Feb 09, 2024 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Nanoparticles exhibit intriguing size-dependent optoelectronic properties with applications across biomedicine, energy, sensing and more. However, the exquisite precision synthesizing discrete nanoparticles contrasts sharply with immense difficulty manipulating them over significant lengths. Researchers worldwide have struggled for decades to efficiently organize nanoparticles across wide areas or...
The humble bandage gets a smartphone-powered electronic upgrade
Feb 09, 2024 (Nanowerk News) For millions suffering from chronic lesions, burns and post-surgical complications, their wounds can mean persistent pain, risk of infection, and reduced quality of life. And while modern medicine has tremendously expanded treatment options, there has been minimal innovation in one ubiquitous remedy – the humble...
Towards a better way of releasing hydrogen stored in hydrogen boride sheets
Feb 09, 2024 (Nanowerk News) The looming threat of climate change has motivated scientists worldwide to look for cleaner alternatives to fossil fuels, and many believe hydrogen is our best bet. As an environmentally friendly energy resource, hydrogen (H2) can be used in vehicles and electric power plants without releasing...
Deep learning for real-time molecular imaging
Feb 09, 2024 (Nanowerk News) National University of Singapore (NUS) researchers have demonstrated that deep learning allows them to observe the dynamics of single molecules more precisely and with less data than traditional evaluation methods. They used convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to observe the movement of single molecules in artificial...
Advanced measurements unravel nanoscale phenomena
Feb 07, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Semiconductor 2D materials are a few atoms thick, and some of them exhibit localised emission, where light is emitted from such a small part of the layer that only one photon at a time is produced. This localised emission has unique properties and is vital...
Nanomaterial biosensor for fast and cost-effective pathogen detection
Feb 07, 2024 (Nanowerk News) The ability to detect diseases at an early stage or even predict their onset would be of tremendous benefit to doctors and patients alike. A research team led by Dr. Larysa Baraban at the at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) develops intelligent, miniaturized biosensor devices and...
A new ‘metal swap’ method for creating lateral heterostructures of 2D materials
Feb 08, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Electronically conducting two-dimensional (2D) materials are currently hot topics of research in both physics and chemistry owing to their unique properties that have the potential to open up new avenues in science and technology. Moreover, the combination of different 2D materials, called heterostructures, expands the...
Testing the evolution of the Universe with galaxy clusters
Feb 08, 2024 (Nanowerk News) 100 billion – there are at least that many stars in our Milky Way. It seems like an unimaginable number. Yet astrophysicists study structures in our universe that are far bigger than galaxies alone. These clusters of galaxies look tiny in the images telescopes give...
Nanofiber bandages fight infection, speed healing
Feb 08, 2024 (Nanowerk News) An interdisciplinary team of Cornell researchers has identified an innovative way to harness the antioxidant and antibacterial properties of the botanical compound lawsone to make nanofiber-coated cotton bandages that fight infection and help wounds heal more quickly. Their findings, published in the International Journal of...
When nanoplastics are not what they seem
Feb 08, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Plastic household items and clothing made of synthetic fibers release microplastics: particles less than five millimetres in size that can enter the environment unnoticed. A small proportion of these particles are so small that they are measured in nanometers. Such nanoplastics are the subject of...