New process allows full recovery of starting materials from tough polymer composites

In a win for chemistry, inventors at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have designed a closed-loop path for synthesizing an exceptionally tough carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer and later recovering all of its starting materials.

Soft, living materials made with algae glow under stress

Researchers have developed soft yet durable 3D-printed materials that glow in response to mechanical stress, such as compression, stretching or twisting. The materials derive their luminescence from single-celled algae known as dinoflagellates, which are embedded within the materials. The work was inspired by the bioluminescent waves caused by dinoflagellates during red tide events at San Diego’s beaches.

This crystal impurity is sheer perfection

Scientists at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have developed a nanoparticle composite that grows into 3D crystals. The new 3D-grown material could speed up production and eliminate errors in the mass manufacturing of nanoscale photonics for smart buildings or actuators for robotics.

Nikhil Tiwale: Practicing the Art of Nanofabrication

Applying his passions for science and art, Nikhil Tiwale—a postdoc at Brookhaven Lab’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials—is fabricating new microelectronics components.