(Press-News.org) QUT researchers have identified a new material which could be used as a flexible semiconductor in wearable devices by using a technique that focuses on the manipulation of spaces between atoms in crystals.
In a study published in the prestigious journal Nature Communication (http://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58104-x), the researchers used “vacancy engineering” to enhance the ability of an AgCu(Te, Se, S) semiconductor, which is an alloy made up of silver, copper, tellurium, selenium and sulphur, to convert body heat into electricity.
Vacancy engineering is the study and manipulation of empty spaces, or "vacancies," in a crystal where atoms are missing, to influence the material's properties, such as improving its mechanical properties or optimising its electrical conductivity, or thermal properties.
Alongside first author Nanhai Li, the QUT researchers contributing to the study include Dr Xiao-Lei Shi, Siqi Liu, Tian-Yi Cao, Min Zhang, Wan-Yu Lyu, Wei-Di Liu, Dongchen Qi and Professor Zhi-Gang Chen, all from the ARC Research Hub in Zero-emission Power Generation for Carbon Neutrality, the QUT School of Chemistry and Physics, and the QUT Centre for Materials Science.
The Nature Communication article details the process in which the QUT researchers, guided by advanced computational design, synthesised a flexible AgCu(Te, Se, S) semiconductor through a simple and cost-effective melting method. Mr Li said precise control of the material's atomic vacancies not only improved its capability of converting heat into electricity, but also gave the material excellent mechanical properties, meaning that it could be shaped in different ways to adapt to more complex practical applications.
To demonstrate the practical application potential of the material, the researchers designed several different micro-flexible devices based on the material that could be easily attached to a person’s arm.
Mr Li said the study addressed the challenge of improving the heat-to-electricity conversion ability of an AgCu(Te, Se, S) semiconductor while still remaining flexible and stretchable, which were properties desired for wearable devices.
“Thermoelectric materials have drawn widespread attention over the past few decades in light of their unique ability to convert heat into electricity without generating pollution, noise, and requiring moving parts,” Mr Li said.
“As a continuous heat source, the human body produces a certain temperature difference with the surroundings, and when we exercise, that generates more heat and a larger temperature difference between the human body and the environment.”
Professor Chen said with the swift advance of flexible electronics, the demand for flexible thermoelectric devices was growing significantly and QUT researchers were at the forefront of research in this area.
In a separate recent study published in Science, Professor Chen and researchers from the the ARC Research Hub in Zero-emission Power Generation for Carbon Neutrality developed an ultra-thin, flexible film that could power next-generation wearable devices using body heat, eliminating the need for batteries.
“The key to advancing flexible thermoelectric technology is to examine wide-ranging possibilities,” Professor Chen said.
“Mainstream flexible thermoelectric devices are currently fabricated using inorganic thin-film thermoelectric materials, organic thermoelectric materials deposited on flexible substrates, and hybrid composites of both.
“Both organic and inorganic materials have their limitations – organic materials typically suffer from low performance and while inorganic materials offer better conductivity of heat and electricity, typically they are brittle and not flexible.
“The type of semiconductor used in this research is a rare inorganic material that has striking potential for flexible thermoelectric performance. However, the underlying physics and chemistry mechanisms for enhancing its performance while maintaining exceptional plasticity remained largely unexplored until now.”
Read the full paper, Strategic vacancy engineering advances record-high ductile AgCu(Te, Se, S) thermoelectrics, online.
END
Crystal clear design for high-performance flexible thermoelectric semiconductor
Queensland University of Technology
2025-04-23
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Detecting lung cancer 4 months earlier at the GP using artificial intelligence
2025-04-22
GPs may soon be able to identify patients with an increased risk of lung cancer up to 4 months earlier than is currently the case. The GP should be able to simply identify patients during a consultation with an algorithm created by researchers at Amsterdam UMC based on the data of more than half a million patients. The results of the study were published today in the British Journal of General Practice. [doi-link: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2023.0489]
The algorithm looks at all medical information from general ...
Safer opioid supply improves health outcomes among people at high risk of overdose
2025-04-22
Toronto, ON, April 22, 2025 – Research from ICES and Unity Health Toronto shows that safer opioid supply programs and methadone both reduce opioid overdoses, healthcare utilization, and costs.
Safer opioid supply (SOS) programs provide pharmaceutical-grade opioids such as hydromorphone to people struggling with opioid use disorder. Prescribed opioid medications are a safer alternative to drugs found in the unregulated drug supply due to the potency and unpredictability of that supply.
“This is the first population-based study to compare SOS programs with opioid agonist treatment, and to explore ...
Micronanoplastics found in artery-clogging plaque in the neck
2025-04-22
Research Highlights
A small study found that fatty buildup in the blood vessels of the neck (carotid arteries) may contain 50 times or more micronanoplastics — minuscule bits of plastic — compared to arteries free of plaque buildup. Plaque, the fatty deposits that can narrow the carotid artery, may cause a stroke.
People unknowingly eat and drink micronanoplastics from plastic waste broken down and collected in the soil and water supply. Researchers say there is currently no effective way to prevent exposure to micronanoplastics.
Note: The study featured in this news release is a research abstract. Abstracts presented at the American ...
TOS statement on oral GLP-1s
2025-04-22
ROCKVILLE, MD-Advances in evidence-based obesity medications and treatment options are critical for the millions of individuals living with the chronic disease. The Obesity Society is encouraged by the development of new options that are effective, safe, and convenient for consumers.
Last week, results released for the ACHIEVE-1 Phase 3 clinical trial suggest that a new medication, Orforglipron, an oral small molecule glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, taken once daily led to an average weight loss of 7.9% in individuals with diabetes and ...
Pulmonary fibrosis has no cure. Could a cancer drug hold the answer?
2025-04-22
Researchers at Tulane University have identified a potential new way to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a deadly and currently incurable lung disease that affects more than 3 million people worldwide.
IPF is rapidly progressive and causes scarring in the lungs, making it difficult to breathe. Approximately 50% of patients die within three years of diagnosis, and current treatments can only slow the disease — not stop or reverse it.
In a study published in the Journal ...
Trial explores drug-free approach to treat ADHD symptoms in children exposed to alcohol before birth
2025-04-22
Researchers at UCLA Health are launching the first clinical trial to test whether a wearable device that delivers gentle nerve stimulation during sleep could ease ADHD symptoms in children with prenatal alcohol exposure.
Children exposed to alcohol in the womb have a heightened risk of developing ADHD-like symptoms including hyperactivity, impulsivity and executive function deficits such as difficulty paying attention, remembering, and organizing their behavior. Prenatal alcohol exposure affects about 5% of children in the U.S. with the majority developing these symptoms. ...
New research points out a promising strategy for treating metastatic medulloblastoma
2025-04-22
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital, the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and collaborating institutions reveal in Nature Cell Biology a strategy that helps medulloblastoma, the most prevalent malignant brain tumor in children, spread and grow on the leptomeninges, the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. They discovered a novel line of communication between metastatic medulloblastoma and leptomeningeal fibroblasts that mediates recruitment and reprogramming of the latter to support tumor growth. The findings suggest that disrupting this communication offers a potential opportunity to treat this devastating ...
Light fields with extraordinary structure: plasmonic skyrmion bags
2025-04-22
“Our results add another chapter to the emerging field of skyrmion research,” proclaims Prof. Harald Giessen, head of the Fourth Physics Institute at the University of Stuttgart, whose group achieved this breakthrough. The team demonstrated the existence of “skyrmion bags” of light on the surface of a metal layer.
A better understanding of physical phenomena
Skyrmions are a mathematical description of vortex-like structures that help researchers better understand fundamental physical relationships. In recent years, this theoretical ...
DNA origami guides new possibilities in the fight against pancreatic cancer
2025-04-22
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — One of the challenges of fighting pancreatic cancer is finding ways to penetrate the organ’s dense tissue to define the margins between malignant and normal tissue. A new study uses DNA origami structures to selectively deliver fluorescent imaging agents to pancreatic cancer cells without affecting normal cells.
The study, led by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign mechanical science and engineering professor Bumsoo Han and professor Jong Hyun Choi at Purdue University, found that specially engineered DNA origami structures carrying imaging dye packets can specifically target human KRAS mutant ...
PREPSOIL launches assessment tool for soil living lab and lighthouse initiatives
2025-04-22
This tool is specifically designed to assess how well your initiative aligns with the EU Mission: A Soil Deal for Europe (Mission Soil) criteria for Soil Living Labs and Lighthouses, as further defined by the PREPSOIL taxonomy. Should your initiative meet the necessary criteria, you will be invited to participate in a more detailed assessment developed by the SOILL-Startup project. This next phase will provide an opportunity to join a network of 100 Soil Living Labs and ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Scientists target ‘molecular machine’ in the war against antimicrobial resistance
Extending classical CNOP method for deep-learning atmospheric and oceanic forecasting
Aston University research: Parents should encourage structure and independence around food to support children’s healthy eating
Thunderstorms are a major driver of tree death in tropical forests
Danforth Plant Science Center adds two new faculty members
Robotic eyes mimic human vision for superfast response to extreme lighting
Racial inequities and access to COVID-19 treatment
Residential segregation and lung cancer risk in African American adults
Scientists wipe out aggressive brain cancer tumors by targeting cellular ‘motors’
Capturability distinction analysis of continuous and pulsed guidance laws
CHEST expands Bridging Specialties Initiative to include NTM disease and bronchiectasis on World Bronchiectasis Day
Exposure to air pollution may cause heart damage
SwRI, UTSA selected by NASA to test electrolyzer technology aboard parabolic flight
Prebiotics might be a factor in preventing or treating issues caused by low brain GABA
Youngest in class at higher risk of mental health problems
American Heart Association announces new volunteer leaders for 2025-26
Gut microbiota analysis can help catch gestational diabetes
FAU’s Paulina DeVito awarded prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
Champions for change – Paid time off initiative just made clinical trials participation easier
Fentanyl detection through packaging
Prof. Eran Meshorer elected to EMBO for pioneering work in epigenetics
New 3D glacier visualizations provide insights into a hotter Earth
Creativity across disciplines
Consequences of low Antarctic sea ice
Hear here: How loudness and acoustic cues help us judge where a speaker is facing
A unique method of rare-earth recycling can strengthen the raw material independence of Europe and America
Epilepsy self-management program shows promise to control seizures, improve mood and quality of life
Fat may play an important role in brain metabolism
New study finds no lasting impact of pandemic pet ownership on human well-being
New insights on genetic damage of some chemotherapies could guide future treatments with less harmful side effects
[Press-News.org] Crystal clear design for high-performance flexible thermoelectric semiconductorQueensland University of Technology