http://www.physorg.com/nanotech-news/nano-materials/ en-us PhysOrg Team PhysOrg.com provides the latest news on nanomaterials, nanotechnology, nanotech and nanoscience. A University of Pittsburgh team overcame a major hurdle plaguing the development of nanomaterials such as those that could lead to more efficient catalysts used to produce hydrogen and render car exhaust less toxic. The researchers reported Nov. 29 in Nature Materials the first demonstration of high-temperature stability in metallic nanoparticles, the vaunted next-generation materials hampered by a vulnerability to extreme heat. http://www.physorg.com/news178810410.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-11-30T13:34:21-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- Mention of arsenic poisoning usually brings to mind underhanded murder. However, the danger of arsenic poisoning from contaminated drinking water is far greater. Low concentrations of arsenic are found in nearly all soils and thus also in ground water. About 140 million people worldwide possibly drink water that contains arsenic concentrations above the WHO-recommended limit of 10 ppb (parts per billion). http://www.physorg.com/news178347619.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-11-25T05:02:58-07:00 Novel nanomaterials developed at Rensselaer were sent into orbit on Nov. 16 aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis. http://www.physorg.com/news178304620.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-11-24T17:04:10-07:00 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 photolithography and a self-folding process driven by capillary interactions. http://www.physorg.com/news178212895.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-11-23T16:10:13-07:00 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" specific arrays of holes in their structure. Physicists at Empa, Switzerland, together with chemists from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, Germany, have, for the first time, succeeded in synthesizing a graphene-like porous polymer with atomic accuracy. http://www.physorg.com/news177871833.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-11-19T16:53:34-07:00 (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 nanotube-based supercapacitors that could do just this. http://www.physorg.com/news177865593.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-11-19T15:07:50-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- First, it was the soccer-ball-shaped molecules dubbed buckyballs. Then it was the cylindrically shaped nanotubes. Now, the hottest new material in physics and nanotechnology is graphene: a remarkably flat molecule made of carbon atoms arranged in hexagonal rings much like molecular chicken wire. http://www.physorg.com/news177689867.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-11-17T14:22:12-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- The freezing of suspensions of particles is not always a uniform phenomenon; in certain conditions it leads to a modification of the redistribution of particles and the growth of crystals. http://www.physorg.com/news177618314.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-11-16T18:26:05-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- Novel nanomaterials developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are scheduled to blast off into orbit on November 16 aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis. http://www.physorg.com/news177271030.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-11-12T17:58:36-07:00 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has exclusively licensed to Porifera Inc. of Hayward a carbon nanotube technology that can be used to desalinate water and can be applied to other liquid based separations. http://www.physorg.com/news177258803.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-11-12T16:40:01-07:00 Silicon nanowires are attracting significant attention from the electronics industry due to the drive for ever-smaller electronic devices, from cell phones to computers. The operation of these future devices, and a wide array of additional applications, will depend on the mechanical properties of these nanowires. New research from North Carolina State University shows that silicon nanowires are far more resilient than their larger counterparts, a finding that could pave the way for smaller, sturdier nanoelectronics, nanosensors, light-emitting diodes and other applications. http://www.physorg.com/news177171851.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-11-11T14:24:43-07:00 (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 why some transistors made of organic crystals don't perform well, yielding ideas about how to make them work better. http://www.physorg.com/news177103252.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-11-10T19:37:05-07:00 (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 a hydrogen leak has been detected. One small malfunction in the sensing device can mean millions of dollars lost. http://www.physorg.com/news177096977.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-11-10T19:10:02-07:00 (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" polymers directly inside them. The method has the potential to be significantly cheaper than the process used to make today`s commercial solar cells. http://www.physorg.com/news177092235.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-11-10T16:17:54-07:00 (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 that are hundreds of meters long, yet just 50 micrometers thick. The researchers say there is no limit to how long the nanotubes can be made, which opens the doors to large-scale applications including using nanotubes as electrical transmission lines and as the basis of structural materials. http://www.physorg.com/news177075782.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-11-10T12:20:01-07:00 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 for self-assembly with the remarkable electronic properties of carbon nanotubes, thereby suggesting a solution to the long-standing problem of organizing carbon nanotubes into nanoscale electronic circuits. http://www.physorg.com/news177073039.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-11-10T11:11:43-07:00 (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. http://www.physorg.com/news177062908.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-11-10T08:10:01-07:00 (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 and Rice Universities. http://www.physorg.com/news177006900.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-11-09T17:20:09-07:00 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 the compound in a different way, the researchers have turned it into a thin film insulator, which instead blocks the flow of electricity, but can induce large electric currents elsewhere. The material, called solution-deposited beta-alumina, could have important applications in transistor technology and in devices such as electronic books. http://www.physorg.com/news176994899.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-11-09T13:19:47-07:00 (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 reactions. The study is a step toward the goal of designing cheaper, more efficient catalysts to increase energy production, reduce Earth-warming gases and manufacture a wide variety of goods from medicines to gasoline. http://www.physorg.com/news176373205.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-11-05T14:00:03-07:00 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 substrate material at eight times faster than the speed of sound. http://www.physorg.com/news176637826.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-11-05T11:10:02-07:00 (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 distribution and nanoelectronics. The result of a nine-year program, the method builds upon tried-and-true processes that chemical firms have used for decades to produce plastics. The research is available online in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. http://www.physorg.com/news176396559.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-11-02T15:04:34-07:00 Converting sunlight to electricity might no longer mean large panels of photovoltaic cells atop flat surfaces like roofs. http://www.physorg.com/news176389079.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-11-02T12:59:21-07:00 (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 are arranged in crystals of repeating, three -- dimensional patterns. http://www.physorg.com/news176214864.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-10-31T13:34:52-07:00 (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 with the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory who have found a simple and yet powerfully robust way to induce nanoparticles to assemble themselves into complex arrays. http://www.physorg.com/news175450958.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-10-22T17:23:20-07:00 (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 the positions of satellites and planetary probes. http://www.physorg.com/news175365546.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-10-21T18:30:01-07:00 (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 that may one day serve as drug-delivery vehicles to combat disease and perhaps be used in small batteries that store and release charge. http://www.physorg.com/news175276626.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-10-20T16:57:56-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- North Carolina State University engineers have created a new material that would allow a fingernail-size computer chip to store the equivalent of 20 high-definition DVDs or 250 million pages of text, far exceeding the storage capacities of today`s computer memory systems. http://www.physorg.com/news175252581.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-10-20T10:18:06-07:00 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 because photovoltaic cells remain expensive and relatively inefficient. http://www.physorg.com/news175195934.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-10-19T18:32:55-07:00 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new alternative energy technology relies on the element most associated with climate change: carbon. http://www.physorg.com/news175182633.html Nanotechnology - Nanomaterials 2009-10-19T14:52:08-07:00