From cameras to computers, new material could change how we work and play

Serendipity has as much a place in sci­ence as in love. That's what physi­cists found during their four-??year project to modify graphene.

New insight on how crystals form may advance materials, health and basic science research

An international group of researchers has shown how nature uses a variety of pathways to grow crystals that go beyond the classical, one-atom-at-a-time route.

Magnetism at nanoscale

Physicists use N-V center optical magnetoscope to understand new magnetic nanomaterials.

Transparent, electrically conductive network of encapsulated silver nanowires

Researchers have developed a transparent electrode with high electrical conductivity for solar cells and other optoelectronic components - that uses minimal amounts of material. It consists of a random network of silver nanowires that is coated with aluminium-doped zinc oxide. The novel electrode requires about 70 times less silver than conventional silver grid electrodes, but possesses comparable electrical conductivity.

Self-assembling, biomimetic membranes may aid water filtration

A synthetic membrane that self assembles and is easily produced may lead to better gas separation, water purification, drug delivery and DNA recognition, according to an international team of researchers.

Self-building 3D printed bricks hint at future without assembly lines (w/video)

A new study has shown that high frequency vibrations can cause bricks to self-assemble into a larger 3D object, a finding that may one day help do away with the need for factory assembly lines.

Take a trip through the brain new imaging tool

A new imaging tool could do for the brain what the telescope did for space exploration. In the first demonstration of how the technology works, the researchers look inside the brain of an adult mouse at a scale previously unachievable, generating images at a nanoscale resolution.

Electron microscopy leads to discovery of new structural features of human hair

Scientists detect previously unobserved features of human hair by combining a submicron X-ray beam with cross-section geometry.

Light switches on a DVD

Since the electronic properties of an optical storage material change faster than its structure, it could serve new applications.

Gold-diamond nanodevice for hyperlocalised cancer therapy

Gold nanorods can be used as remote controlled nanoheaters delivering the right amount of thermal treatment to cancer cells, thanks to diamond nanocrystals used as temperature sensors.

Solid state physics: Quantum matter stuck in unrest

Using ultracold atoms trapped in light crystals, scientists observe a novel state of matter that never thermalizes.

Butterflies heat up the field of solar research

The humble butterfly could hold the key to unlocking new techniques to make solar energy cheaper and more efficient, pioneering new research has shown.

Heating and cooling with light leads to ultrafast DNA diagnostics

New technology developed by bioengineers promises to make a workhorse lab tool cheaper, more portable and many times faster by accelerating the heating and cooling of genetic samples with the switch of a light.

How to look for a few good catalysts

New research shows non-wetting surfaces promote chemical reaction rates.

Shaping the hilly landscapes of a semi-conductor nanoworld

A new study reveals how hexagonal-patterned, self-organised hill structures emerge in 2D at the nanoscale due to redeposition following semi-conductor bombardment with low-energy ions.

Plasmonic material could bring ultrafast all-optical communications

Researchers have created a new 'plasmonic oxide material' that could make possible devices for optical communications that are at least 10 times faster than conventional technologies.

Don't call them stiff: Metal organic frameworks show unexpected flexibility

Despite their rigid-sounding name, researchers are reporting that MOF structures are also dynamic - much more so than previously thought.

Cooking up altered states

Churning raw milk sufficiently creates butter. Squirting lemon juice coagulates it into curd. These two phenomena are not as straightforward as they sound on the molecular level.

Black phosphorus could replace silicon computer chips

Researchers have created a high performance transistor using black phosphorus which has revealed some fascinating results.

Sol-gel capacitor dielectric offers record-high energy storage

Using a hybrid silica sol-gel material and self-assembled monolayers of a common fatty acid, researchers have developed a new capacitor dielectric material that provides an electrical energy storage capacity rivaling certain batteries, with both a high energy density and high power density.

A cost-effective solution to tuned graphene production

Researchers report that they have developed a simple electrochemical approach which allows defects to intentionally be created in the graphene, altering its electrical and mechanical properties.

Intracellular microlasers could allow precise labeling of a trillion individual cells

Scientists have induced structures incorporated within individual cells to produce laser light. The wavelengths of light emitted by these intracellular microlasers differ based on factors such as the size, shape and composition of each microlaser, allowing precise labeling of individual cells.

Like paper, graphene twists, folds into nanoscale machines

The art of kirigami involves cutting paper into intricate designs, like snowflakes. Physicists are kirigami artists, too, but their paper is only an atom thick, and could become some of the smallest machines the world has ever known.

Meet the high-performance single-molecule diode

Researchers have created the world's highest-performance single-molecule diode. Development of a functional single-molecule diode is a major pursuit of the electronics industry.

New theoretical model explains the origins of self-replicating molecules (w/video)

Researchers developed a model that explains how monomers could very rapidly make the jump to more complex polymers. And what their model points to could have intriguing implications for engineering artificial self-assembly at the nanoscale.

The second Nano Research Award has been presented

Paul Alivisatos of the University of California Berkeley receives the honor for outstanding contributions in nanoscience.

Researchers demonstrate the world's first white lasers

More luminous and energy efficient than LEDs, white lasers look to be the future in lighting and Li-Fi, or light-based wireless communication.

Nanogold imaging probe yields double insight

A probe enables tumors to be investigated using complementary imaging techniques.

Making the new silicon

Gallium nitride electronics could drastically cut energy usage in data centers, consumer devices.

Graphene supercurrents go ballistic

Researchers have demonstrated superconducting electric currents in the two-dimensional material graphene that bounce between sheet edges without scattering.

Controlling phase changes in solids

A recent study demonstrates the rapid control of phase-changes in resonantly bonded materials.

Physicists close in on world's most sensitive resonators

In their quest to make the world's most precise sensors, physicists have developed a novel method of manipulating mechanical resonators to be sensitive enough to work at the quantum scale.

Short wavelength plasmons observed in nanotubes

Researchers have observed 'Luttinger-liquid' plasmons in metallic single-walled nanotubes. This holds great promise for novel plasmonic and nanophotonic devices over a broad frequency range, including telecom wavelengths.

"Seeing' molecular interactions could give boost to organic electronics

For the first time, researchers have directly seen how organic molecules bind to other materials at the atomic level. Using a special kind of electron microscopy, this information can lead to increasing the life span of electronic devices, for example.

Carbon nanotube speakers play music with heat (w/video)

While still a fledgling technology, the potential applications are nearly endless. Everything from de-icing helicopter blades to making lighter loudspeakers to doubling as a car speaker and heating filament for back windshield defrosters.

Interacting ion qutrits

Researchers have used trapped atomic ions to construct a system that could potentially support a type of symmetry-protected quantum state.

How ants keep their antennae clean could have applications in nanotechnology (w/video)

Using unique mechanical experiments and close-up video, researchers have shown how ants use microscopic 'combs' and 'brushes' to keep their antennae clean, which could have applications for developing cleaners for nanotechnology.

Spins in graphene with a hedgehog texture

At a surface or interface the electron spin can form specific patterns but it remains in the surface plane. Researchers have now succeeded in turning the spin out of the plane, and they explain why this is a principle property.

Asymmetric optical-invisibility camouflage

Researchers have formulated a theory of asymmetric (or nonreciprocal) camouflage that can achieve unidirectional transparency in which 'they cannot see us, but we can see them'.

Reshaping the solar spectrum to turn light to electricity

Researchers find a way to use the infrared region of the sun's spectrum to make solar cells more efficient.

Making polymer nanostructures from a greenhouse gas

Scientists have introduced a two-step, one-pot conversion of CO2 and epoxides to polycarbonate block copolymers that contain both water-soluble and hydrophobic regions and can aggregate into nanoparticles or micelles.

A new type of modulator for the future of data transmission

Researchers present a novel modulator that is a hundred times smaller and that can, therefore, be easily integrated into electronic circuits. Moreover, the new modulator is considerably cheaper and faster than common models, and it uses far less energy.

Smart hydrogel coating creates 'stick-slip' control of capillary action

Coating the inside of glass microtubes with a polymer hydrogel material dramatically alters the way capillary forces draw water into the tiny structures, researchers have found. The discovery could provide a new way to control microfluidic systems, including popular lab-on-a-chip devices.

Wafer-thin material heralds future of wearable technology

A 'flat-pack' construction of a powerful new superconductor paves the way for wearable and miniature electronics.

Superconducting qubit and magnetic sphere hybrid

Researchers have demonstrated that it is possible to exchange a quantum bit, the minimum unit of information used by quantum computers, between a superconducting quantum-bit circuit and a quantum in a magnet called a magnon.

Superfast fluorescence sets new speed record

Researchers have developed a plasmonic device that, combined with semiconductor quantum dots, could one day be turned into an ultrafast light-emitting diode for optical computing.

The future with nanoionics

Nanoionics is a new area of research in which ionic currents are conducted on the scale of nanometers; and it may one day lead to innovative technologies. Scientists have now made an important step toward the construction of artificial ionic circuits.

Insights into catalytic converters

X-ray methods reveal interactions of active metals with gas molecules.

3D 'printouts' at the nanoscale using self-assembling DNA structures

The new technique makes it possible to synthesize 3D DNA origami structures that are also able to tolerate the low salt concentrations inside the body, which opens the way for completely new biological applications of DNA nanotechnology. The design process is also highly automated, which enables the creation of synthetic DNA nanostructures of remarkable complexity.

Magnetic material unnecessary to create spin current

Researchers that you don't need a magnetic material to create spin current from insulators. This discovery has important implications for the field of spintronics and the development of high-speed, low-power electronics that use electron spin rather than charge to carry information.

A new way to black gold

Colloidosomes made of gold nanoparticles offer strong plasmonic coupling.

Could stronger, tougher nanocellulose paper replace metal?

Researchers recently discovered that paper made of cellulose fibers is tougher and stronger the smaller the fibers get.

Acetic acid as a proton shuttle in gold chemistry

A recently published study gives a vivid example of unusual chemical reactivity found in the reactions with organogold complexes. Using the complex of modern physical methods joined with computational studies, the authors proposed reaction mechanism, where a molecule of acetic acid serves as a proton shuttle, transferring the hydrogen atom between the reaction centers.

Illuminating the electronic properties of graphene

Researchers have shown that both the carrier mobility and the carrier density of graphene can be measured in a spatially resolved and non-destructive way - providing 'maps' of the electronic properties critical for the successful use of graphene in photovoltaics, electronics, spintronics and optics - using terahertz radiation and doing away with the need to fabricate devices.

Changing the color of light

Research could lead to improved efficiency of solar cells, cancer treatments and medical imaging.

Graphene - from science fundamentals to low-cost production

Keynote presentations on the third day of Graphene Week 2015 offered an eclectic mix of fundamental science and practical chemical engineering. Here we report briefly on each of the talks, beginning with an introduction to optoelectronics in 2D semiconductors and heterostructures, and concluding with an outline of a highly promising 'kitchen sink' approach to graphene production.

A 'nanomachine' for surgery with no incision

Hybrid calcium phosphate-polymeric micelles incorporating gadolinium chelates for imaging-guided gadolinium neutron capture tumor therapy.

Nanocages offer new direction in sustainable catalyst design

Engineers have developed a new approach to structuring the catalysts used in essential reactions in the chemical and energy fields. The advance offers a pathway for industries to wean themselves off of platinum, one of the scarcest metals in the earth's crust.

Super-stretchy fibers made by wrapping carbon nanotubes around rubber (w/video)

Researchers made electrically conducting fibers that can be reversibly stretched to over 14 times their initial length and whose electrical conductivity increases 200-fold when stretched.

Ultra-thin hollow nanocages could reduce platinum use in fuel cell electrodes

A new fabrication technique that produces platinum hollow nanocages with ultra-thin walls could dramatically reduce the amount of the costly metal needed to provide catalytic activity in such applications as fuel cells.

$3 million DOD grant for nanoelectronics

This NSSEFF award will enable an ambitious program that aims to merge two existing fields: semiconductor nanoelectronics and complex oxides.

Coral-mimicking nanoplatelets could emove toxic heavy metals from the ocean

A new material that mimics coral could help remove toxic heavy metals like mercury from the ocean, according to a new study.