Welcome to Nanowerk – Enjoy exploring the world's most comprehensive nanotechnology and nanoscience resources Nanowerk is the premier and most popular source for nanotechnology information. Apart from our unique Nanomaterial Database™, the most extensive industry directory, a packed conference calendar, complete nanotechnology news coverage, and business resources, we offer Nanowerk Spotlight: Our Nanowerk-exclusive nanotechnology feature looks behind the buzz and the hype. What's hot and new from around the globe. Some stories are more like an introduction to nanotechnology, some are about understanding current developments, and some are advanced reviews of leading edge research.
Apart from graphene, other two-dimensional structures are also known to have unique properties which researchers are eager to exploit for novel nanotechnology applications in nanoelectronics and sensor or energy storage technology. Particular interest has been on semiconducting materials, such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), an abundant material in nature, which exhibits the unique physical, optical and electrical properties correlated with its single-layer atomic layer structure. Researchers have now fabricated a mechanically exfoliated single-layer MoS2 based phototransistor and investigated its electric characteristics in detail. These new... nanotechnology article
Back in the early 2010s, food nanotechnology seemed to be a very hot topic and large industrial food companies were eager to explore new opportunities offered by nanotechnology applications. Then, as critical voices from NGOs and regulators appeared, the food industry went into silent mode. But that doesn't mean that food nanotechnologies aren't being researched and developed in labs around the world. Here is an overview of what nanotechnology applications are currently being researched, tested and in some cases already applied in food technology. It appears that we are still some way from seeing "Frankenfoods" in supermarket shelves. According... nanotechnology article
Despite offering technological innovation in biosensing and THz metamaterials design, plasmonics faces fundamental physical limitation in the visible frequency band due to high absorptive losses of metals. The major setback to practical applications of plasmonics is high radiative and/or dissipative losses of noble-metal nanostructures in the visible frequency range. Although metal nanostructures enable unrivalled high concentration of optical energy well beyond the diffraction limit, a significant part of this energy is converted into an inherently lossy kinetic motion of free electrons in metal, and is dissipated rapidly as heat. Researchers... nanotechnology article
Thermal interface materials (TIMs) are essential ingredients of thermal management. TIMs are applied between the heat source, e.g. computer chips, and heat sinks and their function is to fill the voids and grooves created by imperfect surface finish of mating surfaces. Conventional TIMs filled with thermally conductive particles require high volume fractions of filler particles. But now, researchers have achieved a record enhancement of the thermal conductivity of TIMs by addition of an optimized mixture of graphene and multilayer graphene. The thermal conductivity of the epoxy matrix material was increased by an impressive factor of 23 at the... nanotechnology article
OLEDs - organic light-emitting diodes - are full of promise for a range of practical applications. OLED technology is based on the phenomenon that certain organic materials emit light when fed by an electric current and it is already used in small electronic device displays in mobile phones, MP3 players, digital cameras, and also some TV screens. OLEDs in fiber form could lead to revolutionary applications by integrating optical and optoelectronic devices into textile. Combined with nanoelectronic devices, we might one day see flexible optical sensors and display screens woven into shirts and other garments. You could literally wear your next-generation... nanotechnology article
In a project funded by the Danish Environemntal Protection Agency, researchers have initiated the development of a screening tool called NanoRiskCat for the evaluation of exposure and hazard of nanomaterials contained in products for professional and private use. The project's aim was to identify, categorize and rank the possible exposure and hazards associated with a nanomaterial in a product. NanoRiskCat is using a stepwise approach based on existing data on the conventional form of the chemical as well as the data that may exist on the nanoform. However, the tool still needs to be further validated and tested on a series of various nano products... nanotechnology article
Fabrication conditions for nanoscale field-effect transistors (nano-FETs) have to meet very high requirements in order for these transistors to be used reliably as ultrasensitive and label-free molecular sensors in medical and environmental applications. Current fabrication routes for silicon-nanowire sensor construction involve high-cost, high-complexity - and often low-yield - top-down techniques such as e-beam lithography and focused ion beam. An alternative, and lower-cost, fabrication method is the use of pre-synthesized nanotubes or nanowires that are integrated into microstructures to form nano-FET sensors. Now, researchers have developed... nanotechnology article
In January 2007, China successfully tested an Anti-satellite (ASAT) missile system by destroying their own defunct LEO satellite, which generated huge amounts of space debris. This ASAT test raised worldwide concerns about the vulnerability of satellites and other space assets and possibility of triggering an arms race in space. In order to meet emerging challenges posed by such ASAT missile systems, military strategists and researchers are developing novel technologies to protect their space assets. In view of the above, Raytheon Company has developed a counter measure system using quantum dots to protect space assets such as satellites from... nanotechnology article
