EurekAlert! World Premier International Research Center Initiative, Japan - News from WPI Research Centers

News from WPI Research Centers

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 29-Oct-2025 13:11 ET (29-Oct-2025 17:11 GMT/UTC)

Single-atom catalysts change spin state when boosted by a magnetic field

Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR), Tohoku University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers proposed a novel strategy for using a magnetic field to boost the efficiency of single-atom catalysts – thus speeding up helpful reactions used for ammonia production and wastewater treatment.

Journal: Nano Letters

Digital discovery unlocks durable catalyst for acidic water splitting

Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR), Tohoku University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A team at Tohoku University has developed a data-driven method to accelerate the discovery of affordable, stable catalysts for clean hydrogen production. Using a digital platform called DigCat, they identified a low-cost metal oxide that performs both OER and HER in acidic conditions and remains stable over time.

Journal: Journal of the American Chemical Society

Van der Waals bilayers: Monolayer stiffness stabilizes ferroelectricity above RT

Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR), Tohoku University

Certain 2D van der Waals bilayers, such as WTe₂ and h-BN, exhibit sliding ferroelectricity, yet its stability above room temperature remained unexplained. AIMR researchers developed a thermodynamic model linking this stability to monolayer stiffness. Their findings reveal a soft “sliding phonon” governing the phase transition, with implications for next-generation nanoelectronics.

Journal: Physical Review Letters

Developing a new analysis method for capturing long-term brain activity in freely moving mice

International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine, University of Tsukuba
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at University of Tsukuba have developed a novel technique for analyzing neural activity in the brain. This new approach makes it possible to track neuronal signals in freely moving animals for over 99 days—an unprecedented duration. It allows for the integration of data across multiple imaging sessions with high accuracy and is anticipated to become a valuable tool for studying memory mechanisms and the progression of neurological disorders.

Journal: Nature Communications

Data-driven approach identifies promising CO₂ conversion catalysts

Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR), Tohoku University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team has developed a unified theoretical framework to better predict the performance of single-atom catalysts for electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction.

Journal: The Journal of Chemical Physics

New dual-atom catalyst boosts performance of zinc-air batteries for real-world applications

Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR), Tohoku University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team has unveiled a breakthrough in improving the performance of zinc-air batteries (ZABs), which are an important energy storage technology. This breakthrough involves a new catalyst that significantly boosts the efficiency of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), a crucial process in ZABs. The development could lead to more efficient, long-lasting batteries for practical applications.

Journal: Energy & Environmental Science

Advancing electrocatalyst discovery through the lens of data science

Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR), Tohoku University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Data science has revolutionized the hunt for high-performing catalysts, enabling scientists to quickly identify and test suitable materials. A group of researchers has recently reviewed this phenomenon in an article published in the Journal of Catalysis.

Journal: Journal of Catalysis

Turning non-magnetic materials magnetic with atomically thin films

Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR), Tohoku University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The rules about magnetic order may need to be rewritten. An international team of researchers found that it was possible to turn a non-magnetic material into a magnetic material by slicing it into thin films.

Journal: Nature Communications

6
7
8
9