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• Researchers develop nanoporous membrane evaporator with high heat fluxes

  Researchers developed an ultrathin, nanoporous membrane evaporator that has a membrane thickness of around 200 nanometers and a pore radius of 65 nanometers, while allowing high interfacial heat fluxes with pure evaporation. details>>

• Researchers create solar-powered devices out of wood to fight water scarcity

  Researchers at the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland (College Park, Md.) have devised a novel solution to the global problem of water scarcity, creating a suite of solar steam generation devices from wood. details>>

• Polymer film created that can transfer heat from batteries and processors

  Scientists developed a thin, flexible device from an electrocaloric polymer film that can be used to transfer heat from batteries or processors and has a number of potential applications. details>>

• Researchers investigate coatings needed for concentrating solar power

  Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are studying how nickel-based coatings can reduce corrosion levels in heat exchangers and other components of next-generation concentrating solar power (CSP) plants. details>>

• Nanoparticles being added to windows to beat the summer heat

  Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories (Albuquerque, N.M.) and Santa Fe, N.M.-based nanomaterial company IR Dynamics have collaborated on a project to include nanoparticles that reflect heat and infrared radiation into window films for buildings and vehicles. details>>

• Fabric-like electrode could improve battery efficiency and safety

  Researchers at Drexel University (Philadelphia, Pa.) have created a fabric-like material from a thick, ion-rich gel electrolyte absorbed into a freestanding at of porous carbon nanofibers that could produce more efficient energy storage devices that are less susceptible to leaks or thermal runaway. details>>

• New approach boosts performance in thermoelectric materials

  Researchers have developed a new mechanism that boost the performance of thermoelectric materials by increasing carrier mobility, how quickly charge-carrying electrons move across a material. details>>

• Researchers create first material with shape memory behavior

  By adding hollow, gas-filled micro-balloons to the silicon-based ink, a team of researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have successfully 3-D printed composite silicon materials that are flexible, stretchable, and have shape memory behavior. details>>

• Adding paraffin to concrete mix helps roads clear themselves in winter

  Researchers at Drexel University (Philadelphia, Pa.) have discovered a unique use for paraffin wax, as a phase-change material in concrete mix to store energy and release it as heat when the road needs to be cleared of snow in the winter. details>>

• New type of quantum oscillations reported in graphene superlattices

  A research team from the Graphene Flagship at the University of Manchester (U.K.) has reported on the first new type of quantum oscillation to be discovered in the past 30 years. details>>