Tech Xplore news

Tech Xplore / Paste-and-laser strategy helps TOPCon solar cells reach 26.31% certified efficiency

Improving the efficiency of solar cells is key to reducing the cost of solar power. Now, scientists have developed a new synergistic metallization strategy for tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar cells. The approach ...

Aug 6, 2026
Tech Xplore / AI models nearly erase female characters when they write kids stories about animals

Last year, Melanie Walsh, a University of Washington assistant professor in the Information School, wrote an article examining how 300 popular children's books gendered their animal characters. Of the 13 most common animals, ...

Aug 5, 2026
Tech Xplore / These 3D-printed objects can tell you if they're being used properly

Imagine a bottle of hazardous chemicals sitting on a laboratory shelf that changes its appearance to alert scientists that its lid is not properly secured, potentially preventing a dangerous spill.

Aug 5, 2026
Tech Xplore / Bringing 'giant batteries' closer to commercialization in the AI data center era

The explosive growth of AI data centers has brought the commercialization of "giant batteries" one step closer. A KAIST research team has developed a process that cuts the production time for a core material used in large-capacity ...

Aug 5, 2026
Tech Xplore / Human-aware robots adapt to partners, reducing back strain during team lifting

When people work in pairs or teams, they can often solve a wider range of problems, completing some tasks faster and more efficiently than they would alone. To assist users similarly to how other humans would, robots should ...

Aug 5, 2026
Tech Xplore / Neutron imaging peers inside iron redox flow batteries

A renewable energy future will rely on cheap and scalable battery technologies. A promising option is an all-iron redox flow battery, which uses iron—an abundant, low-cost, and safe material. Battery performance depends on ...

Aug 5, 2026
Tech Xplore / People prefer stories written by AI—especially when told they're written by a human

People gave the highest ratings to AI-generated stories they were told had been written by humans and were unable to tell the difference between human- and AI-created stories, according to new research published in Judgement ...

Aug 4, 2026
Tech Xplore / Solving the solvent problem to make sodium-metal batteries a more practical energy storage option

Lithium-ion batteries are the leading choice in today's electric vehicle and battery energy storage system industries, but they contain a number of critical minerals—including lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite—that are ...

Aug 4, 2026
Tech Xplore / Polar molecules and polymer bridges overcome two key limits in organic electronics

A research team led by Professor Kang Bosoek of the SKKU Advanced Institute of Nano Technology (SAINT), Department of Nano Engineering and Department of Semiconductor Convergence Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University has ...

Aug 4, 2026
Tech Xplore / Selective microwave heating speeds bamboo-to-hydrogen fuel conversion

Researchers at Kyushu University have shown that microwave (MW) radiation can dramatically speed the conversion of biomass into useful gases by creating localized high-temperature regions on nickel nanoparticles. Using advanced ...

Aug 4, 2026
Tech Xplore / RL-100 framework helps robots refine learned tasks amid real-world disruptions

Robots are gradually making their way into a variety of settings, ranging from households to public spaces, offices, factories and health care facilities. Despite their potential, however, many existing robots do not perform ...

Aug 4, 2026
Tech Xplore / Innovative design unlocks resilient semiconductor materials

Semiconductors such as silicon are the cornerstone of today's essential technologies, but the variety of materials available to power devices is limited. While metal oxides are durable, only a small subset are semiconducting ...

Aug 4, 2026