Apr 26, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Hollow structured nanomaterials are promising in the fields of adsorption, catalysis, energy storage and drug delivery/controlled release, owing to their high porosity, large surface area and abundant inner void space. However, in few unique applications where a large species is involved, the complete hollow shell...
Measuring the wettability of graphene and other 2D materials
Apr 26, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Wettability of the material is the ability of a liquid to maintain contact with a solid surface, and it is proportional to hydrophilicity and inversely proportional to hydrophobicity. It is one of the most important properties of a solid, and understanding the wettability of different...
Researchers develop a paper-thin loudspeaker (w/video)
Apr 26, 2022 (Nanowerk News) MIT engineers have developed a paper-thin loudspeaker that can turn any surface into an active audio source. This thin-film loudspeaker produces sound with minimal distortion while using a fraction of the energy required by a traditional loudspeaker. The hand-sized loudspeaker the team demonstrated, which weighs...
Electronics can grow on trees thanks to nanocellulose paper semiconductors
Apr 26, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Semiconducting nanomaterials with 3D network structures have high surface areas and lots of pores that make them excellent for applications involving adsorbing, separating, and sensing. However, simultaneously controlling the electrical properties and creating useful micro- and macro-scale structures, while achieving excellent functionality and end-use versatility,...
More evidence that the building blocks of life on Earth came from meteorites
Apr 26, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Pyrimidine nucleobases that are necessary for building DNA or RNA may have been delivered to Earth by carbon-rich meteorites, suggests a paper published in Nature Communications ("Identifying the wide diversity of extraterrestrial purine and pyrimidine nucleobases in carbonaceous meteorites"). Two types of chemical building blocks,...
Scientists use recycled glass waste as sand replacement in 3D printing (w/video)
Apr 26, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Researchers from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed the capability to use recycled glass in 3D printing, opening doors to a more environmentally sustainable way of building and construction. Glass is one material that can be 100 per cent recycled with no reduction...
Nanotechnology-enabled low-cost, point-of-care, self-test of sodium in the comfort of your home
Apr 26, 2022 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Researchers from the Central University of Kerala, India, have developed a point-of-care, portable, rapid, and cost-effective test for clinical diagnosis of sodium, which uses a paper printed colorimetric sensor that is based on Curcumin-functionalized copper nanoparticles. Sodium is a vitally important electrolyte present in all...
Researchers use muonic x-rays to find elemental makeup of samples without damaging them
Apr 26, 2022 (Nanowerk News) By combining technologies originally designed for high-energy particle accelerators and astronomy observations, researchers can now for the first time analyze the elemental makeup of samples without damaging them, which could be useful for researchers working in other fields such as archaeology, reports a new study...
Scientists identify chemical markers that may unlock future therapeutic uses of mRNA
Apr 26, 2022 (Nanowerk News) In recent years, messenger RNA, DNA’s close cousin in life’s complex process of going from a string of genetic blueprints to fully functioning organism, has received intense scrutiny in the scientific and medical community for the role it can play in creating next-generation vaccines, cancer...
Towards sustainable, self-powered energy devices with coconuts
Apr 25, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Coconut husk (CH), a solid biowaste derived from coconut, is typically used in household items, such as doormats. Recent studies have shown that CH is rich in lignocellulose, which can make for energy-related applications of CH. To this end, a global team of researchers, in...