Nanotechnology News

The butterfly effect in nanotech medical diagnostics

Thursday, February 09, 2012 00:00 MST

Tiny metallic nanoparticles that shimmer in the light like the scales on a butterfly's wing are set to become the color-change components of a revolutionary new approach to point-of-care medical diagnostics, according to a study published in International Journal of Design Engineering.

Nano-oils keep their cool

Wednesday, February 08, 2012 00:00 MST

Rice University scientists have created a nano-infused oil that could greatly enhance the ability of devices as large as electrical transformers and as small as microelectronic components to shed excess heat.

Self-assembling nanorods: Researchers obtain 1-, 2- and 3-D nanorod arrays and networks

Tuesday, February 07, 2012 00:00 MST

Berkeley Lab researchers have developed a relatively fast, easy and inexpensive technique for inducing nanorods to self-assemble into aligned and ordered macroscopic structures. This technique should enable more effective use of nanorods in solar cells, magnetic storage devices and sensors, and boost the electrical and mechanical properties of nanorod-polymer composites.

Microscopy reveals 'atomic antenna' behavior in graphene

Monday, February 06, 2012 00:00 MST

Atomic-level defects in graphene could be a path forward to smaller and faster electronic devices.

Perfect nanotubes shine brightest

Sunday, February 05, 2012 00:00 MST

A painstaking study by Rice University has brought a wealth of new information about single-walled carbon nanotubes through analysis of their fluorescence. The researchers found that the brightest nanotubes of the same length show consistent fluorescence intensity, and the longer the tube, the brighter.

Reducing ion exchange particles to nano-size shows big potential

Saturday, February 04, 2012 00:00 MST

Researchers at the US Department of Energy's Savannah River National Laboratory have successfully shown that they can replace useful little particles of an ion exchange material with even tinier nano-sized particles, making them even more useful for a variety of applications.

Research leads to nanotube-based device for communication, security, sensing

Friday, February 03, 2012 00:00 MST

Researchers at Rice University are using carbon nanotubes as the critical component of a robust terahertz polarizer that could accelerate the development of new security and communication devices, sensors and noninvasive medical imaging systems as well as fundamental studies of low-dimensional condensed matter systems.

Nanotube theory confirmed

Thursday, February 02, 2012 00:00 MST

The Air Force Research Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, has experimentally confirmed a theory by Rice University Professor Boris Yakobson that foretold a pair of interesting properties about nanotube growth: That the chirality of a nanotube controls the speed of its growth, and that armchair nanotubes should grow the fastest.

Supermaterial goes superpermeable

Wednesday, February 01, 2012 00:00 MST

Wonder material graphene has revealed another of its extraordinary properties -- University of Manchester researchers have found that it is superpermeable with respect to water.

Bilayer graphene works as an insulator

Tuesday, January 31, 2012 00:00 MST

A research team led by physicists at the University of California, Riverside has identified a property of "bilayer graphene" that the researchers say is analogous to finding the Higgs boson in particle physics. The physicists found that when the number of electrons on the BLG sheet is close to 0, the material becomes insulating ? a finding that has implications for the use of graphene as an electronic material in the semiconductor and electronics industries.

Nano form of titanium dioxide can be toxic to marine organisms

Monday, January 30, 2012 00:00 MST

The Bren School-based authors of a study published Jan. 20 in the journal PLoS ONE have observed toxicity to marine organisms resulting from exposure to a nanoparticle that had not previously been shown to be toxic under similar conditions.

Strategic research plan needed to help avoid potential risks of nanomaterials

Sunday, January 29, 2012 00:00 MST

Despite extensive investment in nanotechnology and increasing commercialization over the last decade, insufficient understanding remains about the environmental, health, and safety aspects of nanomaterials. Without a coordinated research plan to help guide efforts to manage and avoid potential risks, the future of safe and sustainable nanotechnology is uncertain, says a new report from the National Research Council.

Nature Materials study: Graphene 'invisible' to water

Friday, January 27, 2012 00:00 MST

Graphene is the thinnest material known to science. The nanomaterial is so thin, in fact, water often doesn't even know it's there. A new study from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute shows how the extreme thinness of graphene enables near-perfect wetting transparency. The findings could help inform a new generation of graphene-based flexible electronic devices. Additionally, the research suggests a new type of heat pipe that uses graphene-coated copper to cool computer chips.

Graphene: Impressive capabilities on the horizon

Thursday, January 26, 2012 00:00 MST

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research, along with other funding agencies, helped a Rice University research team make graphene suitable for a variety of organic chemistry applications -- especially the promise of advanced chemical sensors, nanoscale electronic circuits and metamaterials.

Water sees right through graphene

Wednesday, January 25, 2012 00:00 MST

A new study by scientists at Rice University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has determined that gold, copper and silicon get just as wet when clad by a single continuous layer of graphene as they would without.