Jul 06, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Solar-powered synthesis gas could recycle carbon dioxide into fuels and useful chemicals, an international team of researchers has shown. “If we can generate syngas from carbon dioxide utilizing only solar energy, we can use this as a precursor for methanol and other chemicals and fuels....
A four-stroke engine for atoms
Jul 06, 2022 (Nanowerk News) If you switch a bit in the memory of a computer and then switch it back again, you have restored the original state. There are only two states that can be called "0 and 1". However, an amazing effect has now been discovered at TU...
Physicists see electron whirlpools for the first time
Jul 06, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Though they are discrete particles, water molecules flow collectively as liquids, producing streams, waves, whirlpools, and other classic fluid phenomena. Not so with electricity. While an electric current is also a construct of distinct particles — in this case, electrons — the particles are so...
Gecko feet are coated in an ultra-thin layer of lipids that help them stay sticky
Jul 06, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Geckos are famous for having grippy feet that allow them to scale vertical surfaces with ease. They get this seeming superpower from millions of microscopic, hairlike structures on their toes. Now, scientists have zoomed in for an even closer look at those structures, called setae,...
Printing a new chapter in solar energy
Jul 06, 2022 (Nanowerk News) A simple and versatile nanoparticle ink could help next-generation perovskite solar cells to be printed at scale and become the dominant force in commercial photovoltaics. Made from tin oxide, the ink is created with just one key step at relatively low temperature using microwave technology,...
Shapeshifting robotic microswarm acts as a toothbrush, rinse, and dental floss in one
Jul 06, 2022 (Nanowerk News) A shapeshifting robotic microswarm may one day act as a toothbrush, rinse, and dental floss in one. The technology, developed by a multidisciplinary team at the University of Pennsylvania, is poised to offer a new and automated way to perform the mundane but critical daily...