Materials
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.
U.K. team improves world’s most accurate resistance measurements
April 10, 2013 12:36 pm | News | CommentsCryogenic Ltd and the National Physical Laboratory in the U.K. have designed and developed the most accurate instrument for comparative measurements of electric current. The instrument can now be used by National Measurement Institutes and laboratories around the world, providing a more accurate standard for current ratio, and ensuring current measurement is not a limiting factor in innovation.
High-pressure imaging breakthrough a boon for nanotechnology
April 9, 2013 11:18 pm | News | CommentsThe study of nanoscale material just got much easier, and the design of nanoscale technology could get much more efficient, thanks to an advance in X-ray analysis. Nanomaterials develop new physical and chemical properties, such as superconductivity and enhanced strength, when exposed to extreme pressure. A better understanding of how and when those changes occur can guide the design of better products that use nanotechnology.
“Artificial leaf” gains ability to self-heal damage, produce energy from dirty water
April 9, 2013 5:47 am | News | CommentsAnother innovative feature has been added to the world’s first practical “artificial leaf,” making the device even more suitable for providing people in developing countries and remote areas with electricity, scientists reported at the American Chemical Society’s National Meeting & Exposition this week. It gives the leaf the ability to self-heal damage that occurs during production of energy.
Nanowires with the power to transform solar energy
April 9, 2013 5:00 am | News | CommentsImagine a solar panel more efficient than today’s best solar panels, but using 10,000 times less material. This is what researchers in France expect given recent findings on these tiny filaments called nanowires. Solar technology integrating nanowires could capture large quantities of light and produce energy with incredible efficiency at a much lower cost.
Accidental discovery may lead to improved polymers
April 6, 2013 2:48 pm | News | CommentsThe accidental discovery by Chemical Engineering Professor Tim Bender and postdoctoral fellow Benoit Lessard of an unexpected side product of polymer synthesis could have implications for the manufacture of commercial polymers used in sealants, adhesives, toys, and even medical implants, the researchers say.
Material turns "schizophrenic" on way to superconductivity
April 4, 2013 4:05 pm | News | CommentsRice University physicists on the hunt for the origins of high-temperature superconductivity have published new findings this week about a material that becomes “schizophrenic”—simultaneously exhibiting the characteristics of both a metallic conductor and an insulator. In a theoretical analysis in Physical Review Letters, Rice physicists offer an explanation for a strange series of observations described earlier this year by researchers at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in Menlo Park, Calif.
