Materials
Recipe for low-cost, biomass-derived catalyst for hydrogen production
April 24, 2013 8:06 am | News | CommentsIn recently published online paper, researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory describe details of a low-cost, stable, effective catalyst that could replace costly platinum in the production of hydrogen. The catalyst, made from renewable soybeans and abundant molybdenum metal, produces hydrogen in an environmentally friendly, cost-effective manner, potentially increasing the use of this clean energy source.
A blueprint for reversible wrinkling in composite materials
April 24, 2013 7:40 am | by Jennifer Chu, MIT News Office | News | CommentsMany natural composite materials have evolved to wrinkle in response to certain stimuli; and scientists say that understanding the mechanisms by which materials internally wrinkle could help in creating new, responsive materials. Now researchers have identified the mechanics involved in the wrinkling of thin interfacial layers within soft composite materials, and developed a model based on material properties and geometry.
Research findings open door to zinc-oxide-based UV lasers
April 23, 2013 8:31 am | News | CommentsResearchers from North Carolina State University have solved a long-standing materials science problem, making it possible to create new semiconductor devices using zinc oxide (ZnO)—including efficient ultraviolet (UV) lasers and light-emitting diode (LED) devices for use in sensors and drinking water treatment, as well as new ferromagnetic devices.
Nanowires grown on graphene have surprising structure
April 23, 2013 7:54 am | News | CommentsWhen a team of University of Illinois engineers set out to grow nanowires of a compound semiconductor on top of a sheet of graphene, they did not expect to discover a new paradigm of epitaxy. The self-assembled wires have a core of one composition and an outer layer of another, a desired trait for many advanced electronics applications.
Physicists find right (and left) solution for on-chip optics
April 23, 2013 7:42 am | News | CommentsA Harvard University-led team of researchers has created a new type of nanoscale device that converts an optical signal into waves that travel along a metal surface. Significantly, the device can recognize specific kinds of polarized light and accordingly send the signal in one direction or another.
Germanium made compatible with lasers
April 22, 2013 9:27 am | News | CommentsBy introducing high tensile strain, a research group in Switzerland has rendered germanium, which is normally unsuitable for lasers, capable of emitting 25 times more photons than in its relaxed state. This change alters the optical properties of the material and is enough to allow the construction of lasers from this material. This is valuable because germanium is highly compatible with silicon.
Scientists see nanoparticles form larger structure in real time
April 22, 2013 7:57 am | News | CommentsIn a new study performed at Argonne National Laboratory, researchers have, for the first time, seen the self-assembly of nanoparticle chains in situ, that is, in place as it occurs in real time. The scientists exposed a tiny liquid “cell” or pouch that contained gold nanoparticles covered with a positively charged coating to an intense beam of electrons generated with a transmission electron microscope.
Researchers develop device to mitigate blackouts, prevent equipment damage
April 19, 2013 7:54 am | News | CommentsA local power failure in Ohio ten years ago caused a series of cascading power failures that resulted in a massive blackout. Such blackouts could be prevented in the future, thanks to a new piece of equipment developed by engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas. The device regulates or limits the amount of excess current that moves through the power grid when a surge occurs.
Navy develops high-impact, high-integrity polymer
April 17, 2013 2:04 pm | News | CommentsU.S. Naval Research Laboratory scientists have developed a second-generation, cost-effective polyetheretherketone (PEEK)-like phthalonitrile-resin demonstrating superior high-temperature and flammability properties for use in marine, aerospace, and domestic applications. The resin can be used to make composite components by established industrial methods and automated composite manufacturing techniques.
Device launches plasma, holds it together through the air
April 16, 2013 10:12 pm | News | CommentsA University of Missouri engineer has built a system that is able to launch a ring of plasma as far as two feet. Plasma is commonly created in the laboratory using powerful electromagnets, but previous efforts to hold the super-hot material through air have been unsuccessful. The new device does this by changing how the magnetic field around the plasma is arranged.
Building a better capacitor with custom nanorods
April 16, 2013 1:00 pm | News | CommentsAs an energy-storage material for batteries and capacitors, manganese dioxide has a lot going for it. However, chemical capacitors made with manganese dioxide have lacked the power of the typical carbon-based physical capacitor. A Michigan Technological University theorized that the situation could be improved if the manganese dioxide were made into nanorods, which are like nanotubes, only solid instead of hollow.
Layered 2D nanocrystals promising new semiconductor
April 16, 2013 8:52 am | News | CommentsResearchers are developing a new type of semiconductor technology for future computers and electronics based on "2D nanocrystals" layered in sheets less than a nanometer thick that could replace today's transistors. The layered structure is made of a material called molybdenum disulfide, which belongs to a new class of semiconductors—metal di-chalogenides—emerging as potential candidates to replace today's CMOS technology.
Softening steel problem expands computer model applications
April 16, 2013 8:11 am | News | CommentsSandia National Laboratories researchers Lisa Deibler and Arthur Brown had a ready-made problem for their computer modeling work when they partnered with the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Kansas City Plant to improve stainless steel tubing that was too hard to meet nuclear weapon requirements.
Nanodiamonds could improve effectiveness of breast cancer treatment
April 16, 2013 7:50 am | News | CommentsDoctors have begun to categorize breast cancers into four main groups according to the genetic makeup of the cancer cells. Which category a cancer falls into generally determines the best method of treatment. But cancers in one of the four groups—called "basal-like" or "triple-negative" breast cancer (TNBC)—have been particularly tricky to treat. Researchers have developed a potential treatment for TNBC that uses nanodiamonds.
Chloroform cleanup: Just the beginning for palladium-gold catalysts
April 15, 2013 11:55 am | News | CommentsResearchers have announced a full-scale field test of an innovative process that gently but quickly destroys some of the world’s most pervasive and problematic pollutants. The technology, called PGClear, originated from basic scientific research at Rice during a 10-year, federally funded initiative to use nanotechnology to clean the environment.
Biomimetic nanosponges absorb toxins released by bacterial infections, venom
April 15, 2013 8:58 am | News | CommentsEngineers at the University of California, San Diego have invented a "nanosponge" capable of safely removing a broad class of dangerous toxins from the bloodstream. These nanosponges, which thus far have been studied in mice, can neutralize "pore-forming toxins," which destroy cells by poking holes in their cell membranes.
Black nanoparticles could play key role in clean energy photocatalysis
April 15, 2013 8:32 am | News | CommentsA unique atomic-scale engineering technique for turning low-efficiency photocatalytic “white” nanoparticles of titanium dioxide into high-efficiency “black” nanoparticles could be the key to clean energy technologies based on hydrogen. Samuel Mao leads the development of a technique for engineering disorder into the nanocrystalline structure of the semiconductor titanium dioxide.
Better batteries from waste sulfur
April 15, 2013 8:17 am | News | CommentsA new chemical process can transform waste sulfur into a lightweight plastic that may improve batteries for electric cars, reports a University of Arizona-led team. The new plastic has other potential uses, including optical uses. The team has successfully used the new plastic to make lithium-sulfur batteries.
Smashing glass at the molecular level
April 15, 2013 8:05 am | News | CommentsWhether gas trapped under a frozen water layer flows through cracks or bursts out depends on the layer's depth and temperature, according to scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The water isn't crystalline ice; it is amorphous solid water, which is disordered and often described as a "frozen" liquid.
Engineers craft material for high-performance supercapacitor
April 15, 2013 8:01 am | News | CommentsTaking a significant step toward improving the power delivery of systems ranging from urban electrical grids to regenerative braking in hybrid vehicles, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles have synthesized a material that shows high capability for both the rapid storage and release of energy.
Researchers develop tiny gradient chip
April 12, 2013 8:52 am | News | CommentsNanotechnologists at the University of Twente have developed a tiny chip that makes it easy to create micrometer-scale gradients. Gradients are gradual transitions in specific properties, such as acidity. This newly developed system can be used to efficiently measure the reaction kinetics of various chemical or biological reactions.
Material screening method allows more precise control over stem cells
April 11, 2013 5:43 pm | News | CommentsWhen it comes to delivering genes to living human tissue, the odds of success come down the molecule. The entire therapy— including the tools used to bring new genetic material into a cell—must have predictable effects. Now, a new screening process will simplify non-viral transfection, providing a method researchers and clinicians use to find an optimal set of biomaterials to deliver genes to cells.
The many uses of nanowires and nanotubes
April 11, 2013 10:18 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsNanowires and nanotubes have become hot materials in recent years. They exist in many forms—made of metals, semiconductors, insulators, and organic compounds—and are being studied for use in electronics, energy conversion, optics and chemical sensing, among other fields.
GUMBOS technology promises new drugs, electronic devices
April 10, 2013 1:06 pm | News | CommentsMention a breakthrough involving "gumbo" technology in this city, and people think of a new twist on The Local Dish, the stew that's the quintessence of southern Louisiana cooking. But scientific presentations at a meeting of the world's largest scientific society this week are focusing on what may be an advance in developing GUMBOS-based materials with far-reaching medical, electronic and other uses.
Redesigned material could lead to lighter, faster electronics
April 10, 2013 12:57 pm | News | CommentsThe same material that formed the first primitive transistors more than 60 years ago can be modified in a new way to advance future electronics, according to a new study. Chemists at The Ohio State University have developed the technology for making a one-atom-thick sheet of germanium, and found that it conducts electrons more than ten times faster than silicon and five times faster than conventional germanium.
