Half-Heusler Ni-based alloys are thermoelectric materials with the potential for converting waste heat into electricity. However, the origin of their impressive conversion efficiency is not entirely ...

Defect-filled lead-halide perovskites rival silicon solar cells because domain walls inside the material separate and guide charges. Researchers visualized these charge-transport networks using a ...

Imperfections of crystal structure, especially edge dislocations of an elongated nature, deeply modify basic properties of the entire material and, in consequence, drastically limit its applications.

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin have found that defects that run through liquid crystals can serve as miniscule tubes capable of forming new materials and nanoscale structures. Liquid ...

Imperfections running through liquid crystals can be used as miniscule tubing, channeling molecules into specific positions to form new materials and nanoscale structures, according to engineers. The ...

Perfection may drive many people in their work, but physics professor Walter Lambrecht actually seeks out imperfection. As the recipient of a 2012 Fulbright award, Lambrecht will research ...

Researchers and industries have been using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to study semiconductors' stacking and dislocation faults. This article considers the analysis of crystal structures.

Diamonds are famous for carrying heat away faster than almost any other solid, yet new research shows that at the scale of individual atoms they can briefly bottle it up instead. Scientists have now ...

If we are to prevent the impending environmental crisis, it is imperative that we find efficient and sustainable ways to avoid being wasteful. One area with much room for improvement is the recycling ...