Engineering & Technology Materials Science and Engineering

An international team of researchers has developed novel bio-degradable rigid foams derived from pineapple waste, showcasing impressive properties. Starch and cellulosic materials are key components of the foams, which are processed via microwave gel formation and filler blending. The foams feature high strength, and rapid biodegradation, with potential for practical use from packaging, to construction, automotive, and aerospace.

Deepak Verma from Chulalongkorn University and his international team of researchers are exploring ways to enhance chitosan using techniques like adding photosensitizers, dendrimers, and chemical modifications. They also surveyed the use of chitosan nanoparticles for medical purposes, notably wound dressings.

A team of scientists from Thailand and Malaysia, led by principal investigator, Associate Professor Taweechai Amornsakchai from Mahidol University, has successfully developed a low-cost and green method to make films prepared from pineapple stem starch for food packaging, such as fruits and vegetable.

A team of researchers from Singapore and the UK, led by Dr Wei Liang Lai, with supervisor, Associate Professor Kheng Lim Goh, has developed a portable device for repairing hard-to-see damage in carbon fiber materials. The device has great potential for the aerospace industry, such as to repair the fuselage of commercial aircraft.

An international team of researchers from India and Singapore, led by Associate Professor Kheng Lim Goh from Newcastle University in Singpaore, has examined the impact of plastic waste management on creating a new type of clean-energy device, Tribo-electric nanogenerator. It compares recycling practices in Singapore and India, highlighting the importance of waste policies and infrastructure for successful recycling of plastics for making the clean-energy device. Challenges include contamination and decreased material quality with recycling.

A team of researchers from universities in Thailand and Malaysia have collaborated to develop a unique kind of bioplastic sheet that is good for the environment and can decompose naturally. They made this bioplastic sheet using a byproduct of the bromelain industry which used the leftover pineapple stems from agricultural waste. This new type of bioplastic sheet has the potential to be used as single-use packaging material, as an alternative to the use of harmful plastic sheet, contributing to a more sustainable way of doing business and promoting a circular economy.

Osaka Metropolitan University scientists synthesized a novel molecule by combining dynamic covalent reactions based on organic radicals and coordination reactions. They found that the two types of reactions do not inhibit each other. Their results suggest the possibility of synthesizing materials by combining different types of reactions, which is expected to lead to the construction of structures that have never existed before.

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in ACS Nano how ultrathin layers of tin disulfide can be used to accelerate the chemical reduction of carbon dioxide — a finding that is highly relevant for our quest towards a carbon-neutral society.

Scientists from Thailand, France and Singapore have conducted groundbreaking research using both tiny cellulose nanofibers (CNF) and long pineapple leaf fibers (PALF) to create stronger materials. They added varying amounts of CNF to epoxy and found that 1% CNF greatly increased impact strength. PALF-epoxy composites showed significant flexibility and strength improvements. Combining CNF and PALF resulted in a remarkable increase in impact strength. The findings could revolutionize stronger material development.

A group of researchers from universities in Thailand and Malaysia have collaborated to develop a unique kind of film that is good for the environment and can decompose naturally. They made this film using leftover pineapple stems, which helps reduce the use of harmful plastic films. This new film has the potential to be used as packaging material, contributing to a more sustainable way of doing business and promoting a circular economy.

Two key challenges in chemistry innovation are solved simultaneously by exploring chemical opportunities with artificial intelligence.

Specially coated surfaces help scientists investigate what happens when cell clusters are turned upside down.

A research group at Osaka Metropolitan University has succeeded in selectively recovering trace rare earth elements in synthetic seawater and environmental water, such as hot spring water, using baker’s yeast with a phosphate group added. The phosphorylated yeast is expected to be utilized as a material for recovering useful metals and removing toxic metals, thereby contributing to the realization of a metal resource-circulating society.

AI finds the first stars ✨were not alone, Auto-switch for large electronic devices, A metabolite against autoimmune diseases, & Converting fruit waste 🍊🍉into solar stills. Plus in our blog: A career worth doing, a life worth living. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice.

An international team of scientists is helping to reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere by exploring different natural fibres and blending the natural fibres in plastics to make light-weight and strong green composite materials for the construction and automotive industries.

Scientists in Singapore converted fruit waste into a solar absorber called Mxene to develop an efficient and sustainable water desalination process.

Scientists from Alliance University, Bangalore, Birla Institute of Technology Mesra, Inha University, Hanyang University, South Korea, and Newcastle University in Singapore have developed a new and straightforward approach to turn used COVID-19 facemasks into potential absorbent materials that can be employed for carbon capture from atmosphere.

An international interdisciplinary team of researchers hailed from India, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand has successfully developed a method of using chitosan from terrestrial insects to manufacture eco‐friendly polymer composite parts using the 3D printing method.

Scientists restore impaired kidney for the first time, How fibre composite fails when wet, Cleaner fish recognize themselves in pictures 🖼️🐟& The source of black carbon in the sea. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice. Plus our magazine Asia Research News 2023 is out now 🎉!

In a study recently published in the journal ACS Nano, published by American Chemical Society, researchers from Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan, collaborating with University of Washington, Seattle, USA, used frequency modulated atomic force microscopy to reveal the molecular architecture of a genetically designed peptide and its self-organization that forms single-molecule thick crystals on atomically flat graphite surfaces, that offer a potential platform for hybrid technologies such as bioelectronics, biosensors, and protein arrays.

Modifying the active layer architecture at the heart of organic solar cells brings a big leap forward in efficiency.

Bacteria living on soil and chicken manure could provide low-tech and sustainable green electricity.

Researchers are working to overcome challenges in order to bring wearable, electric, wound-healing devices to clinical practice.

An international collaboration is developing coating materials that could make windows better insulators.

Hi-tech electrocatalysts made from seashells and waste animal blood could help build sustainable batteries, fuel cells and other electrochemical systems.

Shaking the compact, lightweight device generates enough electricity to power 100 LEDs.

Machine learning algorithms allow analysis and characterization of the atomic arrangement of silicon surface superstructures without the need for human expertise.

A model that rapidly searches through large amounts of materials could find sustainable alternatives to existing composites.

2.5-dimensional materials promise new applications for artificial intelligence, electronics, automobiles and the energy sector.

A team of researchers from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Universiti Malaysia Pahang has successfully developed an electrospinning method for producing Nylon Nanofibres for use in carbon fibre composites to enhance the impact properties of carbon composites.