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Researchers utilize shrimp shells to create stronger and more sustainable cement

2022-08-11T14:55:00-04:00

A team of Washington State University (WSU) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers has discovered a method to create stronger cement by putting nanoparticles from shrimp shells into cement paste. The innovation could lead to reduced seafood waste and lower carbon emissions from concrete production.

The findings were reported in the journal Cement and Concrete Composites. The research team created nanocrystals and nanofibers of chitin, a biopolymer widely present in nature, especially in marine invertebrates, insects, and fungi, from waste shrimp shells. When the chitin was added to cement paste, the resulting material was up to 40% stronger. The set time was also extended by more than an hour, which is a desired quality for long-distance transport and hot-weather concrete work.

“The concrete industry is under pressure to reduce its carbon emissions from the production of cement,” said Somayeh Nassiri, an associate professor at the University of California, Davis, who...

A new "super wood" nanofiber biomaterial is stronger than spider silk

2018-05-11T14:56:00-04:00

Spider silk has long held the title of strongest natural biomaterial, so scientists have been trying to harness it, mimic it and even improve on the recipe for years. Now, researchers at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology have developed a new biomaterial out of wood nanofibers that steals the strength record.

A new material called "super wood" is eight times stiffer than silk, which has been considered one of the strongest bio-based materials. KTH researchers found a new technique to "densify" wood where fibers assemble to make the cell walls stiff and strong, a process called cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs).

This wood nanomaterial is found to be as strong as steel, surpassing metals, alloys, ceramics and E-glass fibers. Researchers assert the technique could be used to produce strong and lightweight materials for constructing cars, planes, bikes, and furniture—as well as helping to assemble other nanofibers like carbon tubes.

Darkest building on Earth: Asif Khan's Vantablack-coated pavilion opens for Winter Olympics

2018-02-08T14:01:00-05:00

Sprayed with Vantablack Vbx2, a pavilion at the Winter Olympics in South Korea absorbs 99% of light. [...] Lurking between the competition venues like an angular black hole, it looks like a portal to a parallel universe, waiting to suck unsuspecting ski fans into its vortex.

Photo: Luke Hayes/Hyundai

Sports fans around the world can't wait for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics to officially open tomorrow, but there's more to the spectacle than just athletic competitions on snow and ice: London-based architect & designer Asif Khan has created the "darkest building on earth" by coating the temporary pavilion he designed for South Korean car maker Hyundai in Vantablack Vbx2, a super-black nanomaterial which absorbs more than 99% of the light that reaches its surface — the result is the visual illusion of a massive black void.

Photo: Luke Hayes/Hyundai

"It’s like a nano-scale coral reef," The Guardian quotes Ben Jensen, chief technical officer of Surrey Nanosystems, the British company which has developed the mysterious material. "Photons get into it and they bounce around within its structure until they’re all absorbed. The optical cavities in the ‘reef’ are around 1,000th the width of a human hair."

Photo: Luke Hayes/Hyundai

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Prepare to soon spot the blackest of black materials in architecture

2016-03-08T13:56:00-05:00

The British company developing the uses of a super black, light absorbent material called Vantablack S-VIS is working with leading architects as well as the British artist Anish Kapoor. The founder and chief technology officer of Surrey NanoSystems, Ben Jensen, says that the company is working with “some large and well respected global architects,” and that the coating is already available for “suitable applications”. He declined to name the architects involved “due to prior agreements”.

UCL researchers present a new kind of self-cleaning nano-engineered window

2016-01-21T17:46:00-05:00

Researchers at University College London (UCL) claim that a “revolutionary” new type of window could cut cleaning costs in tall buildings and reduce heating bills by up to 40% thanks to a new combination of nano-scale engineering inspired by the eyes of moths, and thermochromic coating. The prototype, revealed today, has conical nanostructures engraved on its surface that trap air and prevent all but a tiny amount of water coming into actual contact with the glass.

"The lead UCL researcher said this would be a big draw for high-rise building owners, since the cost of cleaning the windows surpasses the cost of installing them after the first five years."

Printed Paper Photovoltaic Cells

2011-10-04T12:04:00-04:00

Researchers from Chemnitz University of Technology and Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg, in Germany, have presented solar panels that are printed on standard paper. The technology, known as 3PV (3PV stands for printed paper photovoltaics) uses conventional printing methods and standard substrates, like those used for magazines, posters or packaging.