Miniaturised sensors are nothing new, but ones made from a combination of silicon carbide (SiC) and the single-layer lattice of carbon atoms known as graphene certainly are. These new sensors are being designed to operate under the harshest of conditions.
Tiny structures etched into graphene-silicon carbide wafers, will be used in micro sensors for a variety of applications. Credit: QMF/GU
Research, led by the Australian National Fabrication Facility’s (ANFF) Queensland node at Griffith University, promises a new generation of tiny microelectromechanical system (MEMS) sensors that are sensitive to very low forces, can work at high frequencies and in extreme conditions—above 1,000°C or under an acceleration of several times g—and are resistant to chemical attack. Continue reading Micro sensors for extreme conditions→
The first microscopes gave humans the ability peer deep into the microscopic world, allowing us to see cells and microbes in unprecedented detail. Using the latest electron microscopes we are now able to see detail down to single atoms.
Scanning transmission electron microscopy images of a BiSrMnO3 crystal. Credit: Adrian D’Alfonso/Michel Bosman
In fact, materials scientists can detect impurities in their latest compounds, atom by atom, using powerful electron microscopes aided by sophisticated modelling of what happens when the electron beam hits the material.
Dr Adrian D’Alfonso and a team of theoretical physicists at the University of Melbourne have developed these models and they are already helping groups around the world look at and understand nanomaterials in a way they haven’t been able to before.
Melbourne-based manufacturing company RMAX is working with CSIRO to make a sustainable, and biodegradable, version of a product involved in the life-cycle of many of the things we buy.
The prototype biodegradable polymer box (on the left) alongside a standard expanded polystyrene box. Credit: Gary Toikka, CSIRO
They hope to cut the environmental impact of the nine thousand tonnes of expanded polystyrene (EPS) that ends up in Australian landfill every year. Continue reading Next generation packaging→
In the future, the entire roof of your house could be a solar panel, and you could harness the power of the sun to charge your mobile phone while on a remote bushwalk, thanks to cheap, printable solar cells.
In the future, your entire roof of your house could be tiled with printed solar cells like this one. Credit: DJ Jones, University of Melbourne
Work is underway to perfect the “printing” of a film-like layer of solar cells that can be applied cheaply to hard or flexible surfaces to generate electricity from sunlight. Continue reading Victoria in race to print solar cells→
A farmer whose onion paddock is hit by the fungal disease “white rot” faces the loss not only of that crop but of productive use of the field for several years. Relief could be at hand, however, thanks to a novel granulated fungicide now being tested in the field in Victoria.
A new granulated fungicide will help onion farmers treat white rot. Credit: iStockphoto
“In the case of white rot, there is no existing commercially acceptable treatment and if a farmer has an infestation in their field they can’t use it for onions or similar crops for up to 15 years,” says Anthony Flynn, managing director of the agricultural chemical research company Eureka! AgResearch. “They’ve just had to move the crop on to the next paddock.”
A glimpse of a rare self-portrait by one of Australia’s most highly regarded artists has emerged from what appeared to be a blank canvas—thanks to researchers at the Australian Synchrotron.
A rare Streeton self-portrait, revealed in this image of zinc atoms. The highest concentrations are in the white of Streeton’s collar and the fairness of his face because zinc is used in the white pigment. Credit: Daryl Howard
A glimpse of a rare self-portrait by one of Australia’s most highly regarded artists has emerged from what appeared to be a blank canvas—thanks to researchers at the Australian Synchrotron.
Solving the problem of how to store energy is essential for a future run on renewables.
That’s why promising materials for hydrogen fuel cells and high capacity, long-lived batteries are being explored at the atomic level by the Australian Synchrotron.
QUINFEN GU IS INVESTIGATING A NEW CLASS OF HYDROGEN STORAGE MATERIALS. CREDIT: ISTOCKPHOTO
Australian Synchrotron scientist Dr Qinfen Gu is investigating a new class of hydrogen storage materials being developed by scientists at the University of Wollongong and their international collaborators.Qinfen is using the powerful X-rays of the synchrotron to observe and analyse the structure of these materials. Continue reading New light on storing energy→
Many plastics and polymers—including paints, glues and lubricants—will be transformed in the coming years by the work of Australian chemists, Professors David Solomon and Ezio Rizzardo.
David Solomon (left) and Ezio Rizzardo (right) with Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Credit: Prime Minister’s Science Prizes/Irene Dowdy
Their work is integral to more than 500 patents and their techniques are used in the labs and factories of DuPont, L’Oréal, IBM, 3M, Dulux and more than 60 other companies.
Eventually, the pair’s chemical theories and processes will influence hundreds of products.
A new brain implant could deliver anti-epilepsy drugs straight to where they’re needed and, in future, on demand. This will be particularly helpful for the 30 per cent of epilepsy patients who suffer severe side-effects, such as nausea, rashes, weight change and dizziness, from their medication, leaving them unable to be treated.
Simon Moulton is developing a brain implant to deliver epilepsy drugs when and where they are needed. Credit: ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science
The implant is a biodegradable polymer that ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science associate Bionics program leader A/Prof Simon Moulton compares to the types of polymers used in dissolvable stitches. Continue reading On-demand epilepsy drug→
Hundreds of Aussie science achievements that you can share in speeches, posts and publications
