Nanomaterials news

Water droplets direct self-assembly process in thin-film materials

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

14 hours ago | 5 / 5 (4) | 2

You can think of it as origami - very high-tech origami. Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a technique for fabricating three-dimensional, single-crystalline silicon structures from thin films by coupling ...

Nanotube defects equal better energy and storage systems

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Nov 19, 2009 | 4.4 / 5 (10) | 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- Most people would like to be able to charge their cell phones and other personal electronics quickly and not too often. A recent discovery made by UC San Diego engineers could lead to carbon ...

Scientists synthesize graphene-like material: Polymer with honeycomb structure

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Nov 19, 2009 | 4.6 / 5 (8) | 1

Two-dimensional carbon layers, so-called graphenes, are regarded as a possible substitute for silicon in the semiconductor industry. The electronic properties of these layers can be varied by "building in" ...

Argonne 'homegrown' hybrid solar cell aims for low-cost power

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Nov 10, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (12) | 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have refined a technique to manufacture solar cells by creating tubes of semiconducting material and then "growing" ...

Scientists develop DNA origami nanoscale breadboards for carbon nanotube circuits

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Nov 10, 2009 | 5 / 5 (7) | 0

In work that someday may lead to the development of novel types of nanoscale electronic devices, an interdisciplinary team of researchers at the California Institute of Technology has combined DNA's talent ...

Research helps overcome barrier for organic electronics

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Nov 10, 2009 | 4.9 / 5 (10) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Electronic devices can't work well unless all of the transistors, or switches, within them allow electrical current to flow easily when they are turned on. A team of engineers has determined ...

Researchers invent new method for graphene growth

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Nov 10, 2009 | 4.9 / 5 (22) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- A Cornell research team has invented a simple way to make graphene electrical devices by growing the graphene directly onto a silicon wafer.

Ultra-Long Carbon Nanotubes Could Serve as Future Transmission Lines

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Nov 10, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (26) | 15

(PhysOrg.com) -- When it comes to carbon nanotubes, the majority of research so far has focused on small-scale applications. But now, a team of researchers from Rice University has created carbon nanotubes ...

Novel nano-devices developed by U of T researchers

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Nov 10, 2009 | 4 / 5 (1) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Toronto researchers continue to uncover the mysteries of space. But even the best astronauts in the world are stymied if the spaceship doesn't launch. When the countdown stops, it is often because ...

New transparent insulating film could enable energy-efficient displays

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Nov 09, 2009 | 4.9 / 5 (8) | 0

Johns Hopkins materials scientists have found a new use for a chemical compound that has traditionally been viewed as an electrical conductor, a substance that allows electricity to flow through it. By orienting ...

Imaging a catalyst one atom at a time

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Nov 09, 2009 | 5 / 5 (3) | 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- The catalytic processes that facilitate the production of many chemicals and fuels could become much more environmentally friendly thanks to a breakthrough achieved by researchers from Lehigh ...

How Size Matters For Catalysts: Study Links Size, Activity, Electronic Properties

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Nov 05, 2009 | 3.7 / 5 (3) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Utah chemists demonstrated the first conclusive link between the size of catalyst particles on a solid surface, their electronic properties and their ability to speed chemical ...

Nanotechnology: A risky frontier?

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Nov 05, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (5) | 0

Inside a cramped back room at Rushford Hypersonic, a start-up headquartered in southeastern Minnesota, sits a cube-like machine that throws a mean atomic fastball. At the push of a button, the reactor hurls atoms toward a ...

Breakthrough in industrial-scale nanotube processing

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Nov 02, 2009 | 4.9 / 5 (23) | 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- Rice University scientists today unveiled a method for the industrial-scale processing of pure carbon-nanotube fibers that could lead to revolutionary advances in materials science, power ...

3-D system based on optical fiber could provide new options for photovoltaics

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Nov 02, 2009 | 4.4 / 5 (10) | 0

Converting sunlight to electricity might no longer mean large panels of photovoltaic cells atop flat surfaces like roofs.

Scientists witness nature's complexity unfold in self-assembling quasicrystals

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Oct 31, 2009 | 4.9 / 5 (17) | 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- Just a few decades ago, scientists believed that all ordered matter consists of self-repeating building blocks -- atoms, ions or molecules. In this view, the ordinary solids of everyday life ...

Researchers find new route to nano self-assembly

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Oct 22, 2009 | 4.9 / 5 (9) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- If the promise of nanotechnology is to be fulfilled, nanoparticles will have to be able to make something of themselves. An important advance towards this goal has been achieved by researchers ...

Improved Electric Propulsion Could Boost Satellite Lifetimes

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Oct 21, 2009 | 4.5 / 5 (2) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have won a $6.5 million grant to develop improved components that will boost the efficiency of electric propulsion systems used to control ...