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Electrochemical strain microscopy (ESM) is a novel scanning probe microscopy (SPM) technique available exclusively for the Cypher™ and MFP-3D™ atomic force microscopes (AFMs) from Asylum Research that is capable of probing electrochemical reactivity and ionic flows in solids with unprecedented resolution. Only with understanding of electrochemical functionality on the level of individual nanoparticles or structural defects can practical, knowledge-driven energy storage research and development proceed. ESM’s capabilities are invaluable for investigating and improving performance for a broad range of energy technologies, including batteries and fuel cells for electric vehicles and grid storage, the viability of which hinges on advances in energy storage densities and lifetimes. ESM has the potential to aid in these advances with two major improvements over other current technologies: (a) the resolution to probe nanometer-scale volumes and (b) imaging capability extended to a broad range of spectroscopic techniques. This note explains how ESM works and describes applications of this new technique for Li-ion electrolytes and cathode and anode materials, including imaging and spectroscopic methods – this note is recommended reading for all those working on improving battery and fuel cell performance.
13 December 2011
George Froudakis summarizes the highlights of work on hydrogen storage in various types of nanotube and nanostructure.
25 July 2011
We describe how biosensors and biosensing systems can employ graphene.
08 July 2011
Rapid synthesis of Pb5(VO4)3I, a potential immobilisation host for iodine radioisotopes, was achieved in an open container by microwave dielectric heating of a mixture of PbO, PbI2, and V2O5 at a power of 800 W for 180 s (at 2.45 GHz). The resulting ceramic bodies exhibited a zoned microstructure, differentiated by inter-granular porosity and phase assemblage, as a consequence of the inverse temperature gradient characteristic of microwave dielectric heating.
13 June 2011
During the past 20 years, multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have become an important industrial material. Hundreds of tons are produced each year. This review is a survey of the scientific literature, motivated by industrial requirements and guidelines for environment, health and safety compliance.
18 April 2011
Although hydrogen is widely recognized as a promising energy carrier for the transportation sector, widespread adoption of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies depends critically on the ability to store hydrogen at adequate densities, as well as release hydrogen at sufficient rates (among other requirements) to meet PEM fuel cell power plant requirements.
18 March 2011
Here we report on a quantum dots based multiplexed imaging and spectrum analysis technology to simultaneously study major components of tumor stroma.
23 February 2011
A new approach is presented to produce uniform thickness, electron-transparent, free-standing single-phase or multiphase thin films with nanocrystalline grain sizes that lend themselves readily to in situ heating and straining in a transmission electron microscope.
28 January 2011
ThinFilmID software determines in-situ
composition and thickness of thin film structures.
18 June 2010
New Control of Artificial Optical Radiation at Work Regulations 2010, brought into law in Great Britain on 27th April 2010, the occupational UV light exposure limits specified by the EU Optical Radiation Directive 2006/25/EC
13 May 2010
In the past ten years the idea of using self-assembled nanostructures to overcome the limitations of top-down fabrication approach was the driving force behind the tremendous interest in semiconducting nanowires and nanotubes.
27 November 2008
Macroscopic fibers containing only Carbon NanoTubes (CNTs) will yield great advances in high-tech applications if they can attain a significant portion of the extraordinary mechanical and electrical properties of individual CNTs.
27 November 2008
Theoretical van der Waals gloves could generate an adhesion force comparable to the body weight of 500 men.
27 November 2008
The concept of polyelectrolyte capsules as multifunctional carrier systems is described. The walls of a capsule can be functionalized with fluorescent, magnetic, and heatable colloidal nanoparticles and also biological macromolecules, while its cavity can be loaded with cargo molecules. Potential applications of this carrier system for delivery and sensing in cells are discussed.
10 June 2008
Biological proteins and peptides have the intrinsic ability to self-assemble into elongated solid nanofibrils, which may give rise to amyloid diseases or inspire applications ranging from tissue engineering to nanoelectronics.
10 June 2008
Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a powerful analytical tool for chemical and biological sensing applications. However, one feature which has limited its use in biosensing applications is the difficulty involved in producing uniform, highly sensitive, and reproducible SERS substrates.
10 June 2008
One of the most important classes of synthetic systems for creating self-assembled nanostructures is amphiphilic block copolymers.
10 June 2008
Dynamic atomic force microscopy, in essence, consists of a vibrating microcantilever with a nanoscale tip that interacts with a sample surface via short- and long-range intermolecular forces. Microcantilevers possess several distinct eigenmodes and the tip-sample interaction forces are highly nonlinear.
28 February 2008
High-resolution magnetic imaging down to the atomic scale is of utmost importance to understand magnetism on the nanoscale and below.
28 February 2008
The key role of protein-nanoparticle interactions in nanomedicine and nanotoxicity has begun to emerge recently with the development of the idea of the nanoparticle-protein ‘corona’.
28 February 2008
Nanotechnology is a relatively new and vast field.
28 February 2008
Nanoscience and nanotechnologies are expected to change industrial production and economics over the decades to come. This new field is also exciting since it sweeps away the traditional barriers between disciplines such as chemistry, physics, and biology.
28 February 2008