Nanotechnology News – Latest Headlines

Graphene thin film transistors: Cutting down costs

Reduced graphene oxide provides a low-cost basis for the fabrication of flexible thin film transistors.

September 26, 2011 Read more

Producing 3D polymer structures from 2D patterns

Three-dimensional polymer structures can be produced by growing polymer brush structures from a printed two-dimensional pattern of polymer initiators.

September 26, 2011 Read more

AEROCOINs seeks the development of new superinsulating nanomaterials for the construction sector

AEROCOINs, an FP7 project coordinated by Tecnalia Research and Innovation, proposes to create a new superinsulating material by overcoming the two major obstacles which have prevented a wide-spread use of silica-based aerogel super-insulation components in buildings and construction.

September 26, 2011 Read more

Publication bubble threatens China's scientific advance

Chinese researchers published more than 1.2 million papers from 2006 to 2010 - second only to the United States. But these impressive numbers mask an uncomfortable fact: most of these papers are of low quality or have little impact. Citation per article (CPA) measures the quality and impact of papers. China's CPA is 1.47, the lowest figure among the top 20 publishing countries.

September 26, 2011 Read more

A heart of gold

New cardiac patch uses gold nanowires to enhance electrical signaling between cells, a promising step toward better treatment for heart-attack patients.

September 26, 2011 Read more

Better tissue repair with gold nanowires after heart attack

Gold nanowires in engineered patches enhance electrical signaling and contraction.

September 25, 2011 Read more

Remotely manipulating nanoparticles to lift, drag, release cargo

A research team has succeeded in remotely manipulating metal nanoparticles to lift, drag and release cargo in water.

September 24, 2011 Read more

Compression experiments lead to shocking results

Using acceleration 1 trillion times faster than a jet fighter in a maximum turn, researchers have gained new insight into dynamic compression of aluminum at ultrahigh strain rates.

September 23, 2011 Read more

Hints of universal behavior seen in exotic 3-atom states

A novel type of inter-particle binding predicted in 1970 and observed for the first time in 2006, is forming the basis for an intriguing kind of ultracold quantum chemistry. Chilled to nano-kelvin temperatures, cesium atoms---three at a time---come together to form a bound state hundreds or even thousands of times larger than individual atoms.

September 23, 2011 Read more

Edible carbon dioxide sponge made with all-natural nanostructures

A year ago Northwestern University chemists published their recipe for a new class of nanostructures made of sugar, salt and alcohol. Now, the same team has discovered the edible compounds can efficiently detect, capture and store carbon dioxide. And the compounds themselves are carbon-neutral.

September 23, 2011 Read more

A revolutionary conducting polymer for next generation of lithium-ion battery

A revolutionary conducting polymer enables the use of low-cost, high-energy silicon for the next generation of lithium-ion battery anodes.

September 23, 2011 Read more

Self-healing membranes - nature shows the way

Empa researchers have borrowed this trick from nature and developed a polymer foam surface coating with a closed cell construction which not only reduces the pressure loss after the membrane is damaged but also makes the inflatable structure more resistant and giving it a longer operational life.

September 23, 2011 Read more

Bimetallic nanoantenna separates colours of light

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have built a very simple nanoantenna that directs red and blue colours in opposite directions, even though the antenna is smaller than the wavelength of light.

September 23, 2011 Read more

Lessons from nature about solar light harvesting

Solar power could be harvested more efficiently and transported over long distances using tiny molecular circuits, according to research inspired by new insights into natural photosynthesis.

September 23, 2011 Read more

GCEP awards $3.5 million for energy research

Stanford University's Global Climate and Energy Project is awarding $3.5 million to researchers at five universities to develop new technologies that could dramatically improve energy storage capacity on the electric grid.

September 22, 2011 Read more

Controlling silicon evaporation improves graphene

Scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology have for the first time provided details of their "confinement controlled sublimation" technique for growing high-quality layers of epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide wafers. The technique relies on controlling the vapor pressure of gas-phase silicon in the high-temperature furnace used for fabricating the material.

September 22, 2011 Read more