Jan 29, 2025 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Adding gold nanoparticles to 3D printed materials has always faced a fundamental problem: the particles must either be mixed into the printing material beforehand or applied as a coating afterward. Both approaches limit device performance. Pre-mixing leads to particle clumping and uneven distribution. Coating only...
Creating nanoislands for better platinum catalysts
Jan 29, 2025 (Nanowerk News) Noble metals such as platinum can make useful catalysts to accelerate chemical reactions, particularly hydrogenation (adding hydrogen atoms to a molecule). The research team led by Professor Bruce Gates at the UC Davis Department of Chemical Engineering is interested in making platinum catalysts that are...
Small and yet so powerful
Jan 29, 2025 (Nanowerk News) Our home planet is bombarded with particles from outer space all the time. And while we are mostly familiar with the rocky meteorites originating from within our solar system that create fascinating shooting stars in the night sky, it’s the smallest particles that help scientists...
Space researchers build traffic light system to warn of dangerous solar storms
Jan 29, 2025 (Nanowerk News) Yuri Shprits, a space scientist at the German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam, is on a mission to save our planet. We have known for a long time that much of our modern way of life is threatened by the whims of the Sun....
Samples from asteroid Bennu include life’s building blocks
Jan 29, 2025 (Nanowerk News) Rock and dust samples brought back from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu contain organic matter, including amino acids and all five DNA and RNA bases, as well as salts that formed early in the history of Bennu’s parent body, according to a pair of studies by...
Improving the way flash memory is made
Jan 29, 2025 (Nanowerk News) To store ever more data in electronic devices of the same size, the manufacturing processes for these devices need to be studied in greater detail. By investigating new approaches to making digital memory at the atomic scale, researchers engaged in a public-private partnership are aiming...
New acoustic wave phenomenon discovered
Jan 29, 2025 (Nanowerk News) A unique propagation phenomenon of acoustic waves has been discovered, paving the way for developing advanced communication technologies using acoustic devices. The research was led by the Institute for Materials Research at Tohoku University, in collaboration with the Japan Atomic Energy Agency and the RIKEN...
New concept enables ultra-thin absorbers with record bandwidth-to-thickness ratio
Jan 28, 2025 (Nanowerk News) Absorbing layers have been fundamental to advancements in technologies like energy harvesting, stealth systems, and communication networks. These absorbers efficiently capture electromagnetic waves across broad frequency ranges, enabling the development of sustainable, self-powered devices such as remote sensors and Internet of Things (IoT) systems. In...
Individual cells can be connected to plastic electrodes
Jan 28, 2025 (Nanowerk News) Researchers at Linköping University have succeeded in creating a close connection between individual cells and organic electronics. The study, published in Science Advances ("From synthetic vesicles to living cells: Anchoring conducting polymers to cell membranes"), lays the foundation for future treatment of neurological and other...
Explaining persistent hydrogen in Mars’ atmosphere
Jan 28, 2025 (Nanowerk News) The fact that the cold, dry Mars of today had flowing rivers and lakes several billion years ago has puzzled scientists for decades. Now, Harvard researchers think they have a good explanation for a warmer, wetter ancient Mars. Building on prior theories describing the Mars...