a time. The material can be activated by light, and then release the pent-up energy on demand in the form of heat.

Researchers have developed a new type of fabric that keeps the wearer much cooler. Made from different polymers in a relatively simple way, it can efficiently transfer heat and wick away sweat, while remaining water repellent from the outside.

Researchers at the University of Bayreuth have created a form of nitrogen that’s never been seen before. Nicknamed “black nitrogen,” the new substance is crystalline, occurs in two-dimensional sheets, and could be useful in advanced electronics.

A versatile new kind of polymer can be used on its own like regular rubber, or mixed with filler materials including used PVC and carbon fiber to create brand new composites, which can in turn be recycled in an almost endless loop.

Imagine getting a flat tire, and just smearing on a chemical that makes the rubber meld seamlessly back together. That’s the kind of breakthrough researchers are now reporting, with a new material made of waste products and easily recyclable itself.