An ocean of microplastics tracked at the nanoscale
What is the fate of polymer debris in the ocean? Aging of polyethylene packaging after prolonged marine exposure as been tracked at the nanoscale. A recent work demonstrates that the …
Formation of the “splay-bend” nematic by the action of an electric field
The most common technology used nowadays in displays and screens is based on the properties of « nematic » liquid crystals. The existence of two new types of nematic liquid crystals was …
A book on the basics of thermodynamics in color and richly illustrated
Catherine Even, associate professor at LPS, has just published a book with Nicolas Vernier that presents thermodynamics visually and applied to everyday life. In color and very illustrated, this book …
Reversible Photo-Induced Phase Segregation and Origin of Long Carrier Lifetime in Mixed-Halide Perovskite Films
Solar cells based on mixed-halide hybrid perovskites show efficiencies that have already surpassed the best polycrystalline silicon-based cells, in just a few years since their discovery 1Y. Fu, H. Zhu, …
Defying a 150-year-old thermodynamic principle for phase behaviour
Frozen water can take on up to three forms at the same time when it melts: liquid, ice and gas. This principle, which states that many substances can occur in …
Shear of a Charge Density Wave observed by scanning X-ray diffraction
An LPS team has just observed the shear of a charge density wave under an applied electric current by scanning X-ray diffraction. A charge density wave is a state which …
A new regime in illuminated Josephson junctions
Researchers from the LPS and their collaborators have experimentally identified a new regime in Josephson junctions illuminated by microwave radiation. They found that high-frequency and high-power microwaves change the transport …
Inorganic Nanotube Mesophases Enable Strong Self-Healing Fibers
Macroscopic assembly of nanomaterials in fibers can improve their mechanical characteristics and add new functions. One-dimensional nanomaterials are particularly suited to the uniaxial geometry of fibers. Researchers at Imperial College …
Permanent electric dipoles in CdSe nanoplatelets
Spontaneous electric polarization, a phenomenon called ferroelectricity, occurs in a material when the spatial distributions of positive and negative charges differ. It is therefore intimately related to the symmetry of …
Nanometer-scale phonon-plasmon coupling
The LPS STEM group and their collaborators have unveiled the interaction of phonons and plasmons at the nanometer scale. This interaction, which is discussed in an article just published in …