We expect a lot from our composites: rocket materials need to endure the heat of takeoff, wind turbines must withstand high wind gusts, and sneakers are expected to be durable and supportive on long runs. How do experts develop composites tailored to such specific uses and verify their properties?
From lightweight laptops to cross-country EV driving, countless applications require increasing lithium-ion batteries’ energy density and performance. Since battery electrodes directly contribute to these aspects of battery function, electrodes and their components are of particular interest to battery researchers seeking to advance technology to the next level. Battery slurry processing is also a key step of manufacturing, offering significant opportunities to increase efficiency while reducing cost.
Summer’s blue skies and warm temperatures beckon us to the beach. After all, summer is synonymous with fun in the sun, surf, and sand. And what is a day in the sand without building a sandcastle? While rising tides can be every sandcastle builder’s enemy, the ocean is also their greatest ally. That’s because damp sand sticks together, allowing sandcastle magic. Dry, powdery sand may feel nice but it’s no friend of castle building and a large part of that is down to cohesion. Quick tests of moist and dry sand showed a 10x difference in cohesion!
Pharmaceutical development is highly regulated, and for good reason. Potential new products must be rigorously tested to ensure their safety, purity, and performance are acceptable before coming to market. For topical creams, regulations uphold stability lifetime parameters and require identification of any impurities before products reach consumers.
Saving time in polymer research has many benefits and can be realized in different ways, from reducing operator training time to increasing research throughput and achieving accurate and reproducible results. Here are 3 opportunities across 3 techniques (rheology, TGA, and DSC) which offer solutions to save time in your polymer research.
Successful additive manufacturing products depend upon your materials’ properties and behaviors. Rheology provides valuable information for safe, efficient, and reproducible polymer manufacturing.
The recent release of our 2022 Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) report demonstrates a continued commitment to leaving the world better than we found it. The pursuit of the goals outlined in this report remains a top priority for our company and this year’s edition reflects both our current focus areas and future ambitions.
Consumer interest and sustainability goals are driving soaring demand for electric vehicles. The U.S. aims for electric vehicle sales to reach 50% of the total market by 2030, yet 99% of the raw and component materials for EV batteries are produced externally.1, 2 Sourcing foreign-made materials and batteries has already created challenges in the industry. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to market instability that caused the price of nickel, a key battery material, to skyrocket in March 2022.
From shiny cars to streak-free walls, we demand a lot from our coatings and paints. A high-quality paint not only needs dazzling color, but also must offer the right material properties for a smooth application and drying process. Consistency is crucial: too thin and the paint will run and drip; too thick and it will clump and not dry evenly. Spray paints and coatings also need to be applied smoothly without clogging the spray device.
Hydrogels are three-dimensional porous strctures that can absorb large amounts of water. They can be made up of polymers, protein, peptides, colloids, surfactants, or lipids.1 Hydrogels’ ability to uptake large amounts of water is useful for many biological applications, including drug delivery and tissue engineering. Since a hydrogels’ properties change as it absorbs water, scientists must accurately characterize its behavior at different saturation amounts and in varying conditions.
What are bioplastics? How can plastic manufacturers use them to improve the environmental impact of their products? With so many emerging green technologies, producers and consumers need to differentiate between greenwashing1 and genuine advancements. Furthermore, if a new development is deemed environmentally beneficial, all stages of the plastics supply chain, especially converters, must then learn how to incorporate the new technology without undermining their process or products.
Pharmaceutical development is highly regulated, and for good reason. Potential new products must be rigorously tested to ensure their safety, purity, and performance are acceptable before coming to market. For topical creams, regulations uphold stability lifetime parameters and require identification of any impurities before products reach consumers.