Nanotechnology
Light-carved nanovolcanoes hold promise for drug delivery
June 13, 2013 8:16 am | News | Comments
Researchers from North Carolina State Univ. have developed a method for creating nanovolcanoes by shining various colors of light through a nanoscale “crystal ball” made of a synthetic polymer. These nanovolcanoes can store precise amounts of other materials and hold promise for new drug-delivery technologies.
New type of nanosheet offers fast pollutant degradation
June 17, 2013 6:56 pm | News | Comments
Waste from textile and paint industries often contains organic dyes such as methylene...
The science of sculpture, nano-style
June 14, 2013 9:53 am | by Angela Herring, Northeastern University | News | Comments
Nanoscopic crystals of silicon assembled like skyscrapers on wafer-scale sub...
Nanoparticle-based technology helps recover more oil
June 14, 2013 9:42 am | by Claude R. Olsen/Else Lie. Translation: Darren McKellep/Carol B. Eckmann | News | Comments
When petroleum companies abandon an oil well, more than half the reservoir’s oil is...
New method helps distinguish between neighboring quantum bits
June 18, 2013 10:42 am | News | CommentsResearchers at the Univ. of New South Wales have proposed a new way to distinguish between quantum bits that are placed only a few nanometers apart in a silicon chip, taking them a step closer to the construction of a large-scale quantum computer.
Unzipped nanotubes unlock potential for batteries
June 13, 2013 4:04 pm | News | CommentsResearchers at Rice Univ. have come up with a new way to boost the efficiency of the ubiquitous lithium-ion battery by employing ribbons of graphene that start as carbon nanotubes. Proof-of-concept anodes built with graphene nanoribbons and tin oxide showed an initial capacity better than the theoretical capacity of tin oxide alone.
Silicon-based nanoparticles could make LEDs cheaper, greener
June 13, 2013 8:07 am | News | CommentsLight-emitting diodes, or LEDs, are the most efficient and environmentally friendly light bulbs on the market. But they come at a higher up-front price than other bulbs, especially the ones with warmer and more appealing hues. Researchers at the Univ. of Washington have created a material they say would make LED bulbs cheaper and greener to manufacture, driving down the price.
Nanothermometer enables first atomic-scale heat dissipation measurements
June 13, 2013 7:27 am | News | CommentsIn findings that could help overcome a major technological hurdle in the road toward smaller and more powerful electronics, an international research team involving Univ. of Michigan engineering researchers, has shown the unique ways in which heat dissipates at the tiniest scales.
Polymer structures serve as nanoreactors for nanocrystals with uniform sizes, shapes
June 11, 2013 3:26 pm | News | CommentsUsing star-shaped block co-polymer structures as tiny reaction vessels, researchers have developed an improved technique for producing nanocrystals with consistent sizes, compositions and architectures—including metallic, ferroelectric, magnetic, semiconductor and luminescent nanocrystals. The technique relies on the length of polymer molecules and the ratio of two solvents to control the size and uniformity of colloidal nanocrystals.
Halogenated graphene may replace platinum in low-cost fuel cells
June 10, 2013 10:56 am | News | CommentsThe research team of Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology paved a new way to affordable fuel cells with efficient metal-free electrocatalysts using edge-halogenated graphene nanoplatelets. The research team, for the first time, reportedly synthesized a series of edge-selectively halogenated graphene nanoplatelets by ball-milling graphite flake in the presence of chlorine, bromine or iodine, respectively.
Printing innovations provide ten-fold improvement in organic electronics
June 3, 2013 8:06 am | News | CommentsSLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford Univ. researchers have developed a new printing process for organic thin-film electronics that results in films of strikingly higher quality. The printing process called FLUENCE—fluid-enhanced crystal engineering—results in thin films capable of conducting electricity 10 times more efficiently than those created using conventional methods.
Fine-tuning emissions from quantum dots
June 3, 2013 7:42 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsTiny particles of matter called quantum dots, which emit light with exceptionally pure and bright colors, have found a prominent role as biological markers. In addition, they are realizing their potential in computer and television screens, and have promise in solid-state lighting. New research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology could now make these quantum dots even more efficient at delivering precisely tuned colors of light.
Nanotechnology stops bed bugs in their tracks
May 31, 2013 10:54 am | News | CommentsBed bugs now need to watch their step. Researchers at Stony Brook University have developed a safe, non-chemical resource that literally stops bed bugs in their tracks. This innovative new technology acts as a man-made web consisting of microfibers 50 times thinner than a human hair which entangle and trap bed bugs and other insects.
An electrical switch for magnetism
May 31, 2013 8:22 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsResearchers have developed a new way of controlling the motion of magnetic domains—the key technology in magnetic memory systems. The new approach requires little power to write and no power to maintain the stored information, and could lead to a new generation of extremely low-power data storage. It controls magnetism by applying a voltage, rather than a magnetic field.
Nanoengineering boosts efficiency of materials
May 30, 2013 12:51 pm | News | CommentsHigh-performance thermoelectric materials that convert waste heat to electricity could one day be a source of more sustainable power. But they need to be a lot more efficient before they could be effective on a broad scale in places like power plants or military bases, researchers say. A University of Michigan researcher has taken a step toward that goal.
Invention allows clear photos in dim light
May 30, 2013 8:06 am | News | CommentsCameras fitted with a new sensor will soon be able to take clear and sharp photos in dim conditions, thanks to a new image sensor invented at Nanyang Technological University. The new sensor made from graphene, is believed to be the first to be able to detect broad spectrum light, from the visible to mid-infrared, with high photoresponse or sensitivity.
Shape-shifting nanoparticles flip from sphere to net in response to tumor signal
May 29, 2013 8:10 am | News | CommentsScientists at the University of California, San Diego have designed tiny spherical particles to float easily through the bloodstream after injection, then assemble into a durable scaffold within diseased tissue. An enzyme produced by a specific type of tumor can trigger the transformation of the spheres into net-like structures that accumulate at the site of a cancer.
Ultraselective process discovered to make valuable chemical from biomass
May 29, 2013 7:29 am | News | CommentsChemical engineering researchers Wei Fan, Paul Dauenhauer, and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst report that they’ve discovered a new chemical process to make p-xylene, an important ingredient of common plastics, at 90% yield from lignocellulosic biomass, the highest yield achieved to date.
Diamonds, nanotubes find common ground in graphene
May 28, 2013 11:45 am | News | CommentsWhat may be the ultimate heat sink is only possible because of yet another astounding capability of graphene. The one-atom-thick form of carbon can act as a go-between that allows vertically aligned carbon nanotubes to grow on nearly anything. That includes diamonds. A diamond film/graphene/nanotube structure was one result of new research carried out by scientists at Rice University and the Honda Research Institute USA.
X-ray laser brings gold exploration to the nanoscale
May 28, 2013 10:08 am | News | CommentsPushing gold exploration to the nanoscale, scientists used SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory's Linac Coherent Light Source X-ray laser to produce a series of 3D images that detail a ringing effect in tiny gold crystals. The technique provides a unique window for studying why smaller is better for some specialized materials, including those used in chemical reactions and electronic components.
Balance is key to making quantum-dot solar cells work
May 24, 2013 7:53 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsThere has been great interest in using quantum dots to produce low-cost, easily manufactured, stable photovoltaic cells. But, so far, the creation of such cells has been limited by the fact that in practice, quantum dots are not as good at conducting an electric charge as they are in theory. Something in the physical structure of these cells seems to trap their electric-charge carriers. Now researchers may have found the key.
Crystals melt when they're cooled
May 23, 2013 8:57 am | News | CommentsGrowing thin films out of nanoparticles in ordered, crystalline sheets would be a boon for materials researchers, but the physics is tricky because particles of that size don’t form crystals the way individual atoms do. Using bigger particles as models, physicists have predicted some unusual properties of nanoparticle crystal growth.
Innovation could bring flexible solar cells, transistors
May 23, 2013 8:07 am | News | CommentsResearchers have created a new type of transparent electrode that might find uses in solar cells, flexible displays for computers and consumer electronics, and future "optoelectronic" circuits for sensors and information processing. The electrode is made of silver nanowires covered with a material called graphene, an extremely thin layer of carbon.
Method unveiled for tailoring optical processors
May 22, 2013 7:36 am | News | CommentsRice University scientists have unveiled a robust new method for arranging metal nanoparticles in geometric patterns that can act as optical processors that transform incoming light signals into output of a different color. The team used the method to create an optical device in which incoming light could be directly controlled with light via a process known as “four-wave mixing.”
Iron-platinum alloys show promise for next-generation hard drives
May 21, 2013 9:56 am | News | CommentsMeeting the demand for more data storage in smaller volumes means using materials made up of ever-smaller magnets, or nanomagnets. One promising material for a potential new generation of recording media is an alloy of iron and platinum with an ordered crystal structure.
Non-wetting fabric drains sweat
May 20, 2013 3:54 pm | News | CommentsWaterproof fabrics that whisk away sweat could be the latest application of microfluidic technology developed by bioengineers at the University of California, Davis. The new fabric works like human skin, forming excess sweat into droplets that drain away by themselves, says inventor Tingrui Pan.
Research shows defects in twin boundaries that strengthen materials
May 20, 2013 9:11 am | News | CommentsThrough experiments and simulations, a team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists have found that twin boundaries with good electrical conductivity and a strengthening mechanism in materials may not be so perfect after all.
Nanoantennas help improve infrared sensing
May 20, 2013 7:52 am | News | CommentsA team of University of Pennsylvania engineers has used a pattern of nanoantennas to develop a new way of turning infrared light into mechanical action, opening the door to more sensitive infrared cameras and more compact chemical analysis techniques.
New technique advances carbon-fiber composites
May 20, 2013 7:31 am | by Jennifer Chu, MIT News Office | News | CommentsThese days, aerospace engineering is all about the light stuff. Advanced carbon-fiber composites have been used in recent years to lighten planes’ loads. For the next generation of commercial jets, researchers are looking to even stronger and lighter materials, such as composites made with carbon fibers coated with carbon nanotubes. However, a significant hurdle to achieving such composites has existed, until now.
