Oct 27, 2022 (Nanowerk News) The book “Current and Future Developments in Nanomaterials and Carbon Nanotubes: Applications of Nanomaterials in Energy Storage and Electronics” consists of 15 chapters that summarize the recent progress in applications of nanomaterials like metal oxides, carbon nano-onions, carbon nanotubes and graphene oxides-based hybrids, Photovoltaic (PV)...
Maximizing ion accessibility in nanoscale ion-channel MXene electrodes for zinc-ion energy storage
Oct 27, 2022 (Nanowerk News) With highly hydrophilic surfaces and superior metal conductivity, two-dimensional transition-metal carbides (MXenes) are highly competitive in the field of electrochemical energy storage. However, the easy stacking up inclination of interlayers would lead to reduced ion accessibility and available transport paths within MXenes, thus limiting their...
Inspired by nature: Silencing bacteria with nanoparticles
Oct 27, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Bacteria love moist surfaces. Once they have settled there, they do not live as solitary organisms but form larger communities that are embedded in a protective film. These biofilms are found on various surfaces, for example at home on light switches, in the bathroom, on...
Advanced nanoparticles provide new weapon to fight difficult cancers
Oct 27, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Nanoparticles, or tiny molecules that can deliver a payload of drug treatments and other agents, show great promise for treating cancers. Scientists can build them in various shapes with different materials, often as porous, crystal-like structures formed by a lattice of metal and organic compounds,...
Wood-based plastic may enable circular home furnishings and building materials
Oct 27, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Plastics used in home furnishings and constructions materials could be replaced with a new kind of wood-based degradable plastic with semi-structural strength. Unlike thermoplastic, the material can be broken down without harm to the environment, researchers at KTH have reported (Nature Communications, "Highly reinforced and...
Rare earth elements synthesis confirmed in neutron star mergers
Oct 27, 2022 (Nanowerk News) A group of researchers has, for the first time, identified rare earth elements produced by neutron star mergers. Details of this milestone were published in The Astrophysical Journal ("Lanthanide Features in Near-infrared Spectra of Kilonovae"). When two neutron stars spiral inwards and merge, the resulting...
Electrons that flow like liquids pave the way for robust quantum computers
Oct 27, 2022 (Nanowerk News) As you walk in a crowded shopping mall, it is easier to maintain social distancing when passing through a large atrium than when you are on an escalator. The same is true for electrons: if forced into circumstances where they must move in single file,...
Scientists discover material that can be made like a plastic but conducts like metal
Oct 26, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Scientists with the University of Chicago have discovered a way to create a material that can be made like a plastic, but conducts electricity more like a metal. The research, published in Nature ("Intrinsic glassy-metallic transport in an amorphous coordination polymer"), shows how to make...
Synthetic genetic circuits reprogram plant roots
Oct 26, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Controlling the activity of genes is an important step in engineering plants for improved bioenergy crops. This research developed synthetic genes that can be combined to achieve specific patterns of gene expression within the plant (Science, "Synthetic genetic circuits as a means of reprogramming plant...
Astrophysicists puzzling discovery challenges Newton’s laws of gravity
Oct 26, 2022 (Nanowerk News) An international team of astrophysicists has made a puzzling discovery while analyzing certain star clusters. The University of Bonn played a major role in the study. The finding challenges Newton's laws of gravity, the researchers write in their publication. Instead, the observations are consistent with...