Energy

- Clarified the relationship between the form of piezoelectric fiber components and their piezoelectric performance - Accelerated commercialization of energy harvesting textile materials that can recycle energy wasted or consumed in everyday life

Three of the nuclear power plants that supplied Tokyo, Japan with its electricity have been shut down since 2003. To understand the long-term implications of this change to Tokyo’s power grid, researchers studied how CO2 emissions in the city differed since the power plant closures.

Researchers create 'time machine' to study ancestor galaxies, Robotics engineers pay attention to matters of the heart, Custom suits for delivery worms, Tough, light structures with superior impact resistance and Virtual training can reduce stress and anxiety. Read all in the July's Editor's Choice plus op-ed: To boost South Korea’s basic science, look to values, not just budgets, this month's Image & Asia Research News 2022 magazine pick - Better memristors for brain-like computing.

Solar panels often get a bad rap for spoiling the appearance of homes and businesses. Yet, a research group has fabricated a highly transparent solar cell with a 2D atomic sheet. These near-invisible solar cells achieved an average visible transparency of 79%, meaning they can, in theory, be placed everywhere—building windows, the front panel of cars, and even human skin.

An international team of scientists from India and Singapore has successfully developed a novel method to recycle waste cigarette filters for use in making the triboelectric nano generator, a clean energy generating device.

A research team co-led by chemists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and Imperial College London (Imperial College) has developed new, highly efficient and stable perovskite solar cells. The breakthrough invention is expected to greatly accelerate the commercialisation of perovskite photovoltaic technology, providing a promising alternative to silicon solar cells.

A thermoelectric metal oxide film with a thermoelectric figure of merit of ~0.55 at 600°C has been discovered, opening new avenues towards the widespread use of thermoelectric converters.

A novel practical way of modelling cracking and toughening of fibre composite materials has been developed. The novel approach also revealed new insights on the fracture behaviour of fibres reinforcing a composite laminate during intralaminar cracking. The new way can be used to complement inspection of laminated structures that are used as primary structures in many industries.

- DGIST Professor Lee Jung-hyup's team develops an 'analog-digital signal conversion system' based on semiconductor IC technology that can measure ultra-fine signals generated in the body - Capable of taking precise measurements of fine signals amidst strong external noise, application to next-generation brain-machine interface technology, and ultra-small high-performance medical devices expected

- Professor Park Jin-hee's team at DGIST develops new metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) that respond to various stimuli and visualizes unstable radical states - Expected to be used for designing and applying materials in various fields such as eco-friendly sensors, catalysts, and batteries

- DGIST Department of Energy Science & Engineering Research Team Led by Choi Jong-min Develops Nano-structured Electrodes Capable of Enhancing Light Absorption Capacity and Photocurrent of Perovskite Quantum Dot Solar Cells - Proposes a universal and easy method that can be applied to various photoelectric devices using organic charge transport layers, including solar cells

- A research team led by Professor Lee Sung-won and Jang Gyeong-in at DGIST succeeds in developing a high-efficiency power generator using small human movements in daily life. - Takes a step closer to the realization of a health diagnosis system that can monitor vital signs for a long time without batteries by using small but continuous energy accumulation

The molecule is unusual and has ‘great potential’ in catalysis, conduction and other applications.

An international team of researchers, led by Changfang Zhao, from Nanjing University of Science and Technology, has developed a novel lightweight, high toughness auxetic structure made from plastic composite laminates. The auxetic structure may be used for constructing primary structures in the transport industry, such as electric vehicles, to maximize fuel efficiency.

Giants in History: Palaeontologist Yichun Hao (1920 – 2001) co-authored the first Chinese textbooks on palaeontology and micropalaeontology.

A porous material, which opens to receive highly flammable acetylene and closes to release it, sidesteps the flaws of the existing storage method.

An international team of researchers from India and Singapore has successfully developed a novel coating with enhanced water repellent properties using natural material from the waste crab shell.

Organic, metal free, high-energy batteries are a pathway to a greener future. Yet scientists have struggled to find ways to boost the voltage in organic lithium-ion batteries. Now, a study has proposed a small organic molecule known as croconic acid that can maintain a working voltage of around 4 Volts.

Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are a banana-peeling robot, pollen-based paper, and fuel made from ocean plastic.

Soot as a surprising source of haze-building hydroxyl radicals

The theme of MTE 2022 is "Embracing the New Norm and Moving to New Frontiers," and this prestigious event is expected to attract over 10,000 online visitors from all over the world via its virtual exhibition platform.

Researchers in Malaysia are using the chemistry of natural products for sustainable health and energy solutions.

A magnetic hybrid system generates electricity day and night with radiative cooling and solar heating.

Research by Japanese scientists at Hiroshima University reveals a way to make ammonia from its constituent molecules of nitrogen and hydrogen at ambient pressure.

Metals usually soften when they expand under heating, but a research team led by a City University of Hong Kong (CityU) scholar and other researchers have discovered a first-of-its-kind super-elastic alloy that can retain its stiffness even after being heated to 1,000K (about 727℃) or above, with nearly zero energy dissipation. The team believes that the alloy can be applied in manufacturing high-precision devices for space missions. The research team was led by Professor Yang Yong from CityU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering (MNE), together with his collaborators. The findings were published in the prestigious science journal Nature under the titled “A Highly Distorted Ultraelastic Chemically Complex Elinvar Alloy”.

A research team led by scientists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has recently designed a structured thermal armour (STA) that achieves efficient liquid cooling even over 1,000°C, fundamentally solving a 266-year-old challenge presented by the Leidenfrost effect. This breakthrough can be applied in aero and space engines, as well as improve the safety and reliability of next-generation nuclear reactors.

In a study published in Nature Energy this month, researchers led by Kyoto University’s Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) describe how nanodiamond-reinforced composite membranes can purify hydrogen from its humid mixtures, making the hydrogen generation processes vastly more efficient and cost-effective.

Scientists demonstrate that diluting high concentration electrolytes can improve the cycling abilities of lithium metal batteries over a wide range of temperatures

Researchers succeed in developing a lithium sulfide cathode containing a solid electrolyte with high decomposition resistance, enabling the realization of all-solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries that exceed the energy density of lithium-ion batteries

Scientists design a novel thermoelectrochemical cell that efficiently converts waste heat into electricity for low-power devices