Royal Society of Chemistry

Micro-Robots Propelled by Air Bubbles and Ultrasound

A team of engineers created cell-size robots that can be powered and steered by ultrasound waves. Despite their tiny size, these micro-robotic swimmers - whose movements were inspired by bacteria and sperm - could one day be a formidable new tool for targeted drug delivery.

A New Method for the Functionalisation of Graphene

An international research team has demonstrated a novel process to modify the structure and properties of graphene, a one atom thick carbon. This chemical reaction, known as photocycloaddition, modifies the bonds between atoms using ultraviolet light.

AI and autonomy for chemistry and materials science (Part 2)

IDTechEx attended 2 leading conferences on the impact of AI and autonomy for chemistry and materials science, from both R&D to production.

AI and autonomy for chemistry and materials science (Part 1)

IDTechEx attended 2 leading conferences on the impact of AI and autonomy for chemistry and materials science, from both R&D to production.

Photo-Rechargable Zinc-Ion Devices Merge Solar Cell and Battery Tech

Scientists have made a battery that can be directly charged in sunlight without needing an external solar panel. Clever design of the battery electrodes facilitates photo-rechargeable zinc-ion batteries that could find applications as cheap devices for off-grid solar farms.

Warning That 3D Printing Pills Can Stop Drugs Working

3D printing drugs can cause unexpected and undesirable reactions that prevent their release, scientists have found. The work is one of the first studies of its kind to reveal problems when producing 3D printed pills.

Large, High-Quality Perovskite Films Created at Record Speed

Large perovskite films for solar cells can now be rapidly manufactured. The new approach, which combines the right amounts of volatile and less volatile solvents in a blade-coating process, could be an important step towards the commercialisation of perovskite solar cells.

Technology to Wirelessly Charge Smart Contact Lenses

A smart contact lens with a rechargeable supercapacitor power source that can be charged up wirelessly could be used to track a wearer's health, without compromising on comfort.

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.