Nov 27, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Two-dimensional materials such as graphene are not only ultrathin, but also extremely sensitive. Researchers have therefore been trying for years to develop highly sensitive biosensors that utilise this property. Graphene-based field-effect transistors, for example, could register the tiniest changes in the electronic properties caused by...
Electrically defined quantum dots in zinc oxide
Nov 26, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Researchers have successfully created electrically defined quantum dots in zinc oxide (ZnO) heterostructures, marking a significant milestone in the development of quantum technologies. Details of their breakthrough were published in the journal Nature Communications ("Parity-independent Kondo effect of correlated electrons in electrostatically defined ZnO quantum...
Breakthrough in carbon nanotube applications for battery dry process
Nov 26, 2024 (Nanowerk News) A research team led by Dr. Joong Tark Han at the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) Nano Hybrid Technology Research Center has developed the world’s first technology for producing highly dispersible carbon nanotube (CNT) powder, which can be easily applicable to environmentally-friendly secondry battery dry...
Exploring optical cooling in semiconductor quantum dots
Nov 26, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Cooling systems are an integral part of many modern technologies, as heat tends to wear down materials and decrease performance in several ways. In many cases, however, cooling can be an inconvenient and energy-intensive process. Accordingly, scientists have been seeking innovative and efficient methods to...
Scientists pioneer novel heat-to-electricity conversion
Nov 26, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Thermoelectric materials, which convert heat into electricity, are valuable tools for capturing waste heat and turning it into usable electricity. These materials are especially useful in industries and vehicles where engines produce a lot of waste heat, improving energy efficiency by converting it into additional...
How catalysts secretly lose their stability
Nov 26, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are less stable as catalysts than previously thought but remain highly active. COFs are promising designer catalysts, for example for the sustainable production of chemicals and fuels. Their properties can be adjusted very specifically to catalyze a desired reaction based on...
A breakthrough in clean hydrogen production
Nov 26, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Water splitting - breaking water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen - is a promising pathway to sustainable energy. However, this process has long been challenged by slow chemical kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction that make hydrogen production inefficient and costly. A groundbreaking international research...
Metal-organic glass enables safer, scalable, and highly sensitive X-ray detection
Nov 26, 2024 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Medical imaging faces a persistent challenge: creating X-ray detectors that combine high sensitivity with practical usability. Current technology forces an uncomfortable trade-off between performance and practicality. Hospital X-ray machines typically use either scintillators that inefficiently convert X-rays to visible light before detection, or direct detectors...
Researchers develop light-guided siRNA delivery system based on cyanobacteria
Nov 26, 2024 (Nanowerk News) In a study published in Cell Reports Physical Science ("Cyanobacteria-intelligent biohybrid system enables light-guided tumor-associated macrophage-specific siRNA delivery"), a research team led by Prof. CAI Lintao from the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences reported its development of an...
new plastic is recyclable and fully ocean-degradable
Nov 26, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Researchers led by Takuzo Aida at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) have developed a durable plastic that won’t contribute to microplastic pollution in our oceans. The new material is as strong as conventional plastics and biodegradable, but what makes it special is...