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A team at HZB has investigated a new, simple method at BESSY II that can be used to create stable radial magnetic vortices in magnetic thin films.

In some materials, spins form complex magnetic structures within the nanometre and micrometer scale in which the magnetization direction twists and curls along specific directions. Examples of such structures are magnetic bubbles, skyrmions, and magnetic vortices.

Spintronics aims to make use of such tiny magnetic structures to store data or perform logic operations with very low power consumption, compared to today’s dominant microelectronic components. However, the generation and stabilization of most of these magnetic textures is restricted to a few materials and achievable under very specific conditions (temperature, magnetic field…).

From extreme cold to strong magnets and high pressures, the Synergetic Extreme Condition User Facility (SECUF) provides conditions for researching these potential wonder materials.

Scientists have hailed the “exciting” discovery of a type of porous material that can store carbon dioxide.

The research, published in the journal Nature Synthesis, saw a team led by scientists at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh create hollow, cage-like molecules with high storage capacities for greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and sulphur hexafluoride. Sulphur hexafluoride is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide and can last thousands of years in the atmosphere.

Researchers have discovered an extraordinary metal alloy that won’t crack at extreme temperatures due to kinking, or bending, of crystals in the alloy at the atomic level.

A metal alloy composed of niobium, tantalum, titanium, and hafnium has shocked materials scientists with its impressive strength and toughness at both extremely hot and cold temperatures, a combination of properties that seemed so far to be nearly impossible to achieve. In this context, strength is defined as how much force a material can withstand before it is permanently deformed from its original shape, and toughness is its resistance to fracturing (cracking). The alloy’s resilience to bending and fracture across an enormous range of conditions could open the door for a novel class of materials for next-generation engines that can operate at higher efficiencies.

The team, led by Robert Ritchie at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and UC Berkeley, in collaboration with the groups led by professors Diran Apelian at UC Irvine and Enrique Lavernia at Texas A&M University, discovered the alloy’s surprising properties and then figured out how they arise from interactions in the atomic structure. Their work is described in a study recently published in the journal Science.

Materials that are incredibly thin, only a few atoms thick, exhibit unique properties that make them appealing for energy storage, catalysis, and water purification. Researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, have now developed a method that enables the synthesis of hundreds of new 2D materials. Their study has been published in the journal Science.

Since the discovery of graphene, the field of research in extremely thin materials, so-called 2D materials, has increased exponentially. The reason is that 2D materials have a large surface area in relation to their volume or weight. This gives rise to a range of physical phenomena and distinctive properties, such as good conductivity, high strength or heat resistance, making 2D materials of interest both within fundamental research and applications.

Researchers discovered ferroelectricity in 2D vermiculite, boosting electric field responsivity in liquid crystals and paving the way for innovative large-scale displays.

Electro-optical liquid crystal (LC) device with wide applications is a cornerstone of the information society, which can continuously and dynamically modulate the light intensity, polarization, and phase retardation. An ancient theoretical insight proposes that a LC material with both an extremely large geometrical anisotropy and an inherent electric dipole is highly expected to improve the electric field responsivity of LCs.

However, neither commercial organic LC molecules nor R&D LC nanomaterials meet both aforementioned perquisites, while such LCs have not been reported so far. As for now, they are open questions for LC community about whether such an LC exists and the upper limit of its electric field responsivity.

Scientists explore alternative catalyst materials for affordable, stable hydrogen fuel cells.

The computer scientist Ellie Pavlick is translating philosophical concepts such as “meaning” into concrete, testable ideas.

The newly discovered type of magnetic material could improve existing tech, including making better and faster hard drives.