The search for innovative materials will be greatly assisted by software that can suggest new experimental possibilities and control the robotic systems that check them out.

Scientists in Japan have combined two computational models to extract more data on steel alloys from a single test, with implications for the discovery of new materials.

Scientists in Japan have developed a machine learning approach that can predict the elements and manufacturing processes needed to obtain an aluminium alloy with specific, desired mechanical properties. The approach, published in the journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, could facilitate the discovery of new materials.

Mimicking how the biological world arranges itself could help advance the next generation of nanomaterials. This is the message from a review in the Science and Technology of Advanced Materials journal, which has argued that collaboration between material scientists, biologists and chemists could advance the development of self-assembling nanomaterials, called nanoarchitectonics.

Mercury is harmful even in small amounts. Detecting it currently requires expensive equipment. Researchers are working on a faster and cheaper alternative: a portable sensor that can perform a rapid analysis in the field. The key is finding something small and accurate enough to do the job. For many years, scientists have studied tiny gold nanorods for making smaller mercury sensors.

Researchers at Sumitomo Chemical describe some of the key developments in printed organic devices over the years and their thoughts on winning the award. While the world of electronics devices was radically different 30 years ago when Sumitomo Chemical (SC) began developing printed electronics technology, the company had already felt it was an area where they could make a significant contribution.

Intense interest in results demonstrating the chemical reactivity of nanocomposites in 3D printed structures on social media leads to STAM 2016 Altmetrics Award. “People (secretly, sometimes) love having control. They love to be able to design and create and build. 3D printing facilitates this kind of creative control,” suggests Matthew Hartings, a researcher at the American University. “With the technologies that we are de...

A highly-efficient, nanoparticle-based method for heating water and generating water vapor from sunlight is demonstrated by WPI-MANA scientists. Solar energy could provide a renewable, sustainable source of power for our daily needs. However, even the most state-of-the-art solar cells struggle to achieve energy conversion efficiency of higher than 30%. While current solar-powered water heaters fare better in terms of energy efficiency, there...

Scientists in Japan have successfully recorded the atomic bonds between diamond and cubic boron nitride: the hardest known materials on earth. This feat could ultimately lead to the design of new types of semiconductors. Diamond is the hardest material in existence but is useless for cutting steel because it reacts with iron, from which steel is made, at high temperatures.

  A research team in Japan discovered through numerical calculations that nanoparticles of transition metal nitrides and carbides absorb sunlight very efficiently, and confirmed experimentally that nitride nanoparticles, when dispersed in water, quickly raise water temperature.

Japanese scientists have reviewed recent progress in advanced optical materials based on gadolinium aluminate garnet (GAG), while pointing out the knowledge gaps that need to be filled to improve their optical performance. Their article, published in the open access journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, investigates the conditions in which GAG materials perform best. GAG is a synthetic material used in optics and crystal growth, a...