Nanoparticles have shown a lot of promise in biomedical applications. However, accumulation of nanoparticles in the liver is a major concern, and may be one of the greatest barriers to the widespread adoption of nanoparticles in the clinic. This is especially true for metallic nanoparticles, since the long-term effects of their accumulation in the liver has not been widely studied.
A team of researchers has looked to nature...
Nov 18, 2019
Read more
Radio-frequency wireless sensors are essential components of smart objects and internet-of-things components. However, these passive microsensors suffer from poor quality of data and sensitivity due to the environments they operate in and the need for sensors with extremely small footprints. Researchers have recently shown that a wireless system locked to an exceptional point (EP) can enhance the sensitivity of passive wireless...
Nov 12, 2019
Read more
The goal of the electronics industry has always been to build durable devices with stable performance that last a very long time. 'Transient electronics', however, are designed with the exact opposite goal: to dissolve harmlessly into their surroundings after functioning for a certain amount of time. The fabrication process and the in vivo powering of medical implants that are only made from biodegradable materials are two...
Nov 11, 2019
Read more
New work provides insight into the control over phase and ordering during halide perovskite epitaxial growth and expands the selection of photoactive materials for growing epitaxial halide perovskites that can be exploited in high-performance electronic applications. Hybrid organic-inorganic halide perovskite has attracted tremendous attention as an exceptional new class of semiconductors for solar harvesting, light emission,...
Nov 07, 2019
Read more
As an advanced fabrication technique, 3D printing has been increasingly utilized to fabricate complex 3D objects via digitally controlled deposition of phase change and reactive materials and solvent-based inks. When it comes to batteries, 3D printing has several significant advantages compared with conventional battery fabrication technologies and it opens new avenues for the rapid fabrication of 3D-structured batteries with...
Nov 04, 2019
Read more
Graphyne is a little known sibling of graphene. Simulations have shown that graphyne's conduction electrons travel extremely fast - as they do in graphene - but in only one direction. That property could help researchers design faster transistors and other electronic components that process one-way current. Graphyne is distinct in being composed of sp and sp2 carbon atoms, which contrasts with graphene containing only sp2...
Oct 31, 2019
Read more
The basic idea of valleytronics is to pass information through two-dimensional (2D) and other very thin conducting materials using the energy valleys - or energy extrema - in their conduction and valence bands. Information can be transmitted by controlling an electron's association with a valley - a manipulation that can be achieved using electric fields, magnetic fields and circularly polarized light. Researchers now have...
Oct 24, 2019
Read more
Hierarchical structures, spanning multiple length scales from nano- to macroscales, are very common in nature; but only in recent years have they been systematically studied in materials science, in order to understand the specific effects they can have on the mechanical properties of various systems. Researchers have developed a straightforward, cost-efficient, and fast route to fabricate hierarchical porous structures in...
Oct 22, 2019
Read more
The increase in production and applications of metal-oxide nanoparticles (MO-NPs) raises concerns for the environment as well as for human health. The terrestrial environment, especially soil, is expected to be the largest repository for environmentally released MO-NPs. Therefore, the accurate determination of environmentally released MO-NPs is imperative to assess the real-time scenario of toxicity to soil biota and the threat...
Oct 21, 2019
Read more
