Material Science
EU science projects win up to billion euros each
January 28, 2013 8:16 am | News | CommentsTwo science projects—one to map the human brain, the other to explore the extraordinary properties of the carbon-based material graphene—were declared the winners Monday of an EU technologies contest and will receive up to €1 billion ($1.35 billion) each over the next 10 years.
Technique points toward 2D devices
January 28, 2013 7:59 am | News | CommentsRice University scientists have taken an important step toward the creation of 2D electronics with a process to make patterns in atom-thick layers that combine a conductor and an insulator. The materials at play—graphene and hexagonal boron nitride—have been merged into sheets and built into a variety of patterns at nanoscale dimensions.
Scientists confirm surprisingly small proton radius
January 25, 2013 11:17 am | by Olivia Meyer-Streng, Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics | News | CommentsUsing laser spectroscopy to examine an exotic form of hydrogen, which has a negatively charged muon instead of an electron, physicists at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland have for the first time determined the magnetic radius of the proton. The result significantly different than the one from previous investigations of regular hydrogen.
Liquid metal makes silicon crystals at record low temperatures
January 25, 2013 7:35 am | News | CommentsA new way of making crystalline silicon, developed by University of Michigan researchers, could make this crucial ingredient of computers and solar cells much cheaper and greener. The researchers discovered a way to make silicon crystals, directly at just 180 F, the internal temperature of a cooked turkey, by taking advantage of a phenomenon seen in your kitchen.
Liquid crystal’s chaotic inner dynamics
January 24, 2013 4:08 pm | News | CommentsPhysicists have recently demonstrated that the application of a very strong alternating electric field to thin liquid crystal cells leads to a new distinct nonlinear dynamic effect in the response of the cells. Researchers were able to explain this result through spatio-temporal chaos theory. The finding has implications for the operation of liquid crystal devices because their operation depends on electro-optic switch phenomena.
Exotic chemical compound could be useful in batteries
January 24, 2013 2:08 pm | News | CommentsNorthwestern University graduate student Jonathan Barnes had a hunch for creating an exotic new chemical compound, and his idea that the force of love is stronger than hate proved correct. He and his colleagues are the first to permanently interlock two identical tetracationic rings that normally are repelled by each other. Many experts had said it couldn't be done.
Sensors from a spray can: Organic materials increase camera sensitivity
January 23, 2013 5:41 pm | News | CommentsResearchers in Germany have developed a new generation of image sensors that are more sensitive to light than the conventional silicon versions. Simple and cheap to produce, they consist of electrically conductive plastics which are sprayed onto the sensor surface in an ultra-thin layer. The chemical composition of the polymer spray coating can be altered so that even the invisible range of the light spectrum can be captured.
Controlled graphene crumpling key to artificial muscle
January 23, 2013 3:28 pm | News | CommentsDuke University engineers are layering atom-thick lattices of carbon with polymers to create unique materials with a broad range of applications, including artificial muscles. The lattice, known as graphene, is made of pure carbon and appears under magnification like chicken wire. Because of its unique optical, electrical, and mechanical properties, graphene is used in electronics, energy storage, composite materials, and biomedicine.
Researchers create self-healing, stretchable wires using liquid metal
January 23, 2013 8:20 am | News | CommentsResearchers from North Carolina State University have developed elastic, self-healing wires in which both the liquid-metal core and the polymer sheath reconnect at the molecular level after being severed.
How scientists are using silicon to produce hydrogen on demand
January 23, 2013 8:04 am | by Charlotte Hsu, University at Buffalo | News | CommentsSuper-small particles of silicon react with water to produce hydrogen almost instantaneously, according to University at Buffalo researchers. In a series of experiments, the scientists created spherical silicon particles about 10 nm in diameter. When combined with water, these particles reacted to form silicic acid and hydrogen—a potential source of energy for fuel cells.
Putting the squeeze on cells
January 23, 2013 7:39 am | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsLiving cells are surrounded by a membrane that tightly regulates what gets in and out of the cell. This barrier is necessary for cells to control their internal environment, but it makes it more difficult for scientists to deliver large molecules such as nanoparticles for imaging, or proteins that can reprogram them into pluripotent stem cells. Now, researchers have now found a safe and efficient way to get large molecules through the cell membrane, by squeezing the cells through a narrow constriction that opens up tiny, temporary holes in the membrane.
Researchers keep electronic devices cool with nanotechnology
January 21, 2013 10:57 am | News | CommentsA team of scientists have designed and fabricated ultrasmall devices for energy-efficient electronics. By finding out how molecules behave in these devices, a ten-fold increase in switching efficiency was obtained by changing just one carbon atom. These devices could provide new ways to combat overheating in mobile phones and laptops, and could also aid in electrical stimulation of tissue repair for wound healing.
Nanosponge filters out herbicide poisons
January 21, 2013 8:19 am | News | CommentsNew research has demonstrated the potential of a new kind of nanomaterial to filter out environmental toxins in water. A team of researchers has developed a highly porous metal organic framework (MOF) that, almost uniquely, is stable and able to filter substances in water. This study is one of the first to demonstrate MOFs separation applications in an aqueous environment.
Rare earth metals make water-repellent surfaces that last
January 21, 2013 8:01 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsWater-shedding surfaces that are robust in harsh environments could have broad applications in many industries. Hydrophobic materials can greatly enhance the efficiency of this process. But these materials have one major problem: Most employ thin polymer coatings that degrade when heated, and can easily be destroyed by wear. Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers have now come up with a new class of hydrophobic ceramics that can overcome these problems.
Controlling particles for directed self-assembly of colloidal crystals
January 18, 2013 8:29 am | News | CommentsResearchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology and Johns Hopkins University have developed a technique to reliably manipulate hundreds of individual micrometer-sized colloid particles to create crystals with controlled dimensions. The accomplishment is an important milestone for understanding how to direct and control the assembly of microscale and nanoscale objects for nanomanufacturing applications.
New material for warm-white LEDs
January 18, 2013 8:09 am | News | CommentsLight-emitting diodes (LEDs) are known for their energy efficiency and durability, but the bluish, cold light of current white LEDs has precluded their widespread use for indoor lighting. Now, University of Georgia scientists have fabricated what is thought to be the world's first LED that emits a warm white light using a single light-emitting material, or phosphor, with a single emitting center for illumination.
Black silicon can take efficiency of solar cells to new levels
January 18, 2013 8:00 am | News | CommentsScientists at Aalto University have demonstrated results that show a huge improvement in the light absorption and the surface passivation of silicon nanostructures. This has been achieved by applying atomic layer coating. The results advance the development of devices that require high-sensitivity light response, such as high-efficiency solar cells.
Quantitative magneto-mechanical made possible by the Barkhausen Effect
January 17, 2013 9:45 pm | News | CommentsThe Barkhausen Effect is the noise in the magnetic output of a ferromagnet when the magnetizing force applied to it is changed. Almost 100 years after its initial discovery, a team of scientists in Alberta have harnessed this effect as a new kind of high-resolution microscopy for the insides of magnetic materials.
Self-assembled “soft Legos” create complex crystal shapes
January 17, 2013 12:24 pm | News | CommentsA team of researchers in Austria has shown that so-called block copolymer stars—polymers that consist of two different blocks and are chemically anchored on a common point—have a robust and flexible architecture and they possess the ability to self-assemble at different levels. The team has called their invention, which can form complex crystal diamonds or cubes, the “soft Lego”.
RABiTS technology enables record-setting performance
January 17, 2013 7:57 am | News | CommentsA technology invented at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for manufacturing copper-oxide-based high-temperature superconducting materials has been used to make an iron-based superconducting wire capable of carrying very high electrical currents under exceptionally high magnetic fields.
A material that most liquids won’t wet
January 16, 2013 2:43 pm | News | CommentsA nanoscale coating that's at least 95% air repels the broadest range of liquids of any material in its class, causing them to bounce off the treated surface, according to the University of Michigan engineering researchers who developed it.
Researcher uses snail teeth to improve solar cells, batteries
January 16, 2013 2:13 pm | News | CommentsAn assistant professor at the University of California, Riverside's Bourns College of Engineering is using the teeth of a marine snail found off the coast of California to create less costly and more efficient nanoscale materials to improve solar cells and lithium-ion batteries.
New surfaces repel most known liquids
January 16, 2013 1:18 pm | News | CommentsIn an advance toward stain-proof, spill-proof clothing, protective garments and other products that shrug off virtually every liquid—from blood and ketchup to concentrated acids—scientists are reporting development of new "superomniphobic" surfaces. These new surfaces display extreme repellency to two families of liquids: Newtonian and non-Newtonian.
Engineer develops rechargeable batteries with layered nanomaterials
January 16, 2013 10:14 am | News | CommentsA Kansas State University researcher is developing more efficient ways to save costs, time, and energy when creating nanomaterials and lithium-ion batteries. Gurpreet Singh and his research team have published two recent articles on newer, cheaper, and faster methods for creating nanomaterials that can be used for lithium-ion batteries.
Millimeter-level naked-eye detection of cesium location at solid surface
January 16, 2013 9:48 am | News | CommentsThe NIMS International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics has developed a supermolecular material which makes it possible to visualize the distribution of cesium on the surface of solids and in living organisms by fluorescence.
