News
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Niobium used as catalyst in fuel cell
Brazil is the world’s largest producer of niobium and holds about 98 percent of the active reserves on the planet. This chemical element is used in metal alloys, especially high-strength steel, and in an almost unlimited array of high-tech applications from cell phones to aircraft engines. ...Read more -
From cobalt to tungsten: how electric cars and smartphones are sparking a new kind of gold rush
What’s in your stuff? Most of us give no thought to the materials that make modern life possible. Yet technologies such as smart phones, electric vehicles, large screen TVs and green energy generation depend on a range of chemical elements that most people have never heard of. Until the lat...Read more -
Stronger turbine blades with molybdenum silicides
Researchers at Kyoto University have found that molybdenum silicides can improve the efficiency of turbine blades in ultrahigh-temperature combustion systems. Gas turbines are the engines that generate electricity in power plants. The operating temperatures of their combustion systems can exceed ...Read more -
A simple technique for mass producing ultrathin, high-quality molybdenum trioxide nanosheets
Molybdenum trioxide (MoO3) has potential as an important two-dimensional (2-D) material, but its bulk manufacture has lagged behind that of others in its class. Now, researchers at A*STAR have developed a simple method for mass producing ultrathin, high-quality MoO3 nanosheets. Following the disc...Read more -
Research provides new design principle for water-splitting catalysts
Scientists have long known that platinum is by far the best catalyst for splitting water molecules to produce hydrogen gas. A new study by Brown University researchers shows why platinum works so well—and it’s not the reason that’s been assumed. The research, published in ACS Catalysi...Read more -
Deforming and compacting chromium-tungsten powders to create stronger metals
New tungsten alloys being developed in the Schuh Group at MIT could potentially replace depleted uranium in armor-piercing projectiles. Fourth-year materials science and engineering graduate student Zachary C. Cordero is working on low-toxicity, high-strength, high-density material for replacing ...Read more -
How do impurities move in tungsten
One part of the vacuum vessel (the plasma facing material) of the fusion experimental device and future fusion reactor comes into contact with plasma. When the plasma ions enter into the material, those particles become a neutral atom and stay inside the material. If seen from the atoms that comp...Read more -
Chinese Tungsten Concentrate Market Is Under Pressure on Lukewarm Demand
The Chinese tungsten concentrate market has been under pressure since late October due to lukewarm demand from end users after customers retreated from the market. Concentrate suppliers cut their offer prices to encourage buying in the face of weak market confidence. Chinese tungsten prices are e...Read more -
Deforming and compacting chromium-tungsten powders to create stronger metals
New tungsten alloys being developed in the Schuh Group at MIT could potentially replace depleted uranium in armor-piercing projectiles. Fourth-year materials science and engineering graduate student Zachary C. Cordero is working on low-toxicity, high-strength, high-density material for replacing ...Read more -
Tungsten and titanium compounds turn a common alkane into other hydrocarbons
A highly efficient catalyst that converts propane gas into heavier hydrocarbons has been developed by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. (KAUST) researchers. It significantly speeds up a chemical reaction known as alkane metathesis, which could be used to pro...Read more -
Brittle material toughened: Tungsten-fibre-reinforced tungsten
Tungsten is particularly suitable as material for highly stressed parts of the vessel enclosing a hot fusion plasma, it being the metal with the highest melting point. A disadvantage, however, is its brittleness, which under stress makes it fragile and prone to damage. A novel, more resilient com...Read more -
Tungsten as interstellar radiation shielding?
A boiling point of 5900 degrees Celsius and diamond-like hardness in combination with carbon: tungsten is the heaviest metal, yet has biological functions—especially in heat-loving microorganisms. A team led by Tetyana Milojevic from the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Vienna report for...Read more