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MIT engineers create 2D polymer that self-assembles into sheets

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Using a novel polymerization process, MIT chemical engineers have created a new two-dimensional polymer that self-assembles into sheets, unlike all other polymers which form one-dimensional chains. Until now, scientists had believed it was impossible to induce polymers to form 2D sheets. —Michael Strano.

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MIT Sequential Decomposition Synthesis process produces thin solid-state electrolytes without sintering

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A team from MIT has developed a new approach to fabricating oxide-based solid-state electrolytes that are comparable in thickness to the polymer separators found in current Li-ion batteries without sintering: sequential decomposition synthesis (SDS). Recent progress in solid-state battery (SSB) electrolytes such as Li garnets (e.g.,

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MIT researchers propose mechanism for overcoming bottleneck in electroreduction of CO2

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Researchers at MIT have identified , quantified, and modeled a major reason for the poor performance of electroreduction processes to convert CO 2 to fuel or other useful chemicals. The research was supported by Shell, through the MIT Energy Initiative. A paper on their work is published in the ACS journal Langmuir. —Soto et al.

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Directly-cooled lighter-weight EV motor made with polymer housing

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Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT are working together with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT to develop a new cooling concept that will enable polymers to be used as EV electric motor housing materials, thereby reducing the weight of the motor and thus, the EV itself.

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MIT proof-of-concept demo of ionic wind propulsion for aircraft

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MIT researchers have demonstrated that an aircraft with a 5-meter wingspan can sustain steady-level flight using ionic-wind propulsion. The MIT team’s final design resembles a large, lightweight glider. The fuselage of the plane holds a stack of lithium-polymer batteries. —Xu et al. Let’s hope some of them take off.

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MIT team develops data-driven safety envelope for lithium-ion batteries for EVs

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Researchers at MIT, with a colleague from Tsinghua University, have developed a safety envelope for Li-ion batteries in electric vehicles by using a high accuracy finite element model of a pouch cell to produce more than 2,500 simulations and subsequently analyzing the data with Machine Learning (ML) algorithms.

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LLNL/MIT team creates ultralight, ultrastiff metamaterials; possible applications for automotive and aerospace

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Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed materials with the same weight and density as aerogel (“frozen smoke”) but with 10,000 times more stiffness using additive micro-manufacturing processes. Source: LLNL Click to enlarge. —Xiaoyu Zheng, lead author.

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