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.