Jan 31, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Quantum dots are a kind of artificial atom: just a few nanometres in size and made of semiconductor materials, they can emit light of a specific colour or even single photons, which is important for quantum technologies. The discoverers and pioneers of the commercial production...
Scientists make breakthrough in quantum materials research
Jan 31, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Researchers at the University of California, Irvine and Los Alamos National Laboratory, publishing in Nature Communications ("Controllable strain-driven topological phase transition and dominant surface-state transport in HfTe5"), describe the discovery of a new method that transforms everyday materials like glass into materials scientists can use...
Bright galaxies put dark matter to the test
Jan 31, 2024 (Nanowerk News) For the past year and a half, the James Webb Space Telescope has delivered astonishing images of distant galaxies formed not long after the Big Bang, giving scientists their first glimpses of the infant universe. Now, a group of astrophysicists has upped the ante: Find...
Shape-shifting robot shifts between driving and flying in an instant
Jan 31, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Biologically inspired robotics aims to replicate the extraordinary versatility found in nature. Chameleons alter skin pigmentation to camouflage against predators. Birds morph wings for both aerial agility and diving to depths. The key to survival across species lies in adapting form and function to fluidly...
Engineering viruses to kill deadly pathogens
Jan 31, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Northwestern University researchers have successfully coaxed a deadly pathogen to destroy itself from the inside out. In the new study, researchers modified DNA from a bacteriophage or “phage,” a type of virus that infects and replicates inside of bacteria. Then, the research team put the...
Microfluidic vortex flows spur advances in robust cellular bioreactors
Jan 31, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Immobilizing fragile yet functional biomolecules within the microscopic confines of lab-on-a-chip devices has confounded researchers seeking to create efficient microfluidic platforms for diverse biochemical applications from biosensing to biocatalysis. The enduring challenge stems from biomaterials’ susceptibility to irreversible deformation when adhered using stationary methods ill-suited...
Antiviral color nanocoating technology
Jan 31, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Since the onset of COVID-19, we've become accustomed to seeing antiviral films attached to elevator buttons and public transportation handles. However, conventional antiviral films are made by mixing antiviral metal particles with polymers. Due to the manufacturing process, only a very small fraction of these...
A faster, more efficient imaging system for nanoparticles
Jan 30, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Teams led by professors Jinyang Liang and Fiorenzo Vetrone from the Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) have developed a new system for imaging nanoparticles. It consists of a high-precision, short-wave infrared imaging technique capable of capturing...
Showcasing precision nanocluster formation with molecular traps
Jan 30, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Nanoclusters (NCs) are crystalline materials that typically exist on the nanometer scale. They are composed of atoms or molecules in combination with metals like cobalt, nickel, iron, and platinum, and have found several interesting applications across diverse fields, including drug delivery, catalysis, and water purification....
Researchers showcase new breakthroughs for unlocking the potential of plasmonic nanomaterials
Jan 30, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Plasmonics are special optical phenomena that are understood as interactions between light and matter and possess diverse shapes, material compositions, and symmetry-related behavior. The design of such plasmonic structures at the nanoscale level can pave the way for optical materials that respond to the orientation...