May 22, 2023: Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed a new electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries. The safer electrolyte can work just as well in sub-zero temperatures as it does around room temperature, or 68 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit.

May 22, 2023: In an attempt to solve two environmental problems at once, researchers at the University of Kitakyushu in Japan have found that shredded diapers can be used to replace between 9 and 40% of the sand used in making concrete without reducing its strength. The diaper-infused concrete was used to build a small house in Indonesia, to demonstrate how this type of waste could be diverted from landfills to build more affordable housing in low- and middle-income communities.

May 22, 2023: A team has developed a first-of-its-kind, breakthrough method that makes it easier to create high-quality metal oxide thin films out of "stubborn" metals that have historically been difficult to synthesize in an atomically precise manner. They found that incorporating a concept called "epitaxial strain"— effectively stretching the metals at the atomic level—significantly simplifies the oxidation process of these stubborn metals. This research paves the way for scientists to develop better materials for various next-generation applications including quantum computing, microelectronics, sensors, and energy catalysis.

May 24, 2023: Scientists claim to have made significant advancements in the production of low-carbon compounds derived from coal, which could yield substantial economic benefits, and have far-reaching implications for the country’s energy and resource security. The research has centered on olefins—also known as alkenes—a class of chemical compounds that serve as important raw materials in the production of various industrial products such as plastics, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and even spacecraft.

May 26, 2023: Scientists from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science and colleagues have successfully developed a “superlattice” of semiconductor quantum dots that can function similarly to a metal. The new material’s conductivity was found to be one million times greater than existing quantum dot displays, while the quantum confinement of individual dots remained. The team predicts significant improvements in quantum dot superlattice capabilities and potential new applications like true all-QD direct electroluminescence devices, electrically driven lasers, thermoelectric devices, and highly sensitive detectors and sensors.