Latest and Breaking Nanotechnology News

UT biosolar breakthrough promises cheap, easy green electricity
2 February 2012, 5:00 am
(University of Tennessee at Knoxville) A professor of biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a team of researchers have developed a system that taps into photosynthetic processes to produce efficient and inexpensive energy.

New investment aims to establish the UK as a global graphene research hub
2 February 2012, 5:00 am
(Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) Today sees the announcement of full details of how an additional £50 million will be spent to keep the UK at the forefront of research into 'wonder material' graphene. 200 times stronger than steel yet less than an atom thick, graphene is the strongest and thinnest material ever measured, and also the world's most conductive material. It has a wide range of potential uses, including electronics, flexible touch screens, sensors and in composite materials.

Graphene electronics moves into a third dimension
2 February 2012, 5:00 am
(University of Manchester) Wonder material graphene has been touted as the next silicon, with one major problem - it is too conductive to be used in computer chips. Now scientists from the University of Manchester have given its prospects a new lifeline.

Nano-oils keep their cool
1 February 2012, 5:00 am
(Rice University) 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: Berkeley Lab researchers obtain 1-, 2- and 3-D nanorod arrays and networks
1 February 2012, 5:00 am
(DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) 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.

Ultra-fast photodetector and terahertz generator
31 January 2012, 5:00 am
(Technische Universitaet Muenchen) Photodetectors made from graphene can process and conduct light signals as well as electric signals extremely fast. Within picoseconds the optical stimulation of graphene generates a photocurrent. Until now, none of the available methods were fast enough to measure these processes in graphene. Scientists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen now developed a method to measure the temporal dynamics of this photo current. Furthermore they discovered that graphene can emit terahertz radiation.

Perfect nanotubes shine brightest
31 January 2012, 5:00 am
(Rice University) 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.

ORNL microscopy reveals 'atomic antenna' behavior in graphene
31 January 2012, 5:00 am
(DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory) Atomic-level defects in graphene could be a path forward to smaller and faster electronic devices.

Rice professor's nanotube theory confirmed
30 January 2012, 5:00 am
(Rice University) 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.

Reducing ion exchange particles to nano-size shows big potential
30 January 2012, 5:00 am
(DOE/Savannah River National Laboratory) 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.