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@EPFL EPFL researchers have shown theoretically that, in highly ordered materials, heat can flow toward warmer regions without violating the laws of thermodynamics. Their work could help design electronics that minimize heat loss. To understand how heat normally flows, you could study the second law of thermodynamics – or wrap your hands around a hot mug of coffee. Both tell us that heat tends to flow toward cooler regions. As a material’s thermal energy increases, its atoms

Extended Data Fig. 2 Co 3 Sn 2 S 2 helix device fabrication. @ Nature Scientists from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science and colleagues have developed a new way to fabricate three-dimensional nanoscale devices from single-crystal materials using a focused ion beam instrument. The group used this new method to carve helical-shaped devices from a topological magnet composed of cobalt, tin, and sulfur, with a chemical formula of Co₃Sn₂S₂, and found that they behave li

Schematic view: In an acidic electrolyte H 2 SO 4 , proton intercalation displaces confined water molecules, protonating the MXene surface, which results in a reduced Titanium oxidation state. © Energy & Environmental Science / HZB In a neutral electrolyte Li 2 SO 4 the interaction of partially desolvated Li⁺ ions and water with the MXene surface results in an increased Titanium oxidation state. The two different chemical behaviours also change the interlayer spacing of the

Caption:This image of a woven deformable metamaterial was taken with a scanning electron microscope. @Image courtesy of the researchers. New framework supports design and fabrication of compliant materials such as printable textiles and functional foams, letting users predict deformation and material failure. Metamaterials — materials whose properties are primarily dictated by their internal microstructure, and not their chemical makeup — have been redefining the engineering

Figure | Dynamic tuning of Bloch modes in the α-MoO₃ PoC/graphene device. a , Schematic of an α-MoO 3 PoC/graphene device, consisting of a square periodically perforated α-MoO 3 /graphene heterostructure on a SiO 2 (285 nm)/Si substrate. b Theoretically calculated band structure of the α-MoO 3 PoC as a function of E F at a fixed frequency of 931 cm −1 . The yellow dashed lines indicate the free space light cone. Inset: the first Brillouin zone of the square-type PoC. Cre

UCLA study sets new benchmarks for 3D, atom-by-atom maps of disordered materials @ UCLA Researchers at the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA published a step-by-step framework for determining the three-dimensional positions and elemental identities of atoms in amorphous materials. These solids, such as glass, lack the repeating atomic patterns seen in a crystal. The team analyzed realistically simulated electron-microscope data and tested how each step affected accura