Nanomaterials news

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 | 5 / 5 (4) | 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 (20) | 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 ...

Scientists Use Self-Assembly to Make Molecule-Sized Particles With Patches of Charge

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Oct 20, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Physicists, chemists and engineers at the University of Pennsylvania have demonstrated a novel method for the controlled formation of patchy particles, using charged, self-assembling molecules ...

Carbon nanotubes may cheaply harvest sunlight

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Oct 19, 2009 | 3.4 / 5 (9) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new alternative energy technology relies on the element most associated with climate change: carbon.

INL, ISU team on nanoparticle production breakthrough

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Oct 19, 2009 | 5 / 5 (14) | 1

Every hour, the sun floods Earth with more energy than the entire world consumes in a year. Yet solar power accounts for less than 0.002 percent of all electricity generated in the United States, primarily ...

Nanosatellites expected to benefit from advanced propulsion technology

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Oct 19, 2009 | 4.1 / 5 (12) | 3

A University of Michigan professor is developing an electric rocket thruster, NanoFET, that uses nanoparticle electric propulsion and enables spacecraft to travel faster and with less propellant than previous ...

Graphene: Unravelling the secrets of a magic material

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Oct 15, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (12) | 8

UCL researchers are helping to unlock the secrets of a material that could ultimately be used in a new generation of electronic devices.

Fuel cells get a boost

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Oct 15, 2009 | 3.9 / 5 (17) | 6

Fuel cells, devices that can produce electricity from hydrogen or other fuels without burning them, are considered a promising new way of powering everything from homes and cars to portable devices like cellphones ...

Silicon brittle? Not this kind!

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Oct 14, 2009 | 4.7 / 5 (3) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Silicon, the most important semiconductor material of all, is usually considered to be as brittle and breakable as window glass. On the nanometer scale, however, the substance exhibits very ...

Researchers uncover recipe for controlling carbon nanotubes

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Oct 14, 2009 | 4.6 / 5 (5) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Carbon nanotubes hold promise for delivering medicine directly to a tumor; acting as sensors so keen they detect the arrival or departure of a single electron; replacing costly platinum in ...

Scientist increase the efficiency of a type of solar cell by incorporating ionic salts

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Oct 14, 2009 | 3.3 / 5 (3) | 0

A group of scientists are working on the optimisation of a type of photovoltaic cell (Grätzel cell) that artificially mimics photosynthesis.

How Perfect Can Graphene Be?

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Oct 13, 2009 | 4.6 / 5 (29) | 5

(PhysOrg.com) -- Physicists have investigated the purest graphene to date, and have found that the material possesses unprecedented high electronic quality. The discovery has raised the bar for this relatively ...

Graphene Used As Floating-Molecular Carpet To Ornament It With 24-Carat Gold 'Snowflakes'

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Oct 12, 2009 | 4.2 / 5 (6) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- In an effort to make graphene more useful in electronics applications, Kansas State University engineers made a golden discovery -- gold "snowflakes" on graphene.

Nanometric butterfly wings created

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Oct 08, 2009 | 4.7 / 5 (6) | 3

A team of researchers from the State University of Pennsylvania (USA) and the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) have developed a technique to replicate biological structures, such as butterfly wings, ...

New aluminum-water rocket propellant promising for future space missions

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Oct 07, 2009 | 4.5 / 5 (21) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers are developing a new type of rocket propellant made of a frozen mixture of water and "nanoscale aluminum" powder that is more environmentally friendly than conventional propellants ...

Atomic Wire with Protective Sheath: Stable Metal Nanowires One Atom Wide Inside Carbon Nanotubes

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Oct 07, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (11) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Wires with atomic dimensions are potential structural elements for future nanoscopic electronic components. Such fine wires have completely new electronic properties. However, apart from the non-trivial production ...

Can Nanotubes Help Your Garden Grow?

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Oct 06, 2009 | 3.9 / 5 (12) | 8

(PhysOrg.com) -- When we think of nanotubes, we often think of solar panels and physical science. However, it appears that nanotubes can also provide valuable help to plants as a fertilizer. Just add carbon ...