Novel techniques examine solar cells with nanoscale precision

The new techniques, which investigated a common type of solar cell made of the semiconductor material cadmium telluride, promise to aid scientists in better understanding the microscopic structure of solar cells and may ultimately suggest ways to boost the efficiency at which they convert sunlight to electricity.

Batteries from scrap metal

Direct conversion of rusty stainless steel mesh into stable, low-cost electrodes for potassium-ion batteries.

New form of carbon that's hard as a rock, yet elastic, like rubber

A team of scientists has developed a form of ultrastrong, lightweight carbon that is also elastic and electrically conductive. A material with such a unique combination of properties could serve a wide variety of applications from aerospace engineering to military armor.

Graphene electrodes offer new functionalities in molecular electronic nanodevices

The results could be exploited to develop smaller, higher-performance devices for use in a range of applications including molecular sensing, flexible electronics, and energy conversion and storage, as well as robust measurement setups for resistance standards.

Blood test uses nanotechnology to predict aggressive prostate cancer accurately

Clinical data suggests that up to 40 percent of men could avoid painful biopsies and overtreatment.

Chemists bring mixed folded proteins to life with nanoparticles

Scientists have found a way to recover a protein structure after its chemical denaturation. The method is based on electrostatic interaction between folded, or denatured, proteins and alumina nanoparticles, which unwrap them.

Mussels add muscle to biocompatible nanofibers

Chemists develop hydrogel strings using compound found in sea creatures.

The first nano-sized superelastic alloy

Researchers have explored superelasticity properties on a nanometric scale based on shearing an alloy's pillars down to nanometric size.

A general strategy for reprogrammable assembly molecular motors on solid surfaces

A new study demonstrates that molecular motors with disulfide bonds can be assembled on solid surfaces modified by disulfide bonds, regardless of their chemical composition and microstructure.

Developing hhigh-performance broadband graphene-based photodetectors

Researchers report a van der Waals heterostructure photodetector consisting of graphene and its fluorine-functionalized derivative that enhances the photoresponse of graphene with broadband sensitivity. The proposed scheme in this work paves the way toward implemention of high-performance broadband graphene-based photodetectors.

Next-gen computers for aerospace applications will aid nanotechnologies

The develop next generation computers for aerospace applications will aid the development of nanotechnologies that could have wide uses in sensing, health and communications.

Simulations pinpoint atomic-level defects in solar cell nanostructures

Scientists ran a series of atomistic calculations a to find the root cause of defects in two commonly used semiconductor materials - lead selenide (PbSe) and cadmium selenide (CdSe) - and provide design rules to avoid them.

Graphene enhancing our vision of the infinitely small

Through the development of a one-of-a-kind microscope, researchers reported using atom-thin layers of graphene to enhance microscopic images of minuscule viruses.