Organic electronics: A high-performance unipolar n-type thin-film transistor

This achievement heralds an exciting future for organic electronics, including the development of innovative flexible displays and wearable technologies.

Layering titanium oxide's different mineral forms for better solar cells

Researchers layer two different mineral forms of titanium oxide to improve electron flow at the negative electrode for better metal halide perovskite-type solar cells.

An easier way to engineer plants

Researchers use nanoparticles to deliver genes into plant chloroplasts.

Nanotechnology makes it possible for mice to see in infrared

A single injection of nanoparticles in the mice's eyes bestowed infrared vision for up to 10 weeks with minimal side effects, allowing them to see infrared light even during the day and with enough specificity to distinguish between different shapes.

Hall effect becomes viscous in graphene

Scientists have discovered that electrons in graphene act like a very unique liquid.

New blueprint for understanding, predicting and optimizing complex nanoparticles

Guidelines have the potential to transform the fields of optoelectronics, bio-imaging and energy harvesting.

Hybrid material may outperform graphene in several applications

A structure comprising a molybdenum disulfide monolayer on an azobenzene substrate could be used to build a highly compactable and malleable quasi-two-dimensional transistor powered by light.

Zips on the nanoscale

Researchers have found a method of forming nanographenes on metal oxide surfaces.

In-depth insights into glass corrosion

Silicate glass has many applications, however, it has one disadvantage: it corrodes when it comes into contact with aqueous solutions. Scientists were able to observe in detail which processes take place.

Easing bacterial traffic jams

Controlling the motion of swimming bacteria could benefit applications including microscopic transport, biomedicine and even microrobotics.

Researchers develop analog memristive synapses for neuromorphic chips

Researchers have developed a technology that makes a transition of the operation mode of flexible memristors to synaptic analog switching by reducing the size of the formed filament. Through this technology, memristors can extend their role to memristive synapses for neuromorphic chips, which will lead to developing soft neuromorphic intelligent systems.

Scientists measure exact edge between superconducting and magnetic states

The knowledge of this threshold - called the lower critical field - plays a crucial role in untangling the difficulties that have prevented the broader use of superconductivity in new technologies.

Engineers make clear droplets produce iridescent colors (w/video)

Optical effect could be harnessed for light displays, litmus tests, and makeup products.

Good news for future tech: Exotic topological materials are surprisingly common

In a major step forward for an area of research that earned the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics, an international team has found that substances with exotic electronic behaviors called topological materials are in fact quite common, and include everyday elements such as arsenic and gold.

Fast, flexible ionic transistors for bioelectronic devices

Engineers develop novel ion driven transistor that enables real-time sensing and processing of body signals, a major building block for integrated bioelectronics with application to the brain and beyond.

A new method for precision drug delivery: painting

Researchers are integrating ultrasound imaging with ultrasound therapy to pave the way for a new kind of drug delivery.

Packaging insecticides in nanocapsules may make them more toxic

Encasing insecticides in microscopic plastic capsules -- a common formulation for many pest sprays on the market -- could lead to unintended consequences.

Now you see heat, now you don't

Researchers have fabricated an inexpensive, easy-to-produce film that makes objects completely invisible to infrared detectors.

Directed evolution builds nanoparticles

Scientists have been able to use directed evolution to build not proteins, but synthetic nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are used as optical biosensors.

Examining silver nanoparticles in natural environments

Researchers have developed a method to investigate the behaviour of silver nanoparticles in natural waters. The particles regularly enter the sea from products such as sportswear and food packaging. What happens to them there is largely unknown.

Antibodies on nanoparticle surfaces may foster or fluster therapies

Scientists have assembled a clearer picture of the molecular activity that occurs when nanoparticles injected into the body are marked for immune system attack.

Entangling photons of different colors

Researchers develop a novel chip-based device for quantum communication.

'Immunizing' quantum bits so that they can grow up

New material enhances supercurrent in topological-insulator nanoribbon Josephson junctions.

The EU gets specific about nanomaterials

The EU's Joint Research Centre has released a report clarifying the key concepts and terms used in the European Commission's nanomaterial definition.

Electrically-heated silicate glass appears to defy Joule's first law

Experiments show electric field can modify silicate glass, causing parts to melt while remaining solid elsewhere; discovery suggests heat in glass could be produced on a very fine scale, could point to performance challenges for devices that use glass.

A new spin in nanoelectronics

Researchers succeed in controlling extremely short-wavelength spin waves.

New microfluidics device can detect cancer cells in blood

Researchers have developed a device that can isolate individual cancer cells from patient blood samples. The microfluidic device works by separating the various cell types found in blood by their size.

Avoiding the crack of doom

New imaging technique reveals how mechanical damage begins at the molecular scale.

It's all in the twist: Physicists stack 2D materials at angles to trap particles on the nanoscale

Results yield a unique platform to study quantum optical physics.

Graphite offers up new quantum surprise

Researchers have discovered unexpected phenomena in graphite thanks to their previous research on its two-dimensional (2D) relative - graphene.

With nanotubes, genetic engineering in plants is easy-peasy

Inserting or tweaking genes in plants is more art than science, but with a new technique, scientists could make genetically engineering any type of plant - in particular, gene editing with CRISPR-Cas9 - simple and quick.

Topological defects could be key to future nano-electronics

A new article outlines emerging research into different types of 'defective' order, i.e. topological structures in materials, and their potential highly interesting applications in nanotechnology and nanoelectronics.

Nanoparticle computing takes a giant step forward

Lipid nanotablet for modular and scalable molecular computing with nanoparticles.

Liquid has structure, which may be key to understanding metallic glass

Researchers have found that liquid has structure in certain circumstances, and that this structure significantly influences the mysterious and complex formation of metallic glasses.

A quantum magnet with a topological twist

Materials with a kagome lattice pattern exhibit 'negative magnetism' and long-sought 'flat-band' electrons.

Understanding high efficiency of deep ultraviolet LEDs

Steps that form during LED fabrication improve their efficiency by creating tiny paths of electric current.

Magnetization reversal achieved at room temperature using only an electric field

Scientists achieved magnetization reversal in cobalt-substituted bismuth ferrite by applying only an electric field. Such an effect had been sought after for over a decade in order to make new types of low-power-consumption magnetic memory devices.

A tip for future nanoscale sensing

The tiny diamond pyramid tips used for atomic force microscopy may also prove to be highly useful for nanoscale, quantum sensing.

With nanopore sensing, physicists detect subtle changes in single particles

The researchers' findings open the door to observe all kinds of interesting phenomenon on nanosurfaces, an area of great interest to chemists.

More flexible nanomaterials can make fuel cell cars cheaper

A new method of increasing the reactivity of ultrathin nanosheets, just a few atoms thick, can someday make fuel cells for hydrogen cars cheaper.

Design principles for disease-sensing nanomaterials

The detailed findings in a new paper could lead to more precise, effective methods of treating and diagnosing a variety of diseases, including cancers.

Gold nano-stars for intracellular delivery

Researchers have developed a new method for star-shaped nanoparticles synthesis based on laser irradiation. A wide range of customizable conditions provides an opportunity to create comfortable environment for various substances delivery to different types of cells.

Carbon nanotubes can be produced in a new way by twisting ribbon-like graphene

Researchers utilized symmetry, a time-worn concept of theoretical physics, to develop an effective method to run computer experiments on nanostructures under complex deformations.

Innovative nanocoating technology harnesses sunlight to degrade microplastics

Low density polyethylene film (LDPE) microplastic fragments, successfully degraded in water using visible-light-excited heterogeneous ZnO photocatalysts.

Thermally-painted metasurfaces yield perfect light absorbers for high-tech applications

Researchers report their insights into how colors are generated on heated metal surfaces and apply those findings to create a nickel thin-film that perfectly absorbs red light.

GraphON: Conductive coatings and materials breakthrough

Scientists have created a breakthrough new form of graphitic material that?s conductive, easy to apply and offers greater control over performance than graphene.

Physicists 'flash-freeze' crystal of 150 ions

Physicists have 'flash-frozen' a flat crystal of 150 beryllium ions (electrically charged atoms), opening new possibilities for simulating magnetism at the quantum scale and sensing signals from mysterious dark matter.

'Butterfly-shaped' palladium subnano cluster built in 3-D

Researchers have developed a new strategy to construct subnanosized metal aggregates, building up small metal clusters into grander 3-D architectures.

Powering a pacemaker with a patient's heartbeat

Researchers have designed a pacemaker powered by the energy of heartbeats. The device was successfully tested in pigs, which have a similar physiology to humans.

The holy grail of nanowire production

Researchers have come up with a way of growing nanowire networks in a highly controlled and fully reproducible manner. The key was to understand what happens at the onset of nanowire growth, which goes against currently accepted theories.