Advanced Materials

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted the 3D printing sector and its end users (such as printing bureaus), new directions of travel have nonetheless emerged. Some opportunities have even been directly prompted by the pandemic.

Smart cities are now much more ambitious. That means new materials are their biggest enabler, with information and computer technology dropping to an important support role.

Printed/flexible electronics is extremely well suited to wearable skin patches due to its low weight, flexibility/conformality, and potential for high-throughput, low-cost manufacturing of these disposable items.

Despite the promise of and the commercial interest in FHE, some technological challenges remain. One of the most important is developing the ability to robustly attach mounted components to flexible substrates, given the substantial difference in mechanical and thermal properties.

IDTechEx have released a brand new report, "Smart Cities Emerging Materials Markets 2021-2041" - a comprehensive analysis of multifunctional smart materials, bioplastics, structural electronics, composites, 3D printing, graphene, 2D and 3D molecules, 5G, 6G, IOT, new recycling.

This article summarizes and highlights some of the critical 5G developments and news in 2020.

While the basic smart city ideas are mainly updates, the materials and devices enabling them are certainly new and they do add remarkable new functions.

A huge market is opening for component and material suppliers in the thermal management arena.

Not a single country or industry has been unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact will be felt for years to come. Despite this, there have still been some notable industrial activity and commercial progression within materials science. IDTechEx provides a round-up and highlights some of these key developments.

Following decades of development, 2021 and 2022 are set to be notable years for the graphene industry, as it finally approaches an inflection point. Some in the graphene sector are now seeing their labors bear fruit in the form of commercial success - but that is not the case for everyone.