Technology Update

Ultra-thin TiO2 nanotubes with controllable parameters (diameter and length) can be fabricated under high field anodization, leading to high-speed film growth. In addition, an annealing process can be used to obtain a monodisperse and double-pass TiO2 nanotubular layer with a gradient pore diameter and ultrathin tube wall. The approach is simple and cost-effective and the […]

Researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology and the University of Tokyo have provided a proof-of-concept demonstration of the world’s first “single-molecule level separation and correction” of biomolecules. Single-molecule sorting into left, right and middle channels Separation and separation-based analysis of molecules are fundamentally important techniques in chemistry, biotechnology, etc. With these techniques, though, issues concerning […]

The 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded jointly to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov “for groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene”. Both physicists work at the University of Manchester in the UK. Andre Geim In a telephone interview with Swedish journalists minutes after the announcement, Geim said that he was answering e-mails […]

Researchers in Switzerland have demonstrated an innovative way of trapping tiny objects using electrostatic fields. The device could allow scientists to scrutinize much smaller biological molecules than is possible with the more established trapping technique known as “optical tweezers”. The mechanism underpinning electrostatic tweezers The ability to hold individual molecules in fixed positions can allow […]

Researchers at Stanford University in the US have shown that they can permanently alter the electronic properties of carbon nanotube network transistors by contacting a self-assembled monolayer to the devices. The technique is a new way to tune the behaviour of integrated nanotube films and could ultimately lead to better and more reliable device operation. […]

Researchers in the US are the first to use epitaxy to make nanometre-sized single crystals. Epitaxy is a standard process used in semiconductor fabrication and therefore the breakthrough could lead to the production of nanostructured thin films for a wide variety of applications, including solar cells. How to grow single-crystal nanopillars Most nanostructures made from […]

Northwestern University researchers have made a new type of diffractive microlens based on 2D arrays of circular nanoholes. The new lenses can focus light of all colours in the visible spectrum and broadband white light too. The devices are much easier to make than conventional diffractive and “plasmonic” lenses and can be fabricated in their […]

Heat can be conducted across a nanometre-sized vacuum gap – something that was deemed impossible until now. So say researchers at the Air Force Research Laboratory in Ohio who have found that the heat is transferred via an effect called “phonon tunnelling” in which quantized molecular vibrations, called phonons, appear to traverse the forbidden zone. […]

Alan Shalleck President NanoClarity LLC Abstract: Profitable commercialization of nanotechnology world wide is finally happening, and few of you are acting within this sea change with your own accelerated commercial push. Nor is the funding industry recognizing the nanotech “industry” evolution by adding megadollars for production to the still available stimulus funding. Wake up. You’ve […]

National Science Foundation awards more than $12.5M to study societal impacts of emerging technologies October 12, 2010 The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently renewed two important cooperative agreements totaling more than $12.5 million over five years. These awards leverage previous investments for studying the ethical, legal, economic and policy implications of the relatively new, nature-altering […]

For years solar companies have wanted to make lightweight, flexible panels that are cheap to ship and easy to install (by unrolling them over large areas). But they’ve been held up by a lack of good and affordable glass substitutes. Now 3M thinks it’s found a solution. This week the company unveiled a plastic film […]

Prince Muqrin: Dedicated people make universities greatRIYADH: Prince Muqrin Bin Abdul Aziz, chief of General Intelligence, launched the King Abdullah Institute for Nanotechnology in Riyadh’s Techno Valley, on behalf of King Abdullah, Sunday. Prince Muqrin said that people are what make universities “great.” “However beautiful the buildings are and however advanced the equipment is, universities […]

Many non-governmental organizations have reacted against the rapid introduction of nanomaterials in the market. They ask questions about potential toxic effects and advise authorities to apply new approaches Non-governmental organizations around the world share concern for finding nanomaterials with potential harmful effects in stores. Research shows different nanomaterials cause injures to animal models and it […]

Products coated in titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nTiO₂) shine pure white. So since the 1990s manufacturers have added the chemicals to a wide range of consumer products, such as cosmetics, paints, sunscreens, and even foods. Now nTiO₂ often discharges into open waterways through treated sewage effluent. A new study reports that this nanomaterial can stress photosynthetic […]

An ultrafast optical nanoswitch that can be triggered chemically or biologically has been introduced by researchers in the US. The switch consists of one semiconductor quantum dot placed in the vicinity of a metallic nanoparticle. Its main task is to convert ultra-small variations in the refractive index of the environment, caused by chemical or biological […]

It has long been believed that the magnetic moments of fine superparamagnetic Mn3O4 nanoparticles block just a few degrees below this material’s Néel temperature. Researchers from the University of Texas at El Paso disagree. Using ac magnetic susceptibility methods, the team has recorded data that unambiguously demonstrate the non-dynamic character of the magnetic behaviour in […]

Super-aligned CNTs (SACNTs) can be fabricated into highly conductive, flexible and nanoporous sheets to replace metal current collectors in oxide-based supercapacitors.

Many studies have reported surface roughness measurements using contact methods such as atomic force microscopy (AFM). However, although this approach can determine surface roughness with sub-nanometer resolution, it is a time-consuming process. Now, a simple non-contact method, based on the detection of scattered light intensity during near-field etching, has been revealed that provides in situ […]

Researchers in the US have made the first high-frequency AC “supercapacitors” containing graphene electrodes. The devices, which are much smaller than conventional capacitors, could be used in applications like computer processing units and other tiny integrated circuits. Capacitors are devices that store electric charge. “Supercapacitors”, more accurately known as electric double-layer capacitors (DLCs) or electrochemical […]

This week I was at the scientific opening of the Centre for Nanoscience and Quantum Information (NSQI) at the University of Bristol. The event coincided with the Bristol Nanoscience Symposium 2010, and featured great talks from some of the pioneers of nanoscience and nanotechnology. Officially open: Centre for Nanoscience and Quantum Information At the opening […]

Reduced graphene oxide can strongly absorb infrared radiation according to new work by researchers in Dallas and New Jersey. The unexpected result might lead to a wide variety of high-performance nanoelectronics applications in the future, such as electron emitters, bandpass filters, thermal-infrared sensors for night vision and solar absorbers for harvesting sunlight. Graphene is a […]