A paper published in the Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics Journal details how researchers examined additive manufacturing methods and materials using atomistic-scale simulations to optimize their performance for ultimately stronger and more useful 3D-printed components. 

“We went down to the most fundamental level, looking at the physical chemistry and the strengths of these molecular interactions,” van Duin said.

Microscopic tiny swimmers shaped like donuts promise a wide range of application options: Fabricated with Nanoscribe’s 3D Microfabrication technology, they can move with their own propulsion and are able to transport particles to a desired location. Moreover, the 3D printed microtori can manipulate other microscopic swimming objects. Within an international research project scientists outlined the complex dynamics that chemically- and magnetically-driven microtori can unfold.

Next-generation solar cells that mimic photosynthesis with biological material may give new meaning to the term "green technology." Adding the protein bacteriorhodopsin (bR) to perovskite solar cells boosted the efficiency of the devices in a series of laboratory tests, according to an international team of researchers.

A better understanding of the mechanisms behind the cold sintering process (CSP) will lead to faster adoption and the cold sintering of many new materials, according to a team of Penn State researchers.

By Walt Mills

A few weeks ago the novelist Jonathan Franzen published an article in which he essentially gave up on the prospect of controlling the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, concluding it was time to begin preparing for a future filled with the risk of devasting environmental disaster. It was the culmination of all the bad news we have heard about the changing climate, and I, and many others, was filled with a growing sense of hopelessness.

While computers have become smaller and more powerful and supercomputers and parallel computing have become the standard, we are about to hit a wall in energy and miniaturization. Now, Penn State researchers have designed a 2D device that can provide more than yes-or-no answers and could be more brainlike than current computing architectures.

By discovering a way to combine lithium salts with ceramics, researchers in the Penn State College of Engineering and the Penn State Materials Research Institute may have created a new class of materials for longer-lasting batteries. According to researchers, the composite nature of the batteries could make recycling easier, reducing landfill waste.

The way barn owl brains use sound to locate prey may be a template for electronic directional navigation devices, according to a team of Penn State engineers who are recreating owl brain circuitry in electronics.

"We were already studying this type of circuit when we stumbled across the Jeffress model of sound localization," said Saptarshi Das, assistant professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics.

A new strategic partnership between Penn State and the University of Freiburg in Germany will propel the development of a new class of engineered living materials with potential applications in sustainable infrastructure, robotics technologies, and next-generation medical care. This will enable the institutions to compete globally on ambitious and innovative work that neither institution could accomplish alone. Today, July 24, Penn State President Eric J.

http://apps.mri.psu.edu/MCL-Xray/

By Walt Mills

A technique to substitute carbon-hydrogen species into a single atomic layer of the semiconducting material tungsten disulfide, a transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD), dramatically changes the electronic properties of the material, according to researchers at Penn State.

With this material, the researchers say, they can create new types of components for energy-efficient photoelectric devices and CMOS electronic circuits.

In a paper published in the journal Science on April 19, 2019, multiple researchers affiliated with the Materials Research Institute and labs in China, Australia and the United States report a piezoelectric material with the highest piezoelectric charge to date. Piezoelectrics are widely used as sensors, transducers, in electromechanical systems and in ultrasound. In this case, the relaxor perovskite oxide single crystal  is doped with the rare-earth element samarium. MRI-affiliated authors include lead author Fei Li, Long-Qing Chen, Thomas Shrout and Shujun Zhang.

PoreDesigner, a fully automated computational workflow process for altering the pore size of a bacterial channel protein, is the result of a collaboration between researchers from Penn State and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This process enables assembly of the proteins into artificial membranes for precise sub-nanometer scale separation of solutes of marginal size difference, which can improve water purification and bioseparations.

Rechargeable lithium metal batteries with increased energy density, performance, and safety may be possible with a newly-developed, solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI), according to Penn State researchers.

As the demand for higher-energy-density lithium metal batteries increases — for electric vehicles, smartphones, and drones — stability of the SEI has been a critical issue halting their advancement because a salt layer on the surface of the battery's lithium electrode insulates it and conducts lithium ions.

Susan Trolier-McKinstry, the Steward S. Flaschen Professor of Ceramic Science and Engineering, Penn State, has been named a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).

Trolier-McKinstry is among the 86 new members and 18 foreign members elected for 2019. The NAE recognized her for "development of thin film multilayer ceramic capacitors and piezoelectric microelectromechanical systems."

While the polyester leisure suit was a 1970s mistake, polyester and other synthetic fibers like nylon are still around and are a major contributor to the microplastics load in the environment, according to a Penn State materials scientist, who suggests switching to biosynthetic fibers to solve this problem.

By Walt Mills

Antireflection (AR) coatings on plastics have a multitude of practical applications, such as reducing the glare on eyeglasses, computer monitors or on the display on your smart phone when out of doors. Now, researchers at Penn State have developed an AR coating that improves on existing coatings to the extent that it can make transparent plastics, such as Plexiglas, virtually invisible.