Nanotechnology News – Latest Headlines

Fast and easy two-step creates new porous materials

Researchers simplified a synthesis process to make large-surface-area materials possible.

Nov 8th, 2016

Studying structure to understand function within 'material families'

Researchers are running structural studies using extensive numerical simulations on a supercomputer to study the motion of more than 500 atoms - in an effort to determine the forces on each atom and the total energy via density functional calculations.

Nov 8th, 2016

Major advance in solar cells made from cheap, easy-to-use perovskite

Physicists boost efficiency of material that holds promise as base for next-generation solar cells.

Nov 8th, 2016

Chemists develop world's first light-seeking synthetic nanorobot

With size comparable to a blood cell, those tiny robots have the potential to be injected into patients' bodies, helping surgeons to remove tumors and enabling more precise engineering of targeted medications.

Nov 8th, 2016

Chemistry driven by the sun, for a sustainable future

A group of scientists shows that it is possible, and even necessary for a sustainable future, to drive chemical reactions using solar energy.

Nov 8th, 2016

Attosecond physics: A zeptosecond stopwatch for the microcosm

For the first time ever, laser physicists have recorded an internal atomic event with an accuracy of a trillionth of a billionth of a second.

Nov 8th, 2016

New optofluidic technology taps power of diatoms to improve sensor performance

Researchers have combined one of nature's tiny miracles, the diatom, with a version of inkjet printing and optical sensing to create an exceptional sensing device that may be up to 10 million times more sensitive than some other commonly used approaches.

Nov 8th, 2016

Semiconductor-free microelectronics are now possible, thanks to metamaterials (w/video)

Engineers have fabricated the first semiconductor-free, optically-controlled microelectronic device. Using metamaterials, engineers were able to build a microscale device that shows a 1,000 percent increase in conductivity when activated by low voltage and a low power laser.

Nov 8th, 2016

Researchers use graphene templates to make new metal-oxide nanostructures

Researchers have found a new method for making ultrathin metal-oxide sheets containing intricate wrinkle and crumple patterns. In a study they show that the textured metal-oxide films have better performance when used as photocatalysts and as battery electrodes.

Nov 7th, 2016

Physicists gain insights into why materials break

New research suggests scientists could eventually help create materials that resist breaking or crack in a predictable fashion.

Nov 7th, 2016

Nanocellulose in medicine and green manufacturing

What if you could take one of the most abundant natural materials on earth and harness its strength to lighten the heaviest of objects, to replace synthetic materials, or use it in scaffolding to grow bone, in a fast-growing area of science in oral health care?

Nov 7th, 2016

Trickling electrons

Close to absolute zero, the particles exhibit their quantum nature.

Nov 7th, 2016

Nanoshells: Potential catalysts and cradles of life (w/video)

A way to coax simple, inorganic nanoparticles to spontaneously assemble into shells has been discovered, potentially paving the way for more efficient industrial chemical processing, gene delivery and clean-up of chemical contaminants in the environment, researchers say. And it explores how life may have started.