Materials Science and Engineering Ceramic engineering

Hydrogen's ability to power a cleaner future hinges not only on finding materials capable of efficiently storing and releasing it, but also on understanding the trade-off between storage capacity and practical operating conditions. To aid this endeavor, a research team led by Tohoku University, in collaboration with the University of Tokyo, developed the Digital Hydrogen Platform (DigHyd), a curated database containing more than 30,000 data entries from over 4,000 experimental publications.

Researchers discovered that using liquid metal dealloying can help produce a special silicon carbide at a markedly lower temperature than conventional methods, while still allowing for control of its structure at the nanometer scale.

The fine structure of barium titanite, a potential alternative to lead titanite, has been revealed by researchers employing a novel technique over the extremely short time period that the ferroelectric phenomena experienced by these materials occur. The investigation should assist further exploration of how to replace lead titanate with other materials, so that its widespread applicability may be enjoyed while avoiding its role in lead pollution.

Lithium ion batteries use liquid electrolytes that have several drawbacks, which can be overcome by all-solid-state lithium secondary batteries (ASSBs). However, it is important to find efficient electrode materials for ASSBs. A research team from Japan has recently developed a novel electrode material for ASSBs by combining lithium sulfate and lithium ruthenate, which results in improved performance. The scientists hope that their novel approach will guide future research and the eventual commercialization of such high-capacity batteries.