NEWS

Scientists at EPFL have successfully miniaturized a powerful erbium-based fiber laser on a silicon-nitride photonic chip. Since typical erbium-based fiber lasers are large and difficult to scale down, the breakthrough promises major advances in optical communications and sensing technologies.

Hydrogen (H2) is a promising fuel for reducing greenhouse gases, especially if produced by using renewable energy to split water molecules (H2O). But as simple as it may seem to break water into hydrogen and oxygen, the chemistry is complex. Two separate simultaneous electrochemical reactions each require catalysts, chemical “deal makers” that help break and remake chemical bonds. Now, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Columbia University say they’ve developed a new efficient catalyst for the more challenging part: the oxygen evolution reaction.

Physicists at TU Graz have calculated how suitable molecules can be stimulated by infrared light pulses to form tiny magnetic fields. If this is also successful in experiments, the principle could be used in quantum computer circuits.

Flexible piezoelectric sensors are essential to monitor the motions of both humans and humanoid robots. However, existing designs are either are costly or have limited sensitivity. In a recent study, researchers from Japan tackled these issues by developing a novel piezoelectric composite material made from electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride nanofibers combined with dopamine.

A research team led by WANG Guozhong from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences encapsulated metallic nickel in a nitrogen-doped carbon-silica composite as a catalyst, which showed good performance in vanillin hydrogenation in aqueous media. They found that it can achieve 99.8% vanillin conversion and 100% selectivity of 4-hydroxymethyl-2-methoxyphenol (HMP) at room temperature.

Prof. WANG Qi's research group from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has synthesized iron- and nitrogen- co-doped CoFeP-N nanowires for high-efficiency electrocatalytic water splitting.