University of Illinois

Solar cell captures CO2 and sunlight, produces burnable fuel

Researchers have engineered a potentially game-changing solar cell that cheaply and efficiently converts atmospheric carbon dioxide directly into usable hydrocarbon fuel, using only sunlight for energy.

New thin film photovoltaics

The film is bendable and stretchable, offering potential applications in roll-up touchscreen displays, wearable electronics, flexible solar cells and electronic skin.

New nanomaterial offers promise in bendable, wearable electronics

An ultrathin film that is both transparent and highly conductive to electric current has been produced by a cheap and simple method devised by an international team of nano materials researchers.

New chemistries found for liquid batteries

Calcium, an abundant and inexpensive element, can form the basis for both the negative electrode layer and the molten salt that forms the middle layer of the three-layer battery.

Light illuminates the way for bio-bots

The bio-bots are powered by muscle cells that have been genetically engineered to respond to light.

Touch sensitive super stretchy skin shows promise for soft robots

A material that can emit different coloured light and sense touch - yet still stretch nearly five times its original length - has been invented by scientists in the US and Italy.

Surprising chemistry inside a potential breakthrough battery

Researchers have helped prove that a new prototype is powered by a surprising chemical reaction that may solve the new battery's biggest drawback.

Unveiling the nanotube's quantum behavior

The discovery of an important method for measuring the properties of nanotube materials using a microwave probe.

Bluetooth circuit on a skin patch

The debut of AppleWatch early this year has stimulated a new wave of interest in wearable electronics worldwide. Wearable devices include electronics on cloth, in wrist watches and ultimately on the human body.

Stretchable far-field communication antenna for wearables

Due to the complex structuring, asymmetric surface of human body and atypical motion such as stretching in elbow, finger joints, wrist, knee, ankle, etc. electronics integrated to body need to be physically flexible, conforming and stretchable.

Electroninks Writeables

Electroninks was set up in Jan 2013 to commercial a particle-free silver ink formulation technology that was licensed from the University of Illinois. Its technology can be printed using inkjet, flexo, aerosol and others techniques. It can reach up to 90% of bulk silver with annealing temperatures ranging from 80 to 120C.

Paper tubes make stiff origami structures

From shipping and construction to outer space, origami could put a folded twist on structural engineering.

Solar cell absorbs high-energy light at 30-fold higher concentration

By combining designer quantum dot light-emitters with spectrally matched photonic mirrors, a team of scientists created solar cells that collect blue photons at 30 times the concentration of conventional solar cells, the highest luminescent concentration factor ever recorded.

Robust new process forms 3D shapes from flat sheets of graphene

Researchers have developed a new approach for forming 3D shapes from flat, 2D sheets of graphene, paving the way for future integrated systems of graphene-MEMS hybrid devices and flexible electronics.

New manufacturing approach slices lithium-ion battery cost in half

Reinventing how these batteries are made also improves their performance and recyclability.

Beyond the lithium ion, significant step toward better battery

Researchers have taken a significant step toward the development of a battery that could outperform the lithium-ion technology.

Dissolvable silicon circuits and sensors

Electronic devices that dissolve completely in water, leaving behind only harmless end products, are part of a rapidly emerging class of technology pioneered by researchers.

Skin-Like device monitors cardiovascular and skin health

A new wearable medical device can quickly alert a person if they are having cardiovascular trouble or if it's simply time to put on some skin moisturiser.

How to make a perfect solar absorber

The key to creating a material that would be ideal for converting solar energy to heat is tuning the material's spectrum of absorption just right.

Graphene flaws key to creating hypersensitive electronic nose

Researchers have discovered a way to create a highly sensitive chemical sensor based on the crystalline flaws in graphene sheets.