amorphous Scientists have dedicated their efforts to studying topological materials, focusing on the shape, or topology, of their electronic structures. These materials exhibit unique properties that have the potential to be harnessed for next-generation devices, despite their invisible nature in real space. Initially, it was believed that only crystalline materials, characterized by highly ordered atoms […]
A novel computer memory design has been created by researchers, offering significant enhancements in performance while simultaneously addressing the pressing need to minimize energy consumption in internet and communications technologies. Projections suggest that these technologies could account for nearly one-third of the world’s electricity consumption within the next decade. A team of researchers has devised […]
Energy • Materials • Nanotechnology • Physics
Researchers have made significant progress in understanding the fundamental microscopic mechanisms that can be used to customize materials for heat insulation. This breakthrough represents a significant step forward in the continuous endeavour to understand heat transport, improve energy efficiency and promote sustainability. Heat transport plays a vital role in numerous scientific and industrial fields, including […]
Some materials have special universal properties protected against perturbations. Such properties are theoretically described by topology, a branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of geometrical objects that are unchanged by continuous deformations. So-called topological insulators are electronic materials that have a bulk band gap like an ordinary insulator but have conducting states on their […]
Condensed matter • DIPC Advanced materials • Materials • Quantum physics
The development of superconducting devices was greatly stimulated after the acceptance of the basic theory of superconductivity proposed in 1957 by John Bardeen, Leon Cooper, and Robert Schrieffer – BCS theory. The basic idea is that the electron waves in the superconducting state no longer act independently, as in Bloch’s model. Instead, they are paired […]
Catalysis • Chemistry • DIPC Electronic Properties • DIPC Interfaces • Materials
Organic compounds of sulphur that contain the group -S- linked to two hydrocarbons are known as thioethers. This alternative name to sulphides comes from the fact that they are analogues of ethers in which the oxygen is replaced by a sulphur; thioethers are generally more reactive than ethers, though. The formation of thioether structures increases […]
Chemical engineering • Economics • Food processing • Materials
Authors: Mireia Martín, Life Cycle Thinking Group, Department of Graphic Design and Engineering Projects. University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and Erlantz Lizundia, Life Cycle Thinking Group and BCMaterials One of the consequences of global population growth is an increase in food waste. This is a relevant issue not only in terms of the waste […]
Two-dimensional (2D) materials are an ideal platform to artificially engineer heterostructures with new functionalities due to the weak van der Waals bonding between layers. Monolayers hosting symmetry-broken phases, such as superconductivity, magnetism, ferroelectricity, charge density waves (CDWs), or multiferroicity, represent the most interesting building blocks to design novel phases of matter. One of the main […]
Polaritons attract wide attention due to their ability to confine and guide light at the nanometre scale. These capacities are key for the development of ultrasmall resonators and waveguides that can be used for sensing, heat transfer and optical circuitry applications. But, what are polaritons in the first place? If, for the sake of the […]
Our modern rechargeable batteries, such as lithium-ion batteries, are anything but sustainable. One alternative is organic batteries with redox-organic electrode materials (OEMs), which can be synthesized from natural “green” materials. A Chinese team has now introduced a new OEM for aqueous organic high-capacity batteries that can be easily and cheaply recycled. Traditional inorganic electrode materials […]