Nanoparticles - Accounting for the 'scooching effect'

Nanoparticles can help scientists brighten their research - but they also can throw off microscopic measurements.

New device could turn heat energy into a viable fuel source

The device is a multicomponent, multilayered composite material called a van der Waals Schottky diode. It converts heat into electricity up to three times more efficiently than silicon.

Insect eyes inspire new solar cell design

Packing tiny solar cells together, like micro-lenses in the compound eye of an insect, could pave the way to a new generation of advanced photovoltaics.

New X-ray laser technique reveals magnetic skyrmion fluctuations

A new 'two-bucket' method of delivering pairs of X-ray pulses gives a 1,000-fold improvement in seeing magnetic fluctuations that could lead to improved data storage materials.

Beating the heat with nanoparticle films

House and car windows that stay cool in the summer, warm in the winter.

Nanocomposite sets new bar for water-splitting, CO2-splitting techniques

Researchers have significantly boosted the efficiency of two techniques, for splitting water to create hydrogen gas and splitting carbon dioxide to create carbon monoxide.

Environmental chemist flashes warning light on new nanoparticle

Scientists report on toxicity for layered black phosphorous in three cell lines. They found disruption of cell membrane integrity related to particle size, concentration- and cell-type-dependent cytotoxicity.

Toward a smart graphene membrane to desalinate water

Researchers have developed a graphene-based coating for desalination membranes that is more robust and scalable than current nanofiltration membrane technologies.

Motorized molecules drill through cells

Nanomachines constructed to deliver drugs, destroy diseased cells.

Acting like a muscle, nano-sized device lifts 165 times its own weight

Materials scientists discover powerful effect that could benefit robotics, aviation, medicine and other fields.

Lithium-ion batteries will get more efficiency due to silicon, germanium, carbon nanowalls

Scientists have developed a new silicon- and germanium-based material that could significantly increase specific characteristics of lithium-ion batteries.

Silicon solves problems for next-generation battery technology

Researchers show that by replacing graphite anodes with silicon, it is possible to quadruple anode capacity.

Two for the price of one: Exceeding 100 percent efficiency in solar fuel production

Scientists capture excess light energy to produce fuel, essentially storing sunlight's energy for a rainy day.

New mini mass spectrometer has massive implications

Compact mass spectrometer more conducive to applications for space exploration, homeland security, and more.

Biosensor could help diagnose illnesses directly in serum

Researchers demonstrate how tailoring the sensing surface with short specific biological receptors and a polymer polyethylene glycol (PEG) can strongly enhance the sensor response.

The tricky trifecta of solar cells

The quest for solar cell materials that are inexpensive, stable, and efficient leads to a breakthrough in thin film organic-inorganic perovskites.

Nanophotonic chip system measures light from a single bacterial cell to enable portable chemical detection

Researchers have created a nanophotonic chip system using lasers and bacteria to observe fluorescence emitted from a single bacterial cell.

Nanoparticles loaded with mRNA give disease-fighting properties to cells

A new biomedical tool using nanoparticles that deliver transient gene changes to targeted cells could make therapies for a variety of diseases - including cancer, diabetes and HIV - faster and cheaper to develop, and more customizable.

Tracking the environmental exposure of the emerging nanomaterial industry

Nanomaterial tracking to limit impacts on the environment.

Why does rubbing a balloon on your hair make it stick?

New research indicates how static electricity puts the charge in material, offering answer to centuries-old question.

Photosynthesis discovery could lead to design of more efficient artificial solar cells

A natural process that occurs during photosynthesis could lead to the design of more efficient artificial solar cells, according to researchers.

Scientists move graphene closer to transistor applications

Scientists were able to successfully manipulate the electronic structure of graphene, which may enable the fabrication of graphene transistors - faster and more reliable than existing silicon-based transistors.

Acoustically actuated ultra-compact NEMS magnetoelectric antennas

A new discovery enables researchers to construct antennas that are up to a thousand times smaller than currently available antennas.

Desalinization with carbon nanotubes

Scientists are making desalinization easier, faster and cheaper than ever before with carbon nanotubes.

Researchers validate UV light's use in improving semiconductors

A discovery by two scientists could aid the development of next-generation semiconductor devices.

High-tech electronics made from autumn leaves

New process converts biomass waste into useful electronic devices.

Patent for one-of-a-kind process exfoliating pure graphene

Researchers have patented a one-of-a-kind process for exfoliating graphene in its pure (unoxidized) form, as well as manufacturing innovative graphene nanocomposites that have potential uses in a variety of applications.

DNA nanocapsules help scientists peek at how neurons work

Scientists designed a way to use microscopic capsules made out of DNA to deliver a payload of tiny molecules directly into a cell. The technique gives researchers an opportunity to understand certain interactions among cells that have previously been hard to track.

High-speed switching for ultrafast electromechanical switches and sensors

Scientists have observed high-speed switching in Pb(Zr0.4Ti0.6)O3 thin films under applied rectangular electric field pulses.

New liquid-metal membrane technology may help make hydrogen fuel cell vehicles viable

Separation membranes hold the key to making hydrogen fuel cheaper; researchers show that liquid-metal membranes appear to be lower in cost, more durable, and better at separating hydrogen than conventional membranes.

Oil and water may combine if conditions are right

They say that oil and water do not mix ... but now scientists have discovered that - under certain circumstances - it may be possible.

A low-cost method for solar-thermal conversion that's simpler and greener

Engineers create a 'dip-and-dry' approach for selective solar absorbers that exhibit high-performance and durability.

Solar hydrogen production by artificial leaves - Special treatment improves cheap metal oxide photoelectrodes

Scientists analysed how a special treatment improves cheap metal oxide photoelectrodes, paving the way to more efficient and cheap devices for solar hydrogen production.

Optical control of magnetic memory - New insights into fundamental mechanisms

This is an important clue for our theoretical understanding of optically controlled magnetic data storage media.

New neutron holography technique opens a window for obtaining clear 3-D atomic images

Scientists have developed a new multiple-wavelength neutron holography technique that can give insights into previously unknown structures.

Perovskite solar cells go single crystal

A recent work developed an innovative approach to self-grow single crystalline perovskite directly on polycrystalline substrate, with which n-i-p type of perovskite solar cells were fabricated.

Nanostructured dark materials squeeze green fuel from sunlight

Metallic nanostructures that slow down light dramatically can triple the efficiency of solar-based hydrogen fuel generation.

Direct water splitting with polymer nanosheets using visible light

Researchers show that nanosheet polymer frameworks are able to efficiently catalyze overall water splitting under visible light irradiation with apparent quantum efficiencies of as high as 10% at 420 nm.

A microfluidic tactile sensor based on a diaphragm pressure sensor design

In new work, researchers report a microfluidic tactile sensor based on a diaphragm pressure sensor design.

Designing polymers with novel features

Chemical engineer seeks to develop and understand materials that behave in radically new ways.

Plasmonic nanosensor shines a spotlight on the machinery of life

Using a plasmonic nanosensor, it is possible to observe enzymes and how they move without a marker.

Research team flips the switch on ferroelectrics

An international collaboration develops new approach to advanced sensor and energy harvesting devices based on controlling domain alignment in nanostructured ferroelectric materials.

Conformal metasurface coating eliminates crosstalk and shrinks waveguides

Electrical engineers have a way to simultaneously control diverse optical properties of dielectric waveguides by using a two-layer coating, each layer with a near zero thickness and weight.

Photosensitive perovskites change shape when exposed to light

A crystalline material that changes shape in response to light could form the heart of novel light-activated devices.

Cascade amplification release nanoparticle to overcome tumor drug resistance

Researchers successfully constructed a cascade amplification drug release system by simultaneously loading a high drug content of Lapa and an ROS-responsive doxorubicin prodrug in a novel block copolymer micelle.

Researchers identify cheaper, greener biofuels processing nanocatalyst

Fuels that are produced from nonpetroleum-based biological sources may become greener and more affordable, thanks to research that examines the use of a processing catalyst made from palladium metal and bacteria.

New results reveal high tunability of 2-D material

Team also provides most precise band gap measurement yet for hotly studied monolayer moly sulfide.

Nanotechnology delivers medicine to cancer cells while protecting healthy cells

Nanotechnology and ultrasound enhance chemotherapy treatment in experiments.

Tweaking thermoelectric voltage across atomic-scale gold junction by mechanical force

Scientists experimentally demonstrated that the magnitude and sign of the thermoelectric voltage across atomic-scale gold junctions can be controlled by applying a mechanical strain to deform the contact minutely and accurately while the structure of the surrounding material remains unaffected.

Recipe for safer batteries - just add nanodiamonds

Researchers show nanodiamonds can prevent short-circuits and fires in lithium batteries.