Among the challenges facing solar panels is their installation on surfaces with curved or abstract geometries. Therefore, a collaborative research team has developed a flexible solar conversion system that can be used on curved surfaces to harvest renewable energy. This research has been published in the journal Sustainability.
Shape memory polymers have relatively good application potential in biomedical and construction industries as well as an expanding shape memory polymer market meeting a demand in the automotive and aerospace sectors will advance product usage in the near future.
Traffic-related sources have been established as a major contributor of particulate matter (PM), specifically within major cities, raising an eco-awareness about the need to develop green products and materials for use in vehicle component parts.
An MIT team has engineered a primarily plant-based composite material using CNCs which make up between 60%-90% of the material. If scalable, the material could present an opportunity to fabricate more sustainable natural polymers. The full details of the research are published in the journal Cellulose.