What's New
Better Healing with a Smart Bandage
IEEE Transmitter - October 2017
"Imagine if your bandage was able to dispense medicine that would heal your wounds faster. Engineers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Harvard and MIT have been working on a smart bandage that can do just that."
New AFM Technique Reveals Piezoelectricity in Ferroelectric Materials
IEEE Spectrum - October 2017
"A team of researchers at the University Autonoma of Barcelona has created a new atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique that exploits the direct piezoelectric effect to take a measurement of the piezoelectric effect in ferroelectric materials."
Sussex physicists have breakthrough on brittle smartphone screens
University of Sussex - October 2017
"Scientists at the University of Sussex may have found a solution to the long-standing problem of brittle smartphone screens.
Professor Alan Dalton and his team have developed a new way to make smartphone touch screens that are cheaper, less brittle, and more environmentally friendly. On top of that, the new approach also promises devices that use less energy, are more responsive, and do not tarnish in the air."
Read more at University of Sussex
New Graphene Sensor is Less Noisy, More Sensitive
IEEE Spectrum - October 2017
"Graphene’s ability to detect a variety of chemical and biological molecules would seem to make it a perfect match for sensors. But because graphene is a conductor and lacks an inherent band gap, it’s hard to fashion the material into a transistor that can be turned on and off."
Carbon Nanotubes Make Big Push in Plasmonic Circuits
IEEE Spectrum - October 2017
"The field of plasmonics—which exploits the waves of electrons generated when photons strike a metal structure in order to carry out optoelectronic processes—has been building momentum in the research community over the past half decade. This interest is well placed. Plasmonics has made all sorts of interesting things possible, such as confining wavelengths of light to design smaller photonic devices. During that time, a range of two-dimensional materials, including black phosphorus and graphene, has enabled this growing interest. But the granddaddy of nanomaterials—the single-walled carbon nanotube—may still have a role to play in this exploding field."
Integrating Silicon With Two-Dimensional Material Could Shake Up Photonics
IEEE Spectrum - 2017
"Researchers at MIT have developed a fabrication method for integrating silicon photonics with layered two-dimensional material molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) to create a single device that acts as both a light-emitting diode and a photodetector."
Smart Label Could One Day Let You Know When to Toss Food and Cosmetics
American Chemical Society - August 2017
Researchers at Clarkson University are working to develop sensors made out of paper that can detect different toxins and spoilage.
Read more at American Chemical Society
5 Passive Cooling Alternatives Using Robotics and Smart Materials
ArchDaily - August 2017
The IAAC (Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia) has developed a series of advanced, low-cost, low-maintenance materials and systems that can passively reduce indoor temperatures while saving electricity. The projects, developed by students of the IAAC's Digital Matter Intelligent Constructions, include Breathing Skin, Hydroceramics, Hydromembrane, Morphluid and Soft Robotics.
A True Random-Number Generator Built From Carbon Nanotubes
IEEE Spectrum - August 2017
Researchers have developed a new type of random-number generator made from a static random-access memory cell printed with a special ink containing carbon nanotubes that generates random numbers based on fluctuations in thermal noise. Such a device could improve the security of printed and flexible electronics.
Smart Windows That Go From Clear to Dark in Under a Minute
ScienceDaily - August 2017
Engineers have developed dynamic windows that can switch from transparent to opaque or back again in under a minute and do not degrade over time. The prototypes are plates of conductive glass outlined with metal ions that spread out over the surface, blocking light, in response to electrical current.
2D Material Could Make Pseudocapacitors Charge in Milliseconds
IEEE Spectrum - July 2017
Researchers at Drexel and the Université Paul Sabatier in Toulouse, France, have been enhancing a type of supercapacitor made from MXene material, a kind of Max phase made from titanium and molybdenum carbide. Such material could achieve millisecond charging times and as much as 10 times the storage capacity of rival supercapacitor technology.
Stretchable, Compressible Supercapacitors with Polyacrylamide Hydrogel Electrolyte
AZo Materials - July 2017
Flexible, wearable electronics require equally flexible, wearable power sources. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, Chinese scientists have introduced an extraordinarily stretchable and compressible polyelectrolyte which, in combination with carbon nanotube composite paper electrodes, forms a supercapacitor that can be stretched to 1000 percent in length and compressed to 50 percent in thickness with even gaining, not losing capacity.
PolyU Develops Sprayable Sensing Network Technology for Real-Time Structural Health Monitoring with Larger Responsive Bandwidth, Lower Cost and Greater Versatility
Hong Kong Polytechnic University - July 2017
"The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) research team developed a novel breed of nanocomposites-inspired sensors which can be sprayed directly on flat or curved engineering structural surfaces, such as train tracks and aeroplane structures. The sprayed sensors can be networked, to render rich real-time information on the health status of the structure under monitoring. Due to its light weight and low fabrication cost, large quantities of sensors can be deployed in a sensor network for detecting hidden flaws of structures, paving the way for a new era of ultrasonics-based structural health monitoring."
Read more at Hong Kong Polytechnic University
'Near-Zero-Power' Temperature Sensor Could Make Wearables, Smart Home Devices Less Power-Hungry
UC San Diego - June 2017
"Electrical engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a temperature sensor that runs on only 113 picowatts of power — 628 times lower power than the state of the art and about 10 billion times smaller than a watt. This "near-zero-power" temperature sensor could extend the battery life of wearable or implantable devices that monitor body temperature, smart home monitoring systems, Internet of Things devices and environmental monitoring systems.
The technology could also enable a new class of devices that can be powered by harvesting energy from low-power sources, such as the body or the surrounding environment, researchers said. The work was published in Scientific Reports on June 30."
Ferrimagnetism in a Two-Layer Material Opens New Doors in Computing
IEEE Spectrum - June 2017
"Scientists in Thomas Jung’s research groups at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and at the University of Basel in Switzerland have fabricated the first two-dimensional ferrimagnetic material that consists of only two layers of material.
Two-dimensional magnetic structures have been hotly pursued in the research community because the magnetic properties of single molecules in these structures can be indivdually addressed and modified. This is especially important in spintronics, where the aim is to use the spins of electrons to encode information."
Smart Contact Lens Detects Diabetes and Glaucoma
IEEE Spectrum - May 2017
"While tech giant Google continues to struggle to make a contact lens for monitoring diabetes, researchers at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) in South Korea have offered up at least one part of the puzzle: better wearability. Through the use of a hybrid film made from graphene and silver nanowires, the UNIST researchers have made contact lenses for detecting multiple biomarkers that are clear and flexible."
2D Materials Go Ferromagnetic, Creating a New Scientific Field
IEEE Spectrum - April 2017
"Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have successfully demonstrated that two-dimensional (2D) layered crystals held together by van der Waal forces—these include graphene and molybdenum disulfide—can exhibit intrinsic ferromagnetism. Not only did the team demonstrate that it exists in these materials, but the researchers also demonstrated a high degree of control over that ferromagnetism. The discovery could have a profound impact for applications including magnetic sensors and the developing use of spintronics for encoding information."
Smart Materials and Technologies for Next Generation Energy-Efficient Buildings
IEEE Smart Grid Newsletter - April 2017
In the face of increasing human population around the world, it is likely that the global energy demand is doubled by the year 2050. Globally, reducing greenhouse gases and increasing energy efficiency in the household sector is the reason for developing and testing new solutions in private and public buildings, based on the Information and Communication Technologies. A great deal of groundwork has been done, and is still in motion to develop and implement energy-efficient technologies to meet the users’ increased energy needs.
Robotics, Smart Materials, and Their Future Impact for Humans
OpenMind - April 2017
"We are now at the cusp of a new technological shift of equal significance: the Robotics Revolution. This revolution will place the twenty-first century at a pivotal position in history. More importantly it will irrevocably impact on all our lives and the lives of future generations."
Graphene Sieve Turns Seawater into Drinking Water
University of Manchester - April 2017
"Graphene-oxide membranes have attracted considerable attention as promising candidates for new filtration technologies. Now the much sought-after development of making membranes capable of sieving common salts has been achieved.
New research demonstrates the real-world potential of providing clean drinking water for millions of people who struggle to access adequate clean water sources."
Read more at University of Manchester
This Self-Poofing Fabric Transforms From T-Shirt to Parka
IEEE Spectrum - March 2017
"A small team at Otherlab, which does all kinds of weird things, has been using ARPA-E funding to develop what they're calling "thermally adaptive materials." We'll call it self-poofing fabric, for its ability to dynamically change its insulation in response to temperature. The idea is that the fabric will provide a small amount of insulation when it's warm out, and then increase how insulating it is (by trapping more air) in response to colder temperatures. When you see the prototype fabric in action, it looks like magic."
Washable Heartbeat Sensors Can Now Be Embroidered Onto Clothing
Popular Science - March 2017
"Embroidery is usually used to adorn fabric with festive designs, but it can now be used to measure heart rates too.
In a new study published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, researchers unveiled a fiber optic material that can be produced quickly and then woven, knit, or embroidered into existing fabrics, forming flexible, wearable sensors that seamlessly integrate into clothes."
These Smart Glasses Automatically Adjust to Your Eyes
IEEE Spectrum - February 2017
"Imagine glasses that could bring everything into focus, shifting prescriptions from near to farsighted and back again in moments. It’s not possible with today’s glass lenses, but a breakthrough in what are called liquid lenses could make smart glasses that do exactly that. They could put an end to bifocals, and you’d only ever need that one pair of adjustable spectacles for the rest of your life."
Borophene Takes Big Step Towards Electronic Devices
IEEE Spectrum - February 2017
"In research described in the journal Science Advances, Hersam’s team has for the first time combined borophene with another material to create a heterostructure, which is a fundamental building block for electronic devices. Since this work represents the first demonstration of a borophene-based heterostructure, the researchers believe that it will guide future and ongoing research into using borophene for nanoelectronic applications."
Stretchable Material Could Boost Electronic Devices
Research & Development Magazine - February 2017
"A stretchable integrated circuit made entirely using an inkjet printer could lead to new advancements for producing smart fabrics.
Engineers at Michigan State University have developed the integrated circuit—the first of its kind—that has elastic-like tendencies that can help mass produce new materials for smart phones and tablets."
Read more at Research & Development Magazine
Heat-Sensitive Skin Could Let Prosthetics Feel Warmth
IEEE Spectrum - February 2017
"Many research groups around the world are developing flexible electronic skin for prosthetic limbs that can help replicate the sensory capabilities of real skin. When it comes to temperature, existing flexible sensors recognize changes of less than one-tenth of a degree C, but only within temperature ranges of less than 5 degrees C. Other flexible devices can work in wider temperature ranges, but are many times less sensitive.
Now scientists have developed an electronic skin that is sensitive to changes as little as one-hundredth of a degree C over a 45-degree range, from 5 °C to 50 °C. This sensitivity is comparable to that of pit vipers such as rattlesnakes, the researchers say. In comparison, human skin is only sensitive to changes of about two-hundredths of a degree C, the scientists add."
Scientists Turn Graphene Into Working OLED Electrodes, a First
UPI - January 2017
"For the first time, scientists have fashioned working OLED electrodes out of graphene. The breakthrough could pave the way for a variety of smart material applications.
Already, scientists have integrated the new OLEDs into touch-screen displays, like those used in smartphones."
Graphene and Silly Putty Creates a Super-Sensitive Strain Sensor
IEEE Spectrum - December 2016
"For all the talk and research that has gone into exploiting graphene’s pliant properties for use in wearable and flexible electronics, most of the polymer composites it has been mixed with to date have been on the hard and inflexible side.
It took a team of researchers in Ireland to combine graphene with the children’s toy Silly Putty to set the nanomaterial community ablaze with excitement. The combination makes a new composite that promises to make a super-sensitive strain sensor with potential medical diagnostic applications."
The Beginner's Guide to Smart Materials
T3 - October 2016
"If science is cool and inventing new 'stuff' even better, then fusing technology and materials to make 'smart textiles' is a growth area that is seeing a real spike in interest from budding innovators around the globe. In fact, such is the interest level in this area of the tech spectrum that there are now numerous courses to be found at universities in an array of countries that'll give you hands-on experience of emerging materials."
6 New Plastic For Cars, Electronics & Medical Devices
Design News - August 2016
"This is a smaller crop of new plastics than last time, and also a more focused one. They're nearly all aimed at cars, electronics, and electrical components, plus medical devices, medical tool sterilization and cleaning, or pharmaceutical production.
One of them isn’t actually new, but it's making possible a revolutionary application. That's the all-plastic Polimotor 2 race engine being built by legendary automotive innovator Matti Holtzberg, which we've told you about. Solvay is a leading materials sponsor for the project, and up to 10 of the engine's parts will be made of its materials."
Energy Harvesting via Smart Materials
Energy Harvesting Journal - February 2016
"A group of smart materials known as "electrostrictive polymers" have been explored for years by researchers at France's National Institute of Applied Sciences of Lyon (INSA de Lyon) for their potential mechanical energy harvesting abilities. Now, the group reports that introducing a plasticizer into these materials offers an efficient way to improve their mechanical energy harvesting performance."
Read more at Energy Harvesting Journal
Ultrasound Could Transform 3D Printing for a Future of Smart Materials
The Conversation - January 2016
"The advent of 3D printers supposedly means we can manufacture anything in our homes. But in reality most existing home 3D printers can only make things out of certain plastics, although there are industrial systems that can print certain metals."
Graphene Paper Transforms Into Tiny Origami Robots
IEEE Spectrum - November 2015
"A tiny sheet of graphene “paper” smaller than a human fingernail can behave like an origami robot that folds and walks on command. The inspired work by Chinese researchers could pave the way for such self-folding devices as tiny robots and artificial muscles, or even help with biological tissue engineering on the smallest scales."