ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024 6 METALS | POLYMERS | CERAMICS Fabricated Steel Products Inc., Baton Rouge, La., will invest $3.2 million at its East Baton Rouge Parish facility. The upgrade will include a new robotic assembly and welding line that will increase production of structural steel by 50%. fsp-usa.com. flat bands generates quantum states that can be used as quantum logic gates. rice.edu. EXTRACTING GOLD FROM ELECTRONIC WASTE Scientists have found a way to remove gold from electronic waste that’s much more efficient than conventional methods as well as cheaper and cleaner. A team of chemists and materials scientists from the National University of Singapore, in collaboration with researchers from Manchester University, U.K., and Guangdong University of Technology, China, developed a type of sponge made of graphene oxide and chitosan to use for gold extraction. Graphene has a demonstrated ability to absorb ions, and chitosan is a natural biopolymer and well-known reducing agent, in this case used to catalytically convert gold ions into their solid form. The two materials were made into a composite by allowing the chitosan to self-assemble on 2D graphene flakes—a process that also KAGOME METALS DEFY MAGNETIC THEORIES Reshaping scientific understanding of magnetism and electronic interactions in cutting-edge materials, a new discovery by Rice University, Houston, researchers could revolutionize advanced tech applications. Physicists and collaborators studied iron-tin (FeSn) thin films to gain new insights into kagome magnets—materials named after an ancient basket-weaving pattern and structured in a unique, latticelike design that can create unusual magnetic and electronic behaviors due to the quantum destructive interference of the electronic wave function. The findings reveal that FeSn’s magnetic properties arise from localized electrons, not the mobile electrons scientists previously thought. Using an advanced technique that combines molecular beam epitaxy and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, the researchers created high-quality FeSn thin films and analyzed their electronic structures. They found that even at elevated temperatures, the kagome flat bands remained split, an indicator that localized electrons drive magnetism in the material. This electron correlation effect adds a new layer of complexity to understanding how electron behavior influences magnetic properties in kagome magnets. The study also revealed that some electron orbitals showed stronger interactions than others, a phenomenon known as selective band renormalization—previously observed in iron-based superconductors—offering a new perspective on how electron interactions influence the behavior of kagome magnets. Beyond advancing the understanding of FeSn, the research has broader implications for materials with similar properties. Insights into flat bands and electron correlations could influence the development of new technologies such as high-temperature superconductors and topological quantum computation, where the interplay of magnetism and topological Specialty metals distributor Vested Metals, St. Augustine, Fla., opened a sales and service center in Fort Wayne, Ind. The 20,000-sq-ft facility features state-of-the-art processing saws for precision cutting as well as tumbling services to refine product finishes. vestedmetals.net. BRIEFS From le : Ming Yi and Zheng Ren led a new study on iron-tin thin films that reshapes scientific understanding of kagome magnets. Courtesy of Je Fitlow/Rice University. SEM image of Au3+ extraction and reduction by GO/chitosan sponge; Au3+ is shown in yellow. Courtesy of Kou Yang.
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