Materials – Page 31
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NewsInspired guesswork goes up against number crunching for Nobel predictions
Analysis of highly cited papers favours biochemistry while polls champion Crispr, lithium-ion batteries and MOFs
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ResearchAnother 43 new kinds of carbon could still be out there to find
Predictions could lead to forms of carbon that are even harder than diamond
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Research’Blackest black’ ever made is 10 times darker than previous record holder
Serendipitous discovery produces darkest material in existence using carbon nanotubes
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ResearchLarge gold nanoclusters are surprisingly stable paramagnets
An odd electron makes the magnetism
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ResearchAluminium makes water-harvesting MOF 10 times thirstier
New MOF harvests up to 0.7 litres of water per day in the Mojave Desert – the driest place in North America
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FeatureConcrete’s carbon problem
The world’s most common building material has a huge carbon footprint. Angeli Mehta talks to the scientists trying to reduce it
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ResearchGlucose derivative replaces BPA in sustainable polycarbonate plastic
Transparent engineered plastic ditches hormone disruptor and lung irritant
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ResearchCan organic solar cells stand the test of time?
Devices road-tested in blistering conditions equivalent to that of 37 suns
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ResearchNew way to create huge protein polymer chains
Strategy constructs synthetic protein polymers that weigh 0.5MDa
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ResearchNanoscale graphene sheets folded into atomic crêpes
Atom-thick sheets stacked with precise twist angle and tubular edge could be made into quantum nanomachines
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ResearchNanowires become smallest-ever spectrometers
50–100µm devices are small enough to squeeze into smartphones – but must first become easier to make into arrays
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ResearchHigh throughput robotics score big in hunt for new porous liquids
Materials research borrows technique from drug discovery
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OpinionUK homes stockpiling 40 million electronic devices containing rare elements
Hoarding of electronic devices stores up problem for the future as demand for rare elements increases
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NewsVanishing polymer delivers devices that decompose on demand
US researchers design a polymer that can dissolve after use, either remotely or automatically
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ResearchSubaquatic spiders inspire CO2 reduction catalyst
Structures that mimic the diving bell spider’s air-trapping hairs boost the catalytic activity of copper electrodes
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ResearchGravity-defying droplets race upside down on super slippery surface
Charged superamphiphobic surface propels water, blood and other liquids up vertical slopes and even upside down
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ResearchSelf-threading monomer provides protection for carbon nanotubes
Strategy assembles three-component nanostructure with nanoscale precision
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ResearchSelective graphene membranes could invigorate carbon capture technology
Concept shows promise as a way to sidestep the energy penalties of numerous industrial separations
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PodcastHydrogen sulfide
Mike Freemantle finds the connection between Land of Hope and Glory and the noxious, corrosive, flammable gas that stinks of rotten eggs
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BusinessEnhancing solvents' sustainability
Increased recycling and replacing toxic solvents with greener alternatives will reduce environmental impact