new material

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.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins University have succeeded in replicating an adaptive mineralization process in the lab, showing off a new type of material that alters its stiffness as more force is applied.

Researchers have created a new ultra-tough structure whose strength had only been theorized previously. The nanoscale carbon lattice made using 3D printing technology boasts a much greater strength-to-density ratio than diamonds.

We're used to thinking of fakes and forgeries with disdain, but a new innovation from the University of Oxford looks set to buck that trend: fake rhinoceros horn. Rhino populations have been devastated by poaching due to demand for their horn.

Ceramic aerogels are incredibly light and can withstand intense heat. The problem is they can be pretty brittle. Now, a team has developed a new ceramic aerogel that’s far hardier and more flexible, even after repeated exposure to wild temperature swings.