Chemists create nanomachines by breaking them apart

Feb 09, 2023 (Nanowerk News) "Every act of creation," Picasso famously noted, "is first an act of destruction." Taking this concept literally, researchers in Canada have now discovered that "breaking" molecular nanomachines basic to life can create new ones that work even better. Their findings are published in Nature Chemistry...

Make them thin enough, and antiferroelectric materials become ferroelectric

Feb 09, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Antiferroelectric materials have electrical properties that make them advantageous for use in high-density energy storage applications. Researchers have now discovered a size threshold beyond which antiferroelectrics lose those properties, becoming ferroelectric. “Electronic devices are getting smaller and smaller, which makes it increasingly important for us...

Brain-inspired computing system based on skyrmions ‘reads’ handwriting

Feb 09, 2023 (Nanowerk News) A computing device that uses tiny magnetic swirls to process data has been trained to recognize handwritten numbers ("Pattern recognition with neuromorphic computing using magnetic field–induced dynamics of skyrmions"). Developed by RIKEN researchers, the device shows that miniature magnetic whirlpools could be useful for realizing...

Nickel nanowires enhance microwave absorption

Feb 09, 2023 (Nanowerk News) In a paper published in Advanced Materials Interfaces ("Magnetic field-induced synthesis of one-dimensional nickel nanowires for enhanced microwave absorption"), a research team reported the synthesis of polyvinylpyrrolidone coated nickel nanowires (PNNWs) by solvothermal method assisted by high magnetic field, and applied to enhance microwave absorption....