Thermal metamaterial innovation could help bring waste-heat harvesting technology to power plants, factories

An international research team has used a 'thermal metamaterial' to control the emission of radiation at high temperatures, an advance that could bring devices able to efficiently harvest waste heat from power plants and factories.

Magnetic polaron imaged for the first time

Visualization was enabled by designing a new artificial magnetic material. The finding means remarkable possibilities to materials research.

Levitating nanoparticle improves 'torque sensing', might bring new research into fundamentals of quantum theory

Researchers have levitated a tiny nanodiamond particle with a laser in a vacuum chamber, using the technique for the first time to detect and measure its 'torsional vibration', an advance that could bring new types of sensors and studies in quantum mechanics.

Researchers reveal that magnetic 'rust' performs as gold at the nanoscale

Scientists are giving new meaning to the phrase 'turning rust into gold' - and making the use of gold in research settings and industrial applications far more affordable.

Uniform 'hairy' nanorods have potential energy, biomedical applications

Materials scientists have developed a new strategy for crafting one-dimensional nanorods from a wide range of precursor materials. Based on a cellulose backbone, the system relies on the growth of block copolymer 'arms' that help create a compartment to serve as a nanometer-scale chemical reactor. The outer blocks of the arms prevent aggregation of the nanorods.

Lowering the cost for surface patterning plastics

Researchers have developed a new way to simultaneously shape and surface treat plastic components. The new method can reduce the manufacturing cost of medical devices, such as diagnostic tools for various diseases.

Drug-loaded synthetic nanoparticles can distinguish lung cancer cells from healthy cells

Scientists successfully developed a synthetic polymer that can transport a drug into lung cancer cells without going inside of normal lung cells.