Royal Society of Chemistry

Electric car research boosted by cobalt-free battery

The elimination of cobalt -- an expensive chemical component currently required to power our smartphones and laptops -- from lithium-ion batteries has been the goal of Texas Engineer Arumugam Manthiram for much of his career.

Slipping between the (battery) sheets

Our lives are increasingly battery-powered. From fuelling our mobile phones and electric cars to storing energy for entire households: we need to make more and bigger batteries than ever.

Microgel supports 3D printing of organs from stem cells

Scientists have developed a platform that prints bioink into 3D tissues using a supporting slurry of alginate microgel beads. The technique overcomes limitations of conventional bioprinted scaffolds and holds promise for tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, drug screening and developmental biology.

Multitasking graphene ink printed into tiny flexible supercapacitors

Researchers have developed an easy way to make complicated arrays of microsupercapacitors that involves screen-printing them out of graphene ink. The simplicity and freedom offered by the approach will aid the development of new approaches to electronics and flexible devices.

Disordered crystals are promising for future battery technology

Tiny, disordered particles of magnesium chromium oxide may hold the key to new magnesium battery energy storage technology, which could possess increased capacity compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries.

AI to crack unloved murder cases

Some of history's most notorious unsolved murder crimes could be laid bare thanks to new forensic research.

Battery-in-screen paves way to ultra-thin smartphones

Scientists in Hong Kong and China have combined a semi-transparent arrangement of anodes and cathodes with a transparent electrolyte to make the first ever photoluminescent microbattery that can simultaneously act as a power supply and a full-colour display.

Jelly implant keeps an eye on body oxygen levels

Although smaller than a grain of rice, a phosphorescent hydrogel implant that monitors tissue oxygen could end amputations in people with blocked blood vessels or help athletes design better training programmes. The first of these tiny but durable devices has survived more than four years - implanted in the foot of the researchers who created it.

Compound could transform energy storage for large grids

In order to power entire communities with clean energy, such as solar and wind power, a reliable backup storage system is needed to provide energy when the sun isn't shining and the wind doesn't blow.

Study boosts hope for cheaper fuel cells

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes or modified graphene nanoribbons may be suitable replacements for platinum for fast oxygen reduction, the key reaction in fuel cells that transform chemical energy into electricity, according to Rice University researchers.

Polystyrene makes solar panels cheaper

Researchers are using polystyrene particles rather than expensive polymers to make the next generation of solar cells, which are used to make solar panels, more stable and even cheaper.

Molecular movie exposes perovskite solar cell's inner workings

A 'molecular movie' has revealed how perovskite solar cells respond to light. The work could help to explain why these structures are so adept at converting light into electricity.

Lab on a chip could monitor health, germs and pollutants

Imagine wearing a device that continuously analyzes your sweat or blood for different types of biomarkers, such as proteins that show you may have breast cancer or lung cancer.

Pac-Man meets biotechnology

Scientists increasingly use miniscule robots to solve a range of problems, from cancer treatment to water purification.

Environmental risks in 'green' material

Researchers have undertaken the first comparative life cycle analysis of piezoelectric materials as part of an EPSRC project.