Materials

From the perspective of his specialty in the computational study of materials, Josh takes us through his vision of chemical engineering's future.

This month, a guide to distillation tower inspections, a close look at epigenetics, challenges for rare earth elements and other specialty metals, and much more.

As part of our celebration of AIChE's 110th year, Billy Bardin of the Dow Chemical Company shares his predictions for chemical engineering's next 25 years.

A team of engineers at MIT has developed a heat-conductive polymer that could find new uses in electronics.

The composite overcomes typical brittleness and shows potential for nuclear industry, oil and gas, aerospace applications.

An international team of researchers’ study of glass may help lead to shatter-proof screens for mobile devices.

Much effort has gone into developing new materials, thanks to projects like the Materials Genome Initiative and the

Technique straightens polymer's molecular chains, increasing heat conductivity sixfold.

A new technology collects the oil in a cellulose matrix and then turns the oil into a rigid gel that can easily be removed from water.

The molecular cages show potential for use in energy conversion, drug delivery, and as sensors.

Researchers at Swansea University have developed a new class of nanomaterials with tunable wettability that have wide ranging applications from antifouling to waterproofing.

A chemical engineer and chemist at MIT have discovered how to reduce the "loops" that weaken polymer structures.

Learn about the innovative work that Nicholas is doing in the area of catalysis at Northwestern University.

This month, CEP features a look at business planning, as well as pump sizing, reducing process safety risks with the bow-tie diagram, and much more.

New research from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has solved the issue of brittleness, making diamond nanothreads flexible and thus unlocking significant and numerous potential applications.

Research suggests that flakes of graphene welded together into solid materials may have potential for use as bone implants.

Jalila Essaïdi considers herself an artist, but this young Dutch artist has a very scientific side, relying heavily on biotechnology to create

Learn more about what the AIChE Materials Engineering & Sciences Division (MESD) offers and how you can get involved.

This month, the CEP cover story takes a look at the advantages of fixed valves, while Back to Basics column gives smart tips for a successful energy assessment.

This month, tips for including water conservation in your energy-management program, an introduction to mammalian cell culture, pointers for preventing caking of bulk solids, and much more.

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have devised a new plastic that is made with 50 percent renewable content from biomass.

This month, CEP looks at big data analytics in a special section, as well as covering PID for process engineers and aerobic fermenter optimization.

New technology out of the U.S.

A group of researchers in Italy are looking to graphene oxide for “green” anti-bacterial properties that could enhance medical devices and one day decrease the need for antibiotics to fight post-operative infections and reduce recovery times.

A team led by researchers at UCLA has created a super-strong yet light structural metal nanocomposite with extremely high specific strength and modulus.

Jeffery Long, professor of chemistry and chemical and bimolecular engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and colleagues have devised a space-efficient natural-gas tank that can store the same amount of gas as bulky conventional tanks at a much lower pressure.

When Elon Musk started bulldozing desert scrub to build his giga-factory near Reno, Nevada, he bet the ranch that the lithium-ion battery market would skyrocket to around $75 billion by 2020, makin

Researchers announced two technologies that promise to improve the future of car travel. One technology significantly decreases the tire noise, while the other may put an end to flat tires, thanks to a new self-healing rubber.

In the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Tennessee, a group of researchers is making important strides to improve battery safety and performance.

Researchers at the University of California Santa Barbara have modified a small molecule to create strong wet adhesive properties. Inspired by the chemical composition of mussel foot proteins,

Using a hybrid silica sol-gel material and self-assembled monolayers of a common fatty acid, researchers at Georgia Tech have developed a new capacitor dielectric material that provides an electric

Graphene astounded the world as the first atom-thick carbon network, but a joint German-US research project has developed black phosphorus in which individual phosphorus atoms are replaced by arsen

The Extreme Electrochemistry Group? Is this an Icelandic Goth Metal Trio?

A new grease-free coating battles two major issues facing industrial machinery: friction and corrosion.

Inkjet printing shows potential for producing solar cells, but one barrier has been the need for a an ink with the proper viscosity and stability for compact and homogeneous films.

The U.S. Dept.

Scientists at the University of Rochester have used lasers to transform metals into extremely water repellent, or super-hydrophobic, materials without the need for temporary coatings. Super-hy

Researchers at Rice University have discovered an inexpensive derivative of asphalt that is highly effective at capturing carbon dioxide from natural gas wells.

Japanese scientists have developed a first: a new hydrogel whose properties are dominated by electrostatic repulsion, rather than attractive interactions.

A new small device that relies on nanotechnology successfully generates electric current from simple vibrations. Its creators look to relieve the load on batteries or eliminate them completely.

The latest development in water splitting comes from North Carolina State University, where researchers are working with a thin film of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) to replace platinum.

Conventional asymmetrical membrane structures cause severe mass transfer limitations, so future membrane designs need to focus on mimicking the functionality and specificity of biological membrane systems.

Metal sulfide nanocrystals have typically been synthesized in hot solvent-solution phase systems that bring with them a host of quality and productivity issues. Current work at the University of Minnesota seeks to avoid these problems by utilizing a non-thermal plasma reactor and deposition system.

The development of new "mixed-matrix membrane" systems can benefit our soldiers on the chemical warfare battlefield.

Engineers at the University of Akron are working towards new medical uses for hydrogel materials.

Studying crystal structures and confused by Miller indices? Check out this video from the LearnChemE video series.

It's not so much that the rare earth metals (also known as the lanthanides) are rare; there is actually a relative abundance of them. The real issue is that it's difficult to find economically viable methods by which to process them.

The U.S. is highly dependent on foreign countries for rare earth elements (REEs) and strategic and critical materials (S&CMs). Dr. Tedd Lister and Dr. Eric Peterson of the Idaho National Laboratory propose “urban mining” to address the concerns associated with traditional mining.

German researchers unveiled to the public the world's lightest material, which they call Aerographite. The material weights just 0.2 mg per cubic centimeter, making it 75 times lighter than Styrofoam.

During the poster session at the Spring Meeting in Houston, we spoke with Ryan Vano of Natural Composites Inc. He shared with us his company's work with coconut fibers and the composite materials it's making from this largely untapped natural resource.

Indian plastics is a major growth industry, currently satisfying 4 percent of world demand, while growing prodigiously 12 percent a year.