Where there’s muck there’s aluminium (if not brass)

Graphene: A 2D materials revolution

Graphene is a two-dimensional material made up of sheets of carbon atoms. With its combination of exceptional electrical, mechanical and thermal properties, graphene has the potential to revolutionise industries ranging from healthcare to electronics. more

Nanomaterials Up Close: Gum Arabic

This alien glob is a piece of gum arabic from the hardened sap of the Acacia tree, most likely collected from a tree in Sudan. Rox Middleton, from the University of Cambridge, explains how the electron microscope has changed the way we are able to interact with objects at the nanoscale, all ... more

Atom swapping could lead to ultra-bright, flexible next generation LEDs

An international group of researchers has developed a new technique that could be used to make more efficient low-cost light-emitting materials which are flexible and can be printed using ink-jet techniques. The researchers, led by the University of Cambridge and the Technical University of ... more

It takes some heat to form ice

Researchers from TU Graz in Austria and the Universities of Cambridge and Surrey succeeded to track down the first step in ice formation at a surface, revealing that additional energy is needed for water before ice can start to form. Water freezes and turns to ice when brought in contact wi ... more

Novel glass materials made from organic and inorganic components

Linkages between organic and inorganic materials are a common phenomenon in nature, e.g., in the construction of bones and skeletal structures. They often enable combinations of properties that could not be achieved with just one type of material. In technological material development, howe ... more