8 / 54
A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7
8
METALS | POLYMERS | CERAMICS
HYDROGEN STORAGE
MATERIALS BOOST EFFICIENCY
A Florida State University, Talla-
hassee, researcher has designed new
materials that could be used to store hy-
drogen fuel more efficiently in vehicles
or other devices that use clean energy.
Jose Mendoza-Cortes, assistant pro-
fessor in the College of Engineering, is
using complex mathematical equations
and computer simulations to design
porous materials made with transition
metals—compounds involving cobalt,
iron, or nickel—that cause hydrogen to
bond with it.
This next-generation design could
then be placed in the tank of a hydrogen
fuel vehicle. The idea is that since hydro-
gen will bind to the actual device, more
hydrogen could be packed in and con-
densed into a tank. Because the hydro-
gen easily sticks to the device, the tank
would never actually reach empty. Ad-
ditionally, it would take a smaller ener-
gy expenditure to fill the tank. “In other
words, more hydrogen can be stored at
lower pressures and room temperature,
making some of these materials good
for practical use,” says Mendoza-Cortes.
As of 2016, Toyota, Hyundai, and Honda
have produced hydrogen fuel cars.
For
more information: Jose Mendoza-Cortes,
mendoza@eng.fsu.edu,
www.fsu.edu.
MAGNESIUM IMPLANT
NATURALLY RESORBS
A new bioresorbable magnesium
alloy from Magnesium Elektron, UK,
won the 2016 Product of the Year award
at the Bionow Life Science Industry
Awards. The SynerMag alloy is used to
make temporary patient implants and
is the key structural material in Mag-
maris—reportedly the first clinically
proven, bioresorbable metallic cardio-
vascular scaffold. Because it is made
of magnesium, the scaffold has some
unique advantages over polymer-based
options in terms of deliverability and ra-
dial resistance following implantation.
After repairing an artery over a sever-
al-month period, the SynerMag-based
Magmaris scaffold resorbs naturally,
allowing vessels to restore vasomotion
as soon as six months later.
magne-
sium-elektron.com.Researchers at
Eindhoven University of Technology,
the Netherlands, are working
toward making cement from the hundred million tons of steel slag waste gener-
ated from steel production each year. Steel slag has a mineralogical composition
that closely resembles cement and contains the same components, but in different
ratios. If successful, the new cement will cut tens of millions of tons of CO
2
emissions
each year.
www.tue.nl/en.
GLASS GEARSHOLD PROMISE
FOR SPACE ROBOTS
At NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labora-
tory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif., technol-
ogist Douglas Hofmann and his team
are building a better gear for precision
robotics made from bulk metallic glass
(BMG). “Our team of researchers and
engineers in collaboration with groups
at Caltech and UC San Diego, have put
BMGs through the necessary testing to
demonstrate their potential benefits for
NASA spacecraft. These materials may
SynerMag alloy is the key structural material in Magmaris—said to be the first clinically prov-
en, metallic cardiovascular scaffold, manufactured by Biotronik. Courtesy of Business Wire.
BRIEFS
Houghton International,
Valley
Forge, Pa., launched a redesigned
website to deliver streamlined
access to detailed information
regarding the company and its
solutions. The site provides infor-
mation regarding global opera-
tions and advanced products and
services in 14 languages across all
platforms and devices.
houghton-
intl.com
Steel slag stockpile next to a steel factory.
Courtesy of TU Eindhoven.