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In a recent collaboration, a research team developed a hydrogen evolution reaction catalyst that minimizes degradation caused by reverse current in alkaline water electrolysis systems. The team consists of Professor Yong-Tae Kim, Dr. Sang-Mun Jung, and Yoona Kim, an MSc, from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) and is led by Professor Jeong Woo Han from Seoul National University. Their research was published as a cover paper in the journal Advanced Functional Materials on July 3. The electricity generated from the renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal are not constant; it fluctuates with weather and climate conditions. To harness and utilize this energy, it must be reliably stored and delivered to the grid, and hydrogen plays a crucial role in this process.

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Medical implants could fail less often when coated with a microscopically crinkled, ceramic material designed by researchers at the University of Michigan. The coating is described in a paper published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. The material's very tiny crinkles are the perfect size for young bone cells and immune cells to latch onto. With their firmer grip on the coatings, human cells can strongly adhere to the implant and stretch out along its surface. Stretched bone cells develop faster, and stretched immune cells tend to help heal tissue and reduce inflammation rather than attack the implant as a foreign invader, so the researchers think their coatings could make medical implants more successful. "Medical implants fail when they don't integrate nicely with the body, either because immune cells try to repel the implant or there is inadequate tissue healing around the implant," said Jouha Min, an assistant professor of chemical engineering and the corresponding author of the study.