Wildfires are one of the biggest environmental threats, burning millions of acres worldwide each year. Our ability to suppress wildland fires relies on the availability of water, and fire hose nozzles play an important role. As water travels from nozzle to fire, some of the water absorbs heat and evaporates, cooling the fuel mixture (e.g., thick brush and grass). Additionally, on conversion to steam, water expands 1,700 times, diluting the fuel vapors and inhibiting combustion. The percentage of water that absorbs heat and evaporates is called its evaporation efficiency. Therefore, it is critical to maximize the evaporation efficiency of the water stream.

Our world is awash in plastics. Once considered “miracle materials,” they are found in everything from food wrappers to handbags to car seats. One application in which plastic plays a huge role is in mimicking leather (so-called pleather), with a global projected market size of nearly $78 billion in 2025. The problem with plastic-based materials, however, is that their production process is highly polluting and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. More serious is their disposal, because plastics do not readily break down under natural conditions, and thus they make their way into our lands, waterways, and oceans as microplastics. Furthermore, additives that make plastics water-repellent often contain highly fluorinated substances (e.g., PFAS) or “forever chemicals” that can jeopardize health even at parts-per-trillion levels. Thus, there is a strong desire to replace petroleum-based, non-renewable, and harmful polymers.

Silicon carbide (SiC) is a versatile non-oxide ceramic that has gained considerable interest for a range of applications. Its unique physical and chemical properties include relatively low thermal expansion, high force-to-weight ratio, high thermal conductivity, hardness, resistance to abrasion and corrosion, and most importantly, sustained elastic resistance at temperatures up to 1,650°C. These properties have led to its use as an advanced ceramic component for the defense, steel manufacturing, chemical, aerospace, and automotive industries. In addition, its electrical properties, in combination with its mechanical and thermal properties, make it an excellent semiconductor for high-voltage and high-temperature power electronic systems, such as electric vehicle powertrains and 5G power transmitters.

Most photovoltaic (PV) cells are designed to harvest a small band of the solar spectrum, between 450 nm to 1,050 nm, which represents less than 30% of the full solar spectrum (that ranges from 290 nm to 2,400 nm). Hence, if conversion of photons at shorter and longer wavelengths can be achieved, an increase in power output of 15% or more is possible. Single-junction monocrystalline or polycrystalline silicon solar cells have captured the majority (>90%) of the market share of solar PV cells in the utility, commercial, and residential sectors. Enhancing the efficiency of these cells by accessing a wider range of the solar spectrum will unlock significant value.

The field of heterogeneous catalysis is undergoing transformational change. In most traditional, supported transition metal catalysts, the active reaction sites are located on nanoscale clusters or particles. Breaking the nanoscale barrier and driving active site dispersion down to the single atom is a major research frontier for catalysis. This frontier is becoming a reality via single-atom catalysts (SACs), which have atomically dispersed metals that are supported on high-surface-area materials. SACs offer the advantages of well-defined sites and high selectivity combined with the high stability and easy separation typically found with solid catalysts.