New battery cathode material could revolutionize EV market and energy storage

A research team has developed a low-cost iron chloride cathode for all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries, which could significantly reduce costs and improve performance for electric vehicles and large-scale energy storage systems.

New age electrode with densely functionalized polymeric binder for high-performance lithium and sodium-ion batteries

Rising demand for electronic devices and electric vehicles has increased the dependence on secondary ion batteries. While lithium-ion batteries are already popular, a promising alternative sodium-ion batteries (SIB) are struggling to get wider acceptance due to slow ion kinetics affecting their performance. A new polymer-based binder called PMAI addresses this issue by forming a functionalized solid electrolyte interphase. The study demonstrated that SIB with PMAI as an anode binder can have exceptional performance and cyclic stability.

BESSY II: Heterostructures for spintronics

Spintronic devices work with spin textures caused by quantum-physical interactions. Scientists have now studied graphene-cobalt-iridium heterostructures at BESSY II. The results show how two desired quantum-physical effects reinforce each other in these heterostructures. This could lead to new spintronic devices based on these materials.

New organic thermoelectric device that can harvest energy at room temperature

Thermoelectric devices are devices that can convert heat into electrical energy. Researchers have now developed a thermoelectric device composed of organic materials that can generate electricity from ambient temperature alone. The device is made from copper phthalocyanine and copper hexadecafluoro phthalocyanine as charge transfer materials and was combined with fullerenes and BCP as electron transport layers.

Charging ahead towards future low-cost polymer zinc-ion batteries

With global demand for lithium-ion batteries fast depleting reserves of raw materials, experts are seeking safe, affordable and reliable alternatives for rechargeable batteries. Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) could be the answer to producing low-cost alternatives from abundant feedstocks, and scientists are paving the way for the production of simple and practical polymer AZIBs using organic cathodes for more sustainable energy storage technology.

Flexible circuits made with silk and graphene on the horizon

Ultra-thin layers of silk deposited on graphene in perfect alignment represent a key advance for the control needed in microelectronics and advanced neural network development.

New understanding of the limits on nano-noise

Thanks to nanoscale devices as small as human cells, researchers can create groundbreaking material properties, leading to smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient electronics. However, to fully unlock the potential of nanotechnology, addressing noise is crucial. A research team has taken a significant step toward unraveling fundamental constraints on noise, paving the way for future nanoelectronics.