Materials

France's Nawa Technologies is setting up operations in the United States, and bringing its fast, affordable vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) manufacturing process into a new application: making carbon fiber composites much stronger.

An international team of researchers has succeeded in producing two types of diamonds in a matter of minutes, demonstrating a new technique where they not only form quickly, but do so at room temperature.

A research team in Russia has discovered a new bright, blue mineral they say could solve one of the problems with sodium-ion batteries, which shape as a far more cost-effective form of energy storage than today's solutions.

Perovskite solar is gaining much attention in solar cell research, but there are greener alternatives in the works. Scientists have just uncovered a new use for these materials, learning they can harvest energy from indoor lighting with high efficiency.

Materials stay cooler when water evaporates off of them, but once all the water is gone, the cooling effect stops. Bearing this in mind, MIT scientists have developed a camel fur-inspired material that could keep items cool without using electricity.

Although fire-resistant windows do already exist, they contain a carcinogenic gel, plus their production generates a lot of waste. A new technology that works in the same basic fashion, however, is claimed to be much safer and less wasteful.

Researchers have grown “forests” of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) longer than ever before. Using a new method, the team grew bunches of nanotubes up to 14 cm (5.5 in) long, which should help make it easier to scale up production of this versatile material.

A breakthrough in material science is expanding the trickery of traditional timber, by showing how tweaks to its composition can turn it into a water-resistant film that gives off a warm glow in the presence of UV light.

Some types of water are too salty for current desalination systems to handle. Scientists have now developed a potential solution to this problem, with a solar-powered desalination system that resists corrosion thanks to a special coating.

Engineers at Michigan State University have crafted a new type of liquid foam lining they say can help football helmets better sustain repeated impacts, improving their longevity and the safety of those wearing them.

Often made from plants, recycled material and various forms of organic matter, bioplastics promise a number of advantages over conventional plastics produced through fossil fuels, but a new study suggests that safety may not be one of them.

Although we've been hearing about tech that allows for the production of stronger concrete, existing structures made of regular concrete could also use some help. That's where new strengthening panels combined with a new mortar are made to come in.