Feb 04, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Dye pigments are often toxic, so researchers around the world have long been looking for effective ways to make non-toxic, recyclable and sustainable colors instead. The answer lies in nanotechnology and nature’s own methods. Dyes that humans make often contain substances that are harmful to...
Discovery unravels how atomic vibrations emerge in nanomaterials
Feb 04, 2022 (Nanowerk News) A hundred years of physics tells us that collective atomic vibrations, called phonons, can behave like particles or waves. When they hit an interface between two materials, they can bounce off like a tennis ball. If the materials are thin and repeating, as in a...
Making designer crystals? It’s easier with a new targeted particle bonding strategy
Feb 04, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Colloids are microparticles in a solution, meaning the particles are evenly distributed. Crystals made from colloids are valuable in a wide range of applications such as batteries, fuel cells, sensors, solar cells, and catalysts. Scientists have sought ways to assemble these crystals into larger structures...
Too many disk galaxies than theory allows
Feb 04, 2022 (Nanowerk News) The Standard Model of Cosmology describes how the universe came into being according to the view of most physicists. Researchers at the University of Bonn have now studied the evolution of galaxies within this model, finding considerable discrepancies with actual observations. The University of St....
With a little help, new optical material assembles itself
Feb 04, 2022 (Nanowerk News) A research team led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has demonstrated tiny concentric nanocircles that self-assemble into an optical material with precision and efficiency. Their work overcomes a longstanding problem in nanoscience – molecular impurities. Illustration of small organic molecules, block copolymer-based supramolecules,...
Researchers report hyper-efficient method for removing carbon dioxide from air
Feb 04, 2022 (Nanowerk News) University of Delaware engineers have demonstrated a way to effectively capture 99% of carbon dioxide from air using a novel electrochemical system powered by hydrogen. It is a significant advance for carbon dioxide capture and could bring more environmentally friendly fuel cells closer to market....
Puffy planets lose atmospheres, become super Earths
Feb 04, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Exoplanets come in shapes and sizes that are not found in our solar system. These include small gaseous planets called mini-Neptunes and rocky planets several times Earth's mass called super-Earths. Now, astronomers have identified two different cases of "mini-Neptune" planets that are losing their puffy...
Laminating organic photovoltaics onto curved surfaces
Feb 04, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Heat-shrinkable technology developed by a RIKEN team could allow solar cells and touch sensors to be attached to objects whose shapes make them challenging to laminate (Advanced Materials, "Developing the nondevelopable: Creating curved-surface electronics from nonstretchable devices"). Recent studies have indicated that curved solar-cell panels...
‘Seeing’ non-uniformities in 2D materials may lead to new medical sensors
Feb 02, 2022 (Nanowerk News) A novel and better approach at detecting non-uniformities in the optical properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials could potentially open the door to new uses for these materials, such as the application of 2D materials for drug detection, according to a team of researchers. “The Two-Dimensional...
New lightweight material is stronger than steel
Feb 02, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Using a novel polymerization process, MIT chemical engineers have created a new material that is stronger than steel and as light as plastic, and can be easily manufactured in large quantities. The new material is a two-dimensional polymer that self-assembles into sheets, unlike all other...