State-of-the-art scanning probe microscopy (SPM) systems, including microwave impedance microscopy (MIM) and near-field scanning microscopy (NSOM), typically operate in a dynamic, non-contact “tapping” mode. Lock-in detection at the probe cantilever’s resonant mechanical oscillation frequency mitigates effects of drift and achieves high measurement sensitivity of local material characteristics. Electrical, mechanical, or other material properties can be measured down to the nanoscale. However, a full time-domain tip-sample response would yield a much richer data set. Unfortunately, existing methodologies require moving the entire scan head to sweep the tip-sample separation at rates far below the resonant frequency of the cantilever or tuning fork—yielding slow scan speeds and outputs vulnerable to drift, 1/f noise, and stray coupling.       To overcome these challenges, UC Berkeley researchers have leveraged high-speed data acquisition, wideband detection electronics, and modern real-time computing to acquire hyperspectral datasets at twice the mechanical resonant frequency of the probe. The invention captures up to hundreds of thousands of curves per second, without sacrificing scan speed, resolution, or stability. It can be straightforwardly integrated on most commercial SPM platforms, and for a wide range of resonantly driven probes, including cantilevers, quartz tuning forks, and qPlus sensor. Among other benefits, the technique enables novel post-processing capabilities, including retrospective enhancement of spatial resolution.

This invention introduces a novel approach to cardiac tissue stimulation and maturation through the use of photoactive organic and biological material blends.

This technology addresses the challenge of selectively separating precious and high-value metals from various fluid streams. Researchers at UC Berkeley have developed novel polymer absorbents and composite membranes for the efficient and selective separation of these metals from samples or fluid streams. This innovation provides a more effective and precise method for metal recovery compared to existing separation techniques.

The invention addresses the problem of recycling high-performance thermosets by developing a chemical process to deconstruct cycloolefin resins (CORs) that contain dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) crosslinkers. This process, developed by UC Berkeley researchers, uses a second-generation Hoveyda–Grubbs ruthenium(II) alkylidene catalyst for deconstruction via ring-closing metathesis. The method selectively reforms the cyclopentene ring in DCPD, allowing the resulting linear polyDCPD chains to be reused in new manufacturing cycles. This enables resin-to-resin circularity, with up to 84% of the linear DCPD being retrievable from end-of-life thermosets. The properties of the recycled material are comparable to the original, and the process works on various commercial and model CORs.

A novel approach to polymer compatibilization that enhances mechanical strength and compatibility across diverse polymer blends.

A novel dendronized polypeptide architecture for efficient and safe mRNA delivery, suitable for anti-tumor immunotherapy.

A novel technique for the safe and efficient production of neodymium oxide microspheres, serving as a non-radioactive surrogate for americium oxide synthesis.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a photothermal patterning flow cell that enables precise and efficient patterning of polymer films, compatible with existing cleanroom photolithography equipment.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed an algorithm for designing and identifying complex structures having custom release profiles for controlled drug delivery.

This technology capitalizes on azide-masked nitrene crosslinking chemistry to introduce a scalable and efficient method for the compatibilization and recycling of mixed plastics.

      Molecular dynamics (MD) is a computational materials science modality widely used in academic and industrial settings for materials discovery and more. A critical aspect of modern MD calculations are machine learning interatomic potentials (MLIPs), which learn from reference quantum mechanical calculations and predict the energy and forces of atomic configurations quickly. MLIPs allow for more accurate and comprehensive exploration of material/molecular properties at-scale. However, state-of-the-art MLIP methods mostly use a short-range approximation, which may be sufficient for describing properties of homogeneous bulk systems but fail for liquid-vapor interfaces, dielectric response, dilute ionic solutions with Debye-Huckel screening, and interactions between gas phase molecules. Short-range MLIPs neglect all long-range interactions, such as Coulomb and dispersion interactions.      To address the current shortcoming, UC Berkeley researchers have developed a straightforward and efficient algorithm to account for long-range interactions in MLIPs. The algorithm can predict system properties including those with charged, polar or apolar molecular dimers, bulk water, and water-vapor interfaces. In these cases standard short-range MLIPs lead to unphysical predictions, even when utilizing message passing algorithms. The present method eliminates artifacts while only about doubling the computational cost. Furthermore, it can be incorporated into most existing MLIP architectures, including potentials based on local atomic environments such as HDNPP, Gaussian Approximation Potentials (GAP), Moment Tensor Potentials (MTPs), atomic cluster expansion (ACE), and MPNN (e.g., NequIP, MACE).

Researchers at UC Irvine have developed a new method to 3D-print free-form silica glass materials which produces products with unparalleled purity, optical clarity, and mechanical strength under far milder conditions than currently available techniques. The novel processing method has potential to radically transform microsystem technology by enabling development of silica-based microsystems.

The rippled sheet was proposed by Pauling and Corey as a structural class in 1953. Following approximately a half century of only minimal activity in the field, the experimental foundation began to emerge, with some of the key papers published over the course of the last decade. Researchers at UC Santa Cruz have explored the structure of and have discovered ways to form new beta rippled sheets. 

Professor Matthew Conley from the University of California, Riverside has discovered that catalysts used to generate polyolefin plastics also perform well in hydrotreatment reactions of plastic waste. This method works by treating plastic materials with known catalysts at 200⁰C to degrade  polymers into smaller alkanes in the presence of hydrogen. This technology is advantageous compared to existing methods since it does not require high temperatures​, has a relatively high yield (+80%)​, and can be applied to a variety of plastics to generate a feedstock of smaller polymers and monomers for further processing.  

Water-based viscoelastic liquids that are highly enriched in polyelectrolytes are attractive for a number of applications including low-surface tension materials useful in industries such as cosmetics and food science. In nature, polyelectrolyte-based viscoelastic liquids are used by organisms as underwater adhesives in salt-water environments. Such viscoelastic liquids, called coacervates, typically form with electronically inactive polyelectrolyte.An electronically active coacervate could enable such applications such as electrically conducting underwater adhesives and water-based photoactive viscoelastic pastes. This could be useful for environmentally benign soldering materials, sensing, color-sensitive coatings and the enhancemeent of photochemically driven chemical reactions. A research team at UC Santa Cruz has designed a series of conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPEs) that can form electronically active liquid coacervate phases. 

Volumetric additive manufacturing and vat-polymerization 3D printing methods rapidly solidify freeform objects via photopolymerization, but problematically raises the local temperature in addition to degree-of-conversion (DOC). The generated heat can critically affect the printing process as it can auto-accelerate the polymerization reaction, trigger convection flows, and cause optical aberrations. Therefore, temperature measurement alongside conversion state monitoring is crucial for devising mitigation strategies and implementing process control. Traditional infrared imaging suffers from multiple drawbacks such as limited transmission of measurement signal, material-dependent absorptions, and high background signals emitted by other objects. Consequently, a viable temperature and DOC monitoring method for volumetric 3D printing doesn’t exist.To address this opportunity, UC Berkeley researchers have developed a tomographic imaging technique that detects the spatiotemporal evolution of temperature and DOC during volumetric printing. The invention lays foundations for the development of volumetric measurement systems that uniquely resolve both temperature and DOC in volumetric printing.This novel Berkeley measurement system is envisaged as an integral tool for existing manufacturing technologies, such as computed axial lithography (CAL, Tech ID #28754), and as a new research tool for commercial biomanufacturing, general fluid dynamics, and more.

Brief description not available

Brief description not available

Making productive use of PVC waste is a challenge. Mechanical recycling is difficult because different PVC products each contain different blends of plasticizers, stabilizers, and other additives; combining these additives leads to diminished mechanical properties.Meanwhile, incineration of PVC is an issue because it produces corrosive HCl and toxic chlorinated dioxins, a class of persistent organic pollutants. Changing regulations also present an issue: harmful plasticizers such as diethylhexylphthalate (DEHP) still present in legacy PVC products are now banned in newly made (or newly recycled) PVC in the EU. In the US, DEHP is restricted in childcare articles and food packaging. Vinyloop®, a plant designed to recycle PVC from mixed waste by selective dissolution/precipitation, was shut down in 2018 due to its inability to remove phthalates.  Lead stabilizers found in legacy PVC products are similarly banned in new products, complicating recycling. Chemical recycling and upcycling of polymers is a growing field of interest with the goal of creating a circular economy. Breaking down a polymer into monomer or other useful small molecules allows purification of the products and avoids the downcycling phenomenon seen in mechanical recycling. Polymers with labile ester or amide bonds in their backbone are more amenable to this treatment than polymers with an all-carbon backbone. For instance, polyethylene terephthalate and polyurethane can both be depolymerized by hydrolysis, alcoholysis, or aminolysis; the monomers or short oligomers obtained can be repolymerized to form the original polymer or other high-performance polymers. Polymers with all-carbon backbones are more challenging to controllably cleave, but many methods have been developed to break down polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene into light hydrocarbon fuels, benzene derivatives, or H2 gas. However, even small amounts of PVC can contaminate these reactions and deactivate the catalyst, requiring PVC to be separated out first.  Chemical upcycling of PVC is underdeveloped compared to that of other polymers, despite the fact that it is the third-most produced plastic in the world. Most PVC degradation procedures explored have been carried out at high temperatures (200-900 oC) and focus on pyrolysis to small hydrocarbons or oxidation to carboxylic acids. Pyrolysis of PVC is complicated by the release of HCl, which can corrode the equipment and deactivate catalysts. Solutions to this include pre-treatment with base, or pyrolysis in the presence of base or bio-waste. In some cases, products are a mixture of acetone, benzene, and other aromatics. In other cases, alkanes or syngas (CO and H2) are produced. There remains a need for new approaches to chemically break down PVC. Expanding the toolbox of reactions that can controllably degrade PVC will allow a wider range of products to be made, and bring the world closer to the goal of harvesting plastic waste as a resource. 

A bio-based closed-cell foam created using chitin derived from shellfish waste. Chitin is the second most abundant polysaccharide after cellulose and acts as the structural component of the exoskeleton of arthropods. Chitin has mechanical properties that can be processed into a foam. Such a foam can be used for biodegradeable packaging as well as other uses. 

In 2019, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimated that between 20 to 40 percent of global crop production are lost to plant diseases and pests annually, with plant diseases costing the global economy roughly $220B each year. Disease-warning systems are currently being used by growers to preemptively mitigate destructive events using chemical treatment or biological management. Meteorological factors including rainfall, humidity, and air temperature are all considered in these systems, but the measurement of leaf wetness duration (LWD) is important to its governing role in infection processes for many fungal pathogens. The longer a leaf stays wet, the higher the risk that disease will develop, because many plant pathogen propagules require several hours of continuous moisture to germinate and initiate infection The current gold standard to measuring LWD is using the capacitive leaf wetness sensor (LWS). The LWS functions by measuring a change in the capacitance seen at its surface which then yields an output signal that changes according to its surface wetness. Commercial leaf wetness sensors estimate the amount of surface water and leaf wetness duration by measuring the change in capacitance of a surface that accumulates condensed water. However, the one-size-fits-all commercial sensors do not accurately reflect the variation in leaf traits (particular shape, texture, and hydrophobicity) these traits strongly affect surface wettability (hydrophilicity) and vary widely among plant species.

Professor Charles Cai from the University of California, Riverside has developed a method to produce a high-performance, renewable polyurethane material made from biomass lignin for use as an adhesive, resin, coating, or plastic. In this method, diols were introduced to realize faster and complete dissolution of technical lignins in volatile organic solvents, which improve lignin miscibility with other components and its dispersion in the PU materials. This technology is advantageous because it improves the economic viability of lignocellulosic biorefinery, can replace petroleum-based polyols in commercial polyurethanes products to reduce carbon footprint, and, as a natural UV-block, lignin reduces the UV aging of PU materials.   Fig 1: The UCR method to produce polyurethane material from biomass lignin.  

Brief description not available

Brief description not available

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have fabricated a flexible and unobtrusive wearable electrode that can detect glucose at a very low limit of detection.In fact, the detection limits are the lowest ever reported for an enzyme-free sensor. This sensor is applicable for detecting glucose levels in saliva, sweat or tears, and can safely be used at home, especially by diabetic patients without the need to frequently draw blood.