Finding the Goldilocks zone for multilayer silicene growth

Reports of the element silicon – a king pin of the electronics industry for the past five decades – in the topical form of a 2D material have animated the community. Yet the discovery is not without dispute. While studies of multilayer ‘silicene’ report many intriguing properties, debate has flared over the ability to realize […]

Nanoparticles carrying rapamycin help lower immune response to biologic drugs

Biodegradable poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles carrying a small molecule immunomodulatory agent called rapamycin can help patients become more tolerant to biologic drugs. This is the new finding from researchers at Selecta Biosciences, Inc. in Watertown, Massachusetts, who say that the combination could help prevent the formation of antidrug antibodies in patients and even allow them to […]

“Ostwald ripening” improves solar cells

The Ostwald ripening process can be used to make large-grain, high-quality perovskite thin films from lower-quality, hole-ridden ones. So say researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) in China and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado in the US who have used their films to make high-performance solar cells with nearly 20% power-conversion […]

Nanostructures harness surface tension for macroscale applications

Advances in nanofabrication have shifted surface tension engineering from the realms of chemistry to nanomechanics. As CJ Kim told attendees at the Nano Korea 2016 plenaries, nanomechanical surface tension design has a huge role to play in a range of technologies from ink-jet printing and superhydrophobic surfaces, to drag reduction in boat design…… http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/65793

Nanoswimmer goes for gold

Researchers at the Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems at ETH Zurich in Switzerland have made a new type of nanoswimmer with a flexible tail that is propelled by acoustic waves. The nanobot might be used in a host of application areas, including drug delivery, non-invasive surgery, material assembly, lithography and even water treatment……… http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/65829 […]

Tiny laser makes ‘twisted light’

A tiny laser that emits “twisted light” has been unveiled by researchers in the US and Italy. Measuring just 9 μm across, the semiconductor device can produce a beam of light that carries orbital angular momentum. While improvements are needed before the laser can be commercialized, it could someday be used to boost the bandwidth of […]

Field effect improves quantum capacitors and vertical transistors

A team of researchers in the UK and Switzerland has unveiled a new theoretical framework to quantify how transparent a 2D material is to an electrostatic field. The theory will help physicists and device engineers design better quantum capacitors (an array of subatomic power storage components that can store high-energy densities, for example, in batteries) […]

TMDC nanoflakes makes new type of photosynthetic solar cell

Tungsten diselenide nanoflakes can be used to chemically convert carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide in an ionic liquid. This is the new finding from researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago whose “photosynthetic” device works using only sunlight. The new type of solar cell could be used to remove carbon from the atmosphere and […]

Biohybrids combine the best of both worlds

Devices that combine inorganic and biological components are sought for a number of applications including healthcare monitoring, high-efficiency solar cells and beyond-silicon bioprocessors. In his presentation at Nano Korea 2016 earlier this month, Jeong Woo Choi reported some of the progress in this field, from cell-based nanobioelectronic devices to an artificial “raybot”……. http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/65750 Bioinspired concept […]

MoS2 nanopores make tiny generators

Researchers at EPFL in Switzerland and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the US have used single-layer molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) nanopores as osmotic nanopower generators. The devices, which produce a large, osmotically induced current with a power density of up to 106 watts per square metre, can be used to power a MoS2transistor, thus […]

Neural networks provide deep insights into the mysteries of water

Artificial neural networks have been used to simulate interactions between water molecules and provide important clues about the remarkable properties of this live-giving substance. The study has been carried out by physicists in Germany and Austria, who used the networks to perform simulations 100,000 times faster than possible with conventional computers. Their work offers explanations […]

Growing atomically thin transistors and circuits

Researchers in the US have succeeded in chemically assembling the electronic junctions between a 2D semiconductor (molybdenum sulphide) and graphene, and have made an atomic transistor with good properties. They have also assembled the heterostructures into 2D logic circuits, such as an NMOS inverter with a voltage gain as high as 70…………. http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/65627 The graphene–MoS2 […]

Carbon nanotube mesh helps reorganise neural tissue

A 3D artificial scaffold network made from multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) could help locally “rewire” nerve tissue. This is the new finding from researchers in Italy and Spain, who say that the technology could be exploited as a neural interface to help repair nerve fibres after injury or disease……. http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/65631 3D carbon nanotube framework scaffolds […]

Boron nitride nanotube production takes the heat – news from Nanotech France 2016

Although using catalysts in production leaves materials prone to impurities, with the extreme temperatures sometimes required for catalyst-free synthesis, their use has seemed unavoidable. Not according to BNNT, a company whose catalyst-free boron nitride nanotube synthesis at the whopping temperature of 4000 °C won this year’s NASA Invention of the Year Award…….. http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/65309 Production engineer […]

Nanocavity-molecule coupling becomes stronger

By making an optical cavity as small as just 40 cubic nanometres in volume, researchers in the UK have succeeded in mixing light with the optical transition of a single molecule placed inside the cavity so that the two become completely indistinguishable. Such intense cavity/single-molecule coupling could be used to probe the quantum properties of […]

Garnet nanofibres improve lithium batteries

Researchers at the University of Maryland have made the first flexible, solid-state membrane based on a 3D lithium-ion conducting ceramic nanofibre network. The membrane could replace conventional flammable organic liquid electrolyte systems in lithium-ion batteries…….. http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/65338 Solid-state electrolyte

Graphene nanoplatelets make good metal-free catalysts

Metal-free carbon-based electrocatalysts for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are active enough in one type of commonly used (cobalt-based) electrolyte but not in another (iodide-based) one. Now, researchers at UNIST in Korea say they may have overcome this problem with their new catalyst made from edge-selenated graphene nanoplatelets, which has a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) […]

Black phosphorus absorbs light in the infrared

Researchers in Ireland have succeeded in making few-layer black phosphorus (a 2D semiconductor with a direct bandgap that stretches across the near to the mid-infrared) using a simple and scalable liquid-phase exfoliation technique. They have also measured how the material absorbs light. The near to mid-infrared wavelength region is becoming increasingly important for a wide […]

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