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Graphene Makes Novel OLEDs Display Researchers at Stanford University have successfully developed a brand new concept of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), using a few nanometers of graphene as a transparent conductor.
12 March 2010 Microbubbles take first prize In an ideal world, energy would be cleaner and the fuels we use would be readily available.
23 February 2010 Butterfly wings inspire new research A technique that enables replicas of biological structures, such as butterfly wings, to be made on a nanometric scale has been developed by a team of researchers from the State University of Pennsylvania and the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in Spain.
22 February 2010 Atomic love, in 3 dimensions Possibly the smallest Valentine's card in the world.
20 February 2010 Ubiquitin mystery chains Researchers have been able to view in detail, and for the first time, the previously unexplained process by which long chains of a protein called ubiquitin are added to proteins that control the cell cycle.
09 February 2010 Nano-snowman You're looking at the tiniest snowman ever built, 10 microns across.
09 February 2010 Sensors appreciate fine works of art Valuable paintings travel long distances when they are shipped from one place to another. To minimize damage, they are packed in special picture cases.
09 February 2010 Grain boundaries hold the key Electronic devices can't work well unless all of the transistors, or switches, within them allow electrical current to flow easily when they are turned on.
09 February 2010 A window that washes itself Nanotechnology has now produced a coating for windows or solar panels that repels grime and dirt.
09 February 2010 A new generation of catalysts Researchers at Delft University of Technology, [Juan-Alcañiz et al., Journal of Catalysis (2010), 269, 221] have reported the synthesis of a new class of porous solids with outstanding bi-functional catalytic activity.
09 February 2010 Nanotube revelations Single-walled carbon nanotubes, SWNTs are the focus of much research aimed at building sophisticated nanoscopic structures for future electronic and spintronic devices. However, several conundrums surround their bizarre electrical conductivity behaviour, not least the issue of bandgap measurements and how these relate to the size and structure of semiconducting SWNTs.
09 February 2010 Snappy silicon surfaces The way a material behaves is commonly dependent on the characteristics of its surface. An international team based in France and the USA [Chabal et al., Nature Mater (2010) DOI: 10.1038/NMAT2611] has now used a process to allow "snap-on" chemistry on silicon substrates by nanopatterning their surfaces.
09 February 2010 Strong bonds not so strong A fundamental laboratory advance has made it possible to break, at room temperature and pressure, two of the strongest types of chemical bonds in order to make common industrial compounds. In doing so, researchers at Cornell University have taken an important first step toward less-energy-intensive processes for making nitrogen-containing organic compounds. [Knobloch et al., Nature Chem., (2009) doi:10.1038/nchem.477]
09 February 2010 Ordered energy storage Electric batteries take a long time to re-charge but have large capacities, while capacitors can be charged very rapidly, but suffer from low-power densities. Researchers in the US and Germany [ Brezesinski et al., Nature Mater. (2010) DOI: 10.1038/NMAT2612] are developing new materials that could be used in pseudocapacitors that charge rapidly and have high power densities.
09 February 2010 Metamaterials provide lenses with a broader vision Researchers from Duke University, North Carolina have created a lens which has a field of view close to 180° and a zero f-number [Kundtz et al., Nat. Mater. (2009) doi: 10.1038/NMAT2610].
09 February 2010 Semiconductor advances Stable, non-volatile computer memory could emerge from research that involves depositing amorphous carbon on to silicon, say US researchers.
16 October 2009 Using a silicon nanostructure cloak to render objects invisible Researchers have made a breakthrough in the search for a cloaking device that can make objects appear invisible to the external observer, an area of enquiry that is attracting a lot of scientific interest.
16 October 2009 Rock ‘n’ Roll nanotubes Nanotubes and nanowires are not as amenable to manipulation as macroscopic commodities, however, their promise as building blocks for future electronics, sensors, and electromechanical devices, means that researchers are keen to find ways to handle these tiny entities easily.
16 October 2009 Molecular puppets When it comes to charges, molecules of hydrogen are just too symmetrical.
16 October 2009 How much risk do people think there is in nanotechnology? There has been a huge upsurge in anticipating how the public will react to nanotechnology, particularly a widespread negativity about its use and the possible health risks associated with nanomaterials.
16 October 2009 Diamonds give Raman lasers new properties Scientists have developed the first efficient diamond Raman laser, using man-made diamonds to enhance their strength and effectiveness, and achieving a comparable efficiency to lasers built with other materials.
16 October 2009 Imaging collagen with X-rays Coherent X-ray diffraction patterns of collagen in soft tissues have been measured for the first time by Dr Felisa Berenguer (London Centre for Nanotechnology) with her colleagues [paper to publish in PNAS 2009].
16 October 2009 Opposites do not always attract Researchers have reported unexpected results from studies into the behavior of oppositely charged liquid drops.
16 October 2009 2000 year old Greek athlete sheds light on corrosion Biomineralization studies of a recently discovered 2,000-year-old bronze sculpture may help modern scientists understand how to prevent metal corrosion, discover the safest ways to permanently store nuclear waste, and understand other perplexing problems. [Lyons et al., Cryst. Growth Des., DOI: 10.1021/cg900402b].
24 September 2009 Tip-enhanced phonon Raman Conventional phonon Raman spectroscopy is a powerful experimental technique for the study of crystalline solids that allows crystallography, phase and domain identification on length scales down to 1 mm.
24 September 2009 Engineered bone dependant on cell source Scientists [Gentleman et al., DOI: 10.1038/NMAT2505 ] have successfully highlighted the importance of cell source in regenerative medicine.
24 September 2009 Sounding out molecular control Tweezers are not just for plucking eyebrows and removing splinters, they can be used to arrange small objects.
24 September 2009 Nanoparticles and living cells New approaches and standardized test procedures to study the impact of nanoparticles on living cells are urgently needed for the evaluation of potential hazards relating human exposure to nanoparticles.
09 July 2009 SMAs for mechanical damping Until now both scientific and technological fields have been unable to agree whether the stress-induced martensitic transformation of shape memory alloys (SMAs) exhibits a size dependence similar to that observed in crystal plasticity.
18 June 2009 From ABC monomers to multifunctional nanoarchitectures It is widely known that the ability to attach different functional moieties to a molecular building block can lead to applications in fields such as nanoelectronics, nanophotonics, intelligent sensing and drug delivery.
17 June 2009 Bend it, stretch it! It has been known for some time that stretchability properties in materials will significantly expand the scope of applications in the electronics industry particularly for large-area electronic displays, sensors and actuators, and unlike conventional devices stretchable electronics can cover arbitrary surfaces and movable parts, opening up a wealth of opportunities.
17 June 2009 A waterproof gas nanosensor There is increasing demand for low-cost gas sensors that can discriminate between low concentrations of analytes.
17 June 2009 Decode the Nanoworld with the Next Generation of AFM You’ve been expecting something genuinely new from the AFM/SPM industry, but for many years you’ve only seen tweaks to old technology.
12 June 2009 Fast Pandemic Detection Tool Ready to Fight Flu Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) today announced researchers are developing new tools for rapidly characterizing biological pathogens that could give rise to potentially deadly pandemics such as Influenza A (H1N1).
12 June 2009 X-Max Large Area Analytical EDS SDD The new X-Max Silicon Drift Detector (SDD) offers users over TEN times the solid angle of conventional EDS detectors... without compromising on performance. Now you can have count rate, imaging, and analytical performance all at the same time.
12 June 2009 Nano twin boundaries for that extra strength and stretch Defects and boundaries are often created intentionally within materials to provide extra strength. However, this process comes at a price. Although the material is now stronger, it is also more brittle and its ability to stretch and deform is drastically reduced. Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in China have devised strategies to overcome this loss of ductility and the answer comes in the form of nanoscale twin boundaries
26 May 2009 SAM meets carboranes Self-assembled monolayer (SAM) structures and properties are dominated by two interactions: those between the substrate and adsorbate, and those between the adsorbates themselves.
26 May 2009 Super battery The storage of electrical energy at high charge and discharge rate is an important technology in today's society. It can enable hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and provide back-up for wind and solar energy.
26 May 2009 Coatings go natural Ever since prehistoric days, humans have used natural paint systems to decorate caves, etc. However, after the introduction of cheaper base products such as mineral oils, the use of more expensive and environmentally friendly resources in paints and coatings declined.
26 May 2009 Stretching electronics to the limit A material which exhibits conductivities as high as 57 S/cm and is also elastic has been created by a team from Japan.
28 September 2008 Waste for life Student learning through international development projects. Who pays and who benefits?
26 September 2008 A Van Gogh underneath a Van Gogh Vincent van Gogh, one of the founding fathers of modern painting, was known to save canvas in a very particular way: He reused the canvases of abandoned paintings by covering them with layers of white and then painted over them
26 September 2008 Interferometers feel the pressure Many methods can be employed to measure mechanical displacement; the coupling of optical and mechanical degrees of freedom is behind many of these techniques.
26 September 2008 Slower speeds win It is widely believed that interactions at metal surfaces increase with an increase in molecular velocity. Scientists in California have presented findings that actually contradict this belief
26 September 2008 Now you see it, now you don't Invisibility cloaks have taken a step closer to reality as a result of new research carried out by a group from the University of California Berkeley in the US.
26 September 2008 Data storage capacity on the rise Using block copolymers that spontaneously assemble into patterns created by lithography, higher density and greater uniformity can be obtained when manufacturing data storage devices, according to research carried out at the University of Wisconsin
26 September 2008 Unreactive bond gets a wake up call Researchers at Brandeis University have presented a paper that offers renewed hope in finding commercially viable routes to the successful breakdown of fluorinated compounds
26 September 2008 Diamonds are a geologist's best friend Diamonds filled with mineral deposits (or inclusions) provide a chance to see a frozen snapshot of extreme chemical and physical processes that have occurred in the earths mantle
26 September 2008 Terrahertz moves to the near field Passing through materials that are opaque to visible light, terrahertz waves offer advantages in imaging applications
26 September 2008 Simple building blocks show a complex side The self-assembly of small molecular ‘building blocks’ into large and ordered structures, inspired by biological systems, is a highly attractive prospect because it does not involve complicated synthetic pathways or external manipulation.
26 September 2008 Artificial eyes see first pictures The capability to perceive light was among the first senses to develop in animals and, many species use eyes as their primary sense organs
26 September 2008 Integrated nanowire array sensor circuit is a first An integrated sensor circuit that is based on nanowire arrays and combining light sensors with electronics made from different crystalline materials, has been developed by scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy and the University of California at Berkeley
26 September 2008 Graphene puffs up under pressure Graphine is a one atom thick crystal layer, a chemically stable and electrically conducting membrane exhibiting a variety of unique properties due to its novel molecular structure One of the big question still remaining unanswered was; can such membranes be impermeable to atoms, molecules and ions?
26 September 2008 What really sank the Titanic? An engineering tragedy consists of a sequence of events, some normal and some unusual, which must occur in a certain order and with a certain timing, for the accident to take place.
26 September 2008 Super sponge Wheat is capable of producing a dough with very special structural properties. How does a such a sticky mass become a tasty loaf?
19 August 2008 Hydrogels bend on command Bryan Kaehr and Jason B. Shear at the University of Texas at Austin have used multiphoton nonlinear excitation to fabricate chemically responsive protein structures embedded in a protein hydrogel matrix
19 August 2008 Single myosins respond to force Myosins are biological molecular motors that glide along long filaments called actin to transport cargo within cells.
19 August 2008 Waterproofs for nanotubes Researchers at the National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology in India have fabricated superhydrophobic nanocomposite coatings composed of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and oligo(p-phenylenevinylene) (OPV) molecules
19 August 2008 How Au goes noble Au nanoclusters have found use in many contexts, but their structure and electronic properties have until recently remained elusive.
19 August 2008 Corrugations cap the Casimir force As devices get ever smaller, nanotechnologists' concerns about the forces that come into play at the nanoscale grow ever larger.
19 August 2008 X-ray microscopy makes for super resolution Researchers from the Paul Scherrer Institut and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland have unveiled the next best thing in X-ray microscopy by combining the advantages of two well-established techniques.
19 August 2008 A glimpse of carrier pairing in superconductors A peek into the inner workings of high temperature superconductors has been provided by new work by an international collaboration reporting in Nature.
19 August 2008 Soluble organo-silica hybrid nanowire One-dimensional nanostructures such as nanowires, nanotubes, and nanorods have a large potential as building blocks for assembling nanodevices.
19 August 2008 Silicon nanowires light up a spark A team of scientists has shown that metallic silicon nanowires (Si NWs) grown on a Ag surface undergo an oxidation process that is remarkably similar to the combustion process in a burning match
19 August 2008 Graphene goes from strength to strength redictions about the phenomenal strength of defect-free graphene appear to be well-founded, according to new experimental data from researchers at Columbia University
19 August 2008 Promising future for nanotube-based electronics Semiconducting carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are promising for electronics because of their superior properties, particularly their suitability for flexible applications.
19 August 2008 Graphene origami at the touch of a drop Graphene can be turned into complex structures by simply placing nanodroplets of water on its surface, say researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago [Patra et al., Nano Lett. (2009) 9, 3767].
09 February 2010 Bio-artificial materials promoting vasculature growth The importance of growing, functional and stable blood vessels at the site of an injury is crucial to regenerative medicine therapies. A new study has shown that synthetic polymers, called hydrogels, have been able to induce significant vasculature growth in areas of damaged tissue.
09 February 2010 Super atoms mimic elements, with a little help from the periodic table A new study has shown that certain combinations of elemental atoms have electronic signatures that mimic the electronic signatures of other elements, which could help the development of cheaper materials as new sources of energy, in pollution reduction and in catalysts for chemical processing.
09 February 2010 Neutrons confirm Newton's predictions An optical effect first predicted by Isaac Newton has been shown to occur when neutrons interact with matter.
01 February 2010 Nanotube revelations Single-walled carbon nanotubes, SWNTs are the focus of much research aimed at building sophisticated nanoscopic structures for future electronic and spintronic devices.
23 January 2010 Magnetricity is taken for a spin At long last there is experimental evidence that magnetic charges exist and that they have measurable currents or magnetricity, just like an electric charge [Bramwell et al., Nature (2009) 461, 956].
13 January 2010 Neuronal nanotubes Could nanotechnology be the key to developing an interface between nerve cells and microelectronic circuitry? US scientists have recently demonstrated that signals can be recorded from rat neurons using conducting polymer nanotubes. The research carried out at the University of Michigan might one day help in the development of sensors and treatments for neurological disorders including Parkinson's disease and paralysis.
13 January 2010 Innovative metallic glass shows promise for bone surgery A team of scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich, www.ethz.ch), Switzerland, has developed an innovative biodegradable metallic glass that might one day replace the metal implants currently used to repair bone fractures [Zberg et al., doi:10.1038/nmat2542]. The new material would make it unnecessary to undergo a second implant-removal surgery; it would also eliminate the side-effects of permanent implants by dissolving into the body, once the healing process of the bones has been achieved.
13 January 2010 Graphene speeds up computers New research has shown how graphene-like structures designed on the nanoscale level – geodesic systems shaped like the Eden Project building in Cornwall, UK – could be used as building blocks for a new generation of electronic circuits, giving rise to faster computers, or mobile phones that send data at much higher rates.
13 January 2010 A hard X-ray interferometer A novel type of hard X-ray interferometer employing a bilens system with two parallel arrays of compound refractive lenses has been developed by scientists from France and Russia. Under coherent illumination, the bilens generates two diffraction limited mutually coherent beams. When the beams overlap they produce an interference pattern with a fringe spacing ranging from tens of nanometres to tens of micrometres.
13 January 2010 Processing nanotube fibers goes mainstream Rice University scientists today unveiled a method for the industrial-scale processing of pure carbon-nanotube fibers that could lead to revolutionary advances in materials science, power distribution and nanoelectronics [Rice et al., Nature nanotech. (2009) doi:10.1038/nnano.2009.302]. The result of a nine-year program, the method builds upon tried-and-true processes that chemical firms have used for decades to produce plastics.
13 January 2010 Casting a new light on chromophores Researchers from Harvard University in Massachusetts have devised a method to study non-fluorescent molecules using a technique called stimulated emission microscopy, an approach based upon a phenomenon first described by Albert Einstein in 1917 [Min et al., Nature (2009) 461, 1105].
13 January 2010 New approach produces stimuli-responsive assemblies of nanoparticles New research has demonstrated how a blend of polymers and nanoparticles that react to different stimuli, such as heat and light, can be made by adding small molecules to the mixture. This straightforward approach could be a key development in applying such materials industrially, and could have potential for energy harvesting and storage, as well as optical devices and catalysis.
13 January 2010 Synthetic cells help research and provide battery power Scientists have discovered a technique for using artificial cells to explore the function of molecules in actual biological cells. The new approach can help the measurement of biological systems and show how cell nanomachinery interacts within cells, which could have a major impact in the development of new medical procedures and drug discovery.
13 January 2010 Danish nanowires capture the sunlight Danish nanophysicists have developed a new method for manufacturing nanowires. The discovery has great potential for the development of nanoelectronics and highly efficient solar cells. [Krogstrup, et al., Nano Lett. (2009) doi: 10.1021/n1901348d]
13 January 2010 Magnetricity: The new magnetic electricity A magnetic charge can behave and interact just like an electric charge in some materials, according to new research led by the London Centre for Nanotechnology which could lead to a reassessment of current magnetism theories, as well as significant technological advances.
05 January 2010 Origami tubes A new approach to nanoelectronics could see researchers using DNA origami to self-assemble circuits from carbon nanotubes and other materials.
22 December 2009 Every silver-lined solar cell The future of lighter, cheaper, and more-flexible solar cells looks bright thanks to US research into silver nanoparticles. Scientists at Ohio State University have added the nanoparticles to their polymer semiconductor photovoltaic materials and observed a relative efficiency boost of 12 percent. The discovery could pave the way to flexible organic photovoltaics with all the advantages of ease of manufacture and inexpensive starting materials.
22 December 2009 Small and powerful nuclear battery developed A team of researchers have built a very small and efficient nuclear battery, which is intended to power various micro/nanoelectromechanical systems. The radioisotope battery is tiny – the current model is about the size and thickness of a penny – and innovatively uses a liquid semiconductor rather than the usual solid one.
22 December 2009 Transforming Engineers into Engineering Leaders In its recent report The Engineer of 2020: Visions of Engineering in the New Century, the U.S.-based National Academy of Engineering outlined the various fields in which students educated in engineering might go on to be leaders, including research, product and system development, business and even broader professions.
22 December 2009 The scientific symposium “Materials Challenges for Clean Energy in the New Millennium” The global energy problem is rapidly intensifying due to escalating competition for resources from emerging, populous countries such as China, India, and Brazil and compelling evidence pointing towards the imperative need for controlling greenhouse gas and carbon emissions.
22 December 2009 Pencilled in: graphite's ferromagnetism: Magnetism Graphite should not be ferromagnetic because it has none of the high-level 3d and 4f electrons seen in iron that can align to produce a magnetic field. Graphite contains only sp electrons, which produce only weak magnetic signals.
22 December 2009 Danish nanowires capture the sunlight Danish nanophysicists have developed a new method for manufacturing nanowires. The discovery has great potential for the development of nanoelectronics and highly efficient solar cells. [Krogstrup, et al., Nano Lett., (2009) DOI: 10.1021/n1901348d]
18 December 2009 Nanowires take on new dimensions Taking nanomaterials to a new level of structural complexity, scientists have determined how to introduce kinks into arrow-straight nanowires, transforming them into zigzagging two- and three-dimensional structures with correspondingly advanced functions.
18 December 2009 Processing nanotube fibers goes mainstream Rice University scientists today unveiled a method for the industrial-scale processing of pure carbon-nanotube fibers that could lead to revolutionary advances in materials science, power distribution and nanoelectronics [Rice et al., Nature nanotech. (2009) doi:10.1038/nnano.2009.302 ].
18 December 2009 Quantum Gas Microscope Physicists at Harvard University [Bakr et al., Nature 462, (2009) 74 ] have created a quantum gas microscope that can be used to observe single atoms at temperatures so low the particles follow the rules of quantum mechanics, behaving in bizarre ways.
18 December 2009 Nano Snowman You're looking at the tiniest snowman ever built, 10 microns across.
05 December 2009 Harvesting Energy from Natural Motion By taking advantage of the vagaries of the natural world, Duke University engineers [Stanton et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. (2009) , 95] have developed a novel approach that they believe can more efficiently harvest electricity from the motions of everyday life.
27 November 2009 Making Carbon Nanotubes into Long Fibers A new method for assembling carbon nanotubes has been used to create fibers hundreds of meters long.
27 November 2009 nano-scale drug delivery Duke University bioengineers have developed a simple and inexpensive method for loading cancer drug payloads into nano-scale delivery vehicles
27 November 2009 Dissecting the nanoworld A group of scientists at the University of Bath [J D Beard et al 2009 Nanotechnology 20 ] have developed new modified AFM probes designed for the cutting and manipulation of structures at extremely small scales.
26 November 2009 Chilly fuel cells The most efficient way to get electricity from hydrocarbon fuels such as natural gas or gasified coal is to oxidize them in a solid-oxide fuel cell. Unlike other fuel cells, solid-oxide cells can run on almost any fuel. But running them efficiently requires high temperatures, which raises prices.
05 November 2009 Ultrafast DNA Nanosensor A portable instrument based on an ultrasensitive nanoscale sensor could detect bacteria in minutes, helping to catch infectious diseases early and prevent their spread.
05 November 2009 Controlled movement of molecules Scientists in the United Kingdom are reporting an advance toward overcoming one of the key challenges in nanotechnology: Getting molecules to move quickly in a desired direction without help from outside forces.
05 November 2009 Bacterium helps formation of gold Australian scientists [Reith F, et al, (2009) pnas.0904583106 ] have found that the bacterium Cupriavidus metallidurans catalyses the biomineralisation of gold by transforming toxic gold compounds to their metallic form using active cellular mechanism.
05 November 2009 Materials Today Self-Assembly Webinar: Register now We are pleased to announce that Materials Today in partnership with Sigma-Aldrich, are staging a live educational webinar on:From Molecules to Monolayers:Self-Assembly and Analysis, Molecule by Molecule
05 November 2009 The future of diamond just got brighter Diamond has long been sought after as a gemstone without peer. Recently it has been shown to be the only known solid-state host of qubits and single photon sources that operates at room temperature.
16 October 2009 Magnetricity: The new magnetic electricity A magnetic charge can behave and interact just like an electric charge in some materials, according to new research led by the London Centre for Nanotechnology
15 October 2009 NanoProfessor™ Please visit www.NanoProfessor.net to learn more about this innovative nanoscience education program. It combines equipment, curriculum, and supplies for a complete nanofabrication experience at the high school, technical school, or small college level.
15 October 2009 Controlled movement of molecules Scientists in the United Kingdom are reporting an advance toward overcoming one of the key challenges in nanotechnology: Getting molecules to move quickly in a desired direction without help from outside forces.
10 October 2009 Microwave fridges and nano diving boards NPL scientists are paving the way for highly accurate measurement at the nano-scale and beyond, by being the first team in the world to develop a tiny microwave-powered room-temperature fridge [Hao et al journal Applied Physics Letters (2009), 95, 113501]
07 October 2009 Technique reveals buried image in famed illustrator’s painting Scientists have reported use of a new X-ray imaging technique to reveal for the first time in a century unprecedented details of a painting hidden beneath another painting by American illustrator N.C. (Newell Convers) Wyeth.
04 October 2009 Novel silver nanoparticle gel shows promise for healing skin burns A novel antimicrobial silver-based gel using nanoparticles appears to offer an effective and safer alternative to conventional silver-based formulations used to treat burn wounds.
28 September 2009 Educating tomorrow's engineering leaders What do we really mean by ‘engineering leadership’, how can it be developed and nurtured?
25 September 2009 Flipping sandwiches Molecule-sized electronics components could soon be on the menu thanks to US research that has led to a simple recipe for sandwiching organic molecules between silicon and metal layers.
24 September 2009 Micro-second force spectroscopy Proteins are dynamic molecular machines having structural flexibility that allows conformational changes.
24 September 2009 Membrane breaks through performance barrier Engineers have developed a new method for creating high-performance membranes from crystal sieves called zeolites; the method could increase the energy efficiency of chemical separations up to 50 times over conventional methods and enable higher production rates.
24 September 2009 Climbing the walls – gecko-style Two scientists have discovered that the ability of the gecko to grip onto smooth surfaces is actually triggered by gravity, and that it is the steepness of a surface that makes them deploy their gripping mechanism.
24 September 2009 Technique reveals buried image in famed illustrator’s painting Scientists have reported use of a new X-ray imaging technique to reveal for the first time in a century unprecedented details of a painting hidden beneath another painting by American illustrator N.C. (Newell Convers) Wyeth. The non-destructive look-beneath-the-surface method could reveal hidden images in hundreds of Old Master paintings and other prized works of art, the researchers say. The scientists reported the research at the 238th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
06 September 2009 Controlling the electronic surface properties of a material A recent breakthrough by researchers at the Swiss Nanoscience Institute sees for the first time the creation of thin films with controllable electronic properties.
05 September 2009 Lord Paul Drayson on Science funding and Innovation in the UK Recessions pose enormous challenges for individuals, companies and governments alike. Yet they also present significant opportunities for those with the foresight to seize them.
28 August 2009 Quantum effects slash hydrogen storage potential Today's technology is capable of powering a car using hydrogen reducing harmful emissions to zero.
24 August 2009 Custom protein surfaces for biosensors Protein arrays are used in a wide range of applications, including diagnostic biosensors. Diagnostic biosensors detect diseases in the human body.
22 August 2009 Dead layers kill MRAM performance Despite the continued demand for Flash RAM memory for portable data storage and other applications, intensive research into the alternative magnetic RAM continues. MRAM offers the potential for faster write times than Flash memory and greater permanence.
22 August 2009 Novel gels from polymer mixes The most widely studied and commercially important block copolymers are poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(propylene oxide) triblocks.
22 August 2009 ISIS water legend Dr Alan Soper has been awarded the highest possible position for an STFC scientist, that of Senior Fellow.
22 August 2009 A sweeter understanding of cryo-preservation Innovation in the field of bio-protectant materials stems from a need to stabiliise and preserve biological products.
22 August 2009 The secrets of antibody armour revealed A team led by University College London (UCL) has used a combination of X-rays and neutron scattering to determine the structure of secretory immunoglobin A (SIgA), the most prevalent antibody in the immune system.
22 August 2009 Muons create better understanding of organic semiconductors Electronic devices based on organic semiconductors, such as Alq3 (tris[8-hydroxy-quinoline] aluminum) are revolutionising electroluminescent displays and large-area electronics.
22 August 2009 Cosmic screening A new instrument is to be built at the ISIS Second Target Station dedicated to microchip irradiation testing.
22 August 2009 A new spin on magnetic ladders Scientists at the London Centre for Nanotechnology [Reuegg et al., doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.107204, report a major breakthrough in the study of low-dimensional quantum systems.
14 August 2009 Tunable graphene bandgap opens nanoelectronic opportunities The lack of a bandgap, or energy range, on two-dimensional crystalline carbon, or graphene, has limited the outlook for the material with respect to electronic applications.
14 August 2009 Model motor nerve system Researchers from the University of Central Florida (UCF) [Rumsey et al., doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2009.03.023] report on the first lab-grown motor nerves that are insulated and organized just like they are in the human body.
14 August 2009 Peering inside nanowires Semiconductor nanowires have intrigued scientists for many years as they provide many opportunities to study and apply phenomena at the nanoscale. With diameters as small as a few billionths of a meter they hold promise for devices of the future, both in technology like light-emitting diodes and in new versions of transistors and circuits for next generation devices.
14 August 2009 Nanoparticle films make for flexibility Nanoparticles typically exhibit low cohesion, making their use in thin films problematic. Scientists at Vanderbilt University have found a way of fabricating all-nanoparticle thin films that do not easily disintegrate, making them suitable for a wider range of applications than was previously the case [Hasan, et al., Chemical Communications 2009 25 3723].
14 August 2009 Nanoparticles and living cells New approaches and standardized test procedures to study the impact of nanoparticles on living cells are urgently needed for the evaluation of potential hazards relating human exposure to nanoparticles. An important aspect of nanoparticle toxicity, in contrast to molecular toxicity, is the fact that the preparation and way of administration of the nanoparticles plays a crucial role.
14 August 2009 Self assembled nanoparticles beat disease A group of scientists from Biopolis, Zhejiang University, The University of South Carolina and Nanyang Technological University [Liu et al., DOI: 10.1038/NNANO.2009.153] have shown that a novel class of core–shell nanoparticles formed by self-assembly of an amphiphilic peptide have strong antimicrobial properties against a range of bacteria, yeasts and fungi.
14 August 2009 Clear view of indigo blue Ancient residents of Mexico decorating their pottery and homes used a very stable blue pigment now known as ‘Maya Blue’. A mixture of indigo dye and palygorskite clay, the vivid pigment provides a dramatic background for some of the most impressive murals throughout Mesoamerica.
14 August 2009 CNTs make good sensors Scientists at the University of Florence and at the University of L'Aquila [Lozzi et al., doi: 10.1016/j.electacta.209.01.038] have successfully synthesised vertically aligned carbon nanotubes. A powerful genosensor was developed from this using synthetic oligonucleotides.
14 August 2009 Two-atom lead superconductor thinnest ever Paving the way for smaller and more efficient devices, a superconducting sheet just two atoms thick has been created at The University of Texas at Austin by Dr. Ken Shih and colleagues [Shengyong Qin, et al., DOI: 10.1126/science.1170775].
14 August 2009 Carbon nanotube tips for AFM The impact of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) over the past 20 years has been dramatic: its invention was, for example recently rated the second most important advance in materials science of the past 50 years.
14 August 2009 Next generation display technology Available online 14 August 2009. The performance of ultra thin next-generation flexible display technologies is dependent on the structure of polymer-polymer interfaces. Thanks to neutron reflection, researchers can now examine how fabrication procedures affect interface structure and device performance.
14 August 2009 High-temperature superconductors – choose your poison Discovery in February 2008 of a new class of superconductors based on Fe-As combinations has spawned enormous activity as materials groups race to find the right combinations that will push the superconducting temperature as high as possible.
14 August 2009 Magic bullets and plastic sponges For nearly a century the goal of many pharmacologists has been to create drugs that can be transported to a specific organ within the body and released at a controlled rate.
14 August 2009 Jupiter's icy moons First synthesised in 1837 by Carl Julius Fritzsche, magnesium sulfate undecahydrate – MgSO4·11H2O, is a long known, but little studied material. Suggestions that it could be a major rock-forming mineral on the icy satellites of Jupiter has re-awakened interest.
14 August 2009 Modelling the behaviour of hydrogen in semiconductors Hydrogen is frequently found as an impurity in semiconducting materials used in the electronics industry.
14 August 2009 Charged up – new way forward for ceramic dielectrics A team led by America's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has used a combination of neutron diffraction and photon measurements to discover the unusual electronic properties of silver niobate. [Levin, Phys. Rev. B (2009) 79, 104113]
14 August 2009 Muons for bioscience at ISIS A £2.1 million investment in muon spectroscopy at ISIS promises to open up new areas of research in soft matter and bioscience. Muon spectroscopy monitors the decay of muons when implanted into samples.
14 August 2009 Neutron Imaging New results on energy-selective neutron radiography show vast potential for new materials science and engineering research according to a European research collaboration.
13 August 2009 New President-Elect of IoP Professor Marshall Stoneham to become President-Elect of IoP
31 July 2009 Two-atom lead superconductor thinnest ever Paving the way for smaller and more efficient devices, a superconducting sheet just two atoms thick has been created at The University of Texas at Austin by Dr. Ken Shih and colleagues [Shengyong Qin, et al., DOI: 10.1126/science.1170775].
29 July 2009 Carbon nanotube tips for AFM The impact of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) over the past 20 years has been dramatic: its invention was, for example recently rated the second most important advance in materials science of the past 50 years.
28 July 2009 A new spin on magnetic ladders Scientists at the London Centre for Nanotechnology [Reuegg et al., doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.107204, report a major breakthrough in the study of low-dimensional quantum systems.
28 July 2009 Invisibility possibilities in the visible Long before the Klingons came at Captain Kirk with ‘cloaked’ space craft in the 1960s, the imagined possibilities of invisibility have been dreamed of by schoolboys, scientists, the military and almost everyone else.
18 June 2009 Graphene from worm-like graphite Graphene is a material of growing technological importance due in part to its outstanding properties, numerous and potential applications.
18 June 2009 Negative dead layer provides route to thin film devices The development of smaller ferroelectric capacitors with additional capacity is at least partly held up by the presence of a ‘dead layer’ at the surface.
18 June 2009 Patterning SWNTs Scientific and technological interest in one-dimensional nanomaterials, in particular carbon nanotubes, is a result of their fascinating properties and their ability to serve as templates for directed assembly.
18 June 2009 Interacting dots hold key to information processing Quantum dots (QDs) and the electrons that can be trapped in their discrete energy levels are of great interest for quantum information processing. The spin state of these trapped electrons could act as carriers of quantum information or ‘qubits’.
17 June 2009 Daisies result from magnetic attraction The assembly of complex structures out of simple colloidal building blocks is of practical interest for building materials with unique optical properties (for example photonic crystals and DNA biosensors) and is of fundamental importance in improving our understanding of self-assembly processes occurring on molecular to macroscopic length scales.
12 June 2009 Axio CSM 700 confocal microscope from Carl Zeiss UK for non-contact metrology The Axio CSM 700 confocal microscope from Carl Zeiss meets users’ demands for rapid and robust non-contact measurement of 3D microstructures and determination of surface roughness. Ideal for materials research, quality inspection and routine applications, the Axio CSM 700 displays surfaces three-dimensionally in high resolution and in true colour even on relatively "soft" surfaces.
12 June 2009 Molecular magnets wired on gold Memory storage miniaturization is progressing steadily on to smaller and smaller devices. As structures go, one cannot miniaturize further than to the size of individual molecules.
12 June 2009 Printable power using carbon nanotube supercapacitors Portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, netbooks, and cameras are becoming increasingly more important to our society. How rarely we leave the house without our trusty iPhone or Blackberry!
26 May 2009 Book Review - Nanofluidics The development of micro- and nanoscale fabrication and characterization techniques in recent decades has led to a rapid increase in availability of research tools for studying small-scale systems. Because of the excitement specifically associated with analysis and manipulation of micro- and nanoscale fluid systems, the interest in micro- and nanofluidics continues to grow.
26 May 2009 “Nanobombs” shock cancer cells In the realm of science fiction, the idea of tiny nanorobots that can enter the human body and seek out and destroy unwanted elements has been prevalent.
16 April 2009 How stiff are your joints? Atomic force microscopy (AFM) can detect osteoarthritis several months before conventional morphology-based diagnostic techniques.
16 April 2009 Nanoparticles deliver the goods and leave without a trace Researchers have come up with a new type of non-toxic nanoparticle
12 April 2009 Nanoscale capacitors pack in the power Feynman's famous 1959 proclamation “There's plenty of room at the bottom” largely referred to the untapped storage ability for information at the nanoscale.
12 April 2009 Smarter implants One of the major obstacles preventing the development of implantable biosensors, artificial kidneys, and other “active” medical devices has been the reduction in device function after implantation.
12 April 2009 Better photocells from bigger Buckyballs Much research activity is presently devoted to organic photovoltaic devices (OPV), in particular ones comprising polymers as donors and a variety of C60 fullerenes with organic molecules attached as acceptors.
12 April 2009 Whose choice is it anyway? When deciding upon a particular project, do not simply consider benefits and costs, but do ask “whose benefits and whose costs?
12 April 2009 Nanostructured origami Using the art of origami a group of scientists [MIT tech talk (2009) 53, 4] and [Arora, et al., J. Microelec. Syst. (2009) 18, 98] have successfully fabricated a functional microscale super capacitor, which is essentially a nanostructured 3D device.
12 April 2009 Single molecules cooling off Until now it has been virtually impossible to record meaningful and reproducible data from single non-bonded molecules.
12 April 2009 Silicon nanocrystals to order Silicon nanocrystals are particularly useful for applications in nanoelectronic, optoelectronic and biological disciplines, and their production has become increasingly important.
12 April 2009 Better photocells from bigger Buckyballs Scientists have developed a novel fullerene species
06 April 2009 Gold for designer DNA architecture DNA is one of the most promising materials for the construction of arbitrarily tailored 3D nanostructures
19 March 2009 Biomimicry to the rescue Producing new high performance materials with enhanced strength and toughness by copying and mimicking nature's hidden marvels is the essence of biomimicry.
19 March 2009 Shooting on diamonds with the fastest gun in the world The behaviour of carbon under high pressure in the vicinity of the melt boundary has been investigated by scientists actively in the last years.
19 March 2009 Tiny wires promise intense energy Given the limited reserves of fossil and nuclear fuels, it seems evident that our future energy demands will have to be met by renewable energy sources.
19 March 2009 Antiferromagnetic coupling in semiconductors The phenomenon known as giant magnetoresistance (GMR), which has won the Nobel prize of physics in 2007, is based on the effect of antiferromagnetic coupling (AFC) between adjacent layers of magnetic materials.
19 March 2009 Targeted stamping of graphene The highly unusual properties of graphene has triggered a flurry of research activity in 2D carbon worldwide over the past four years.
19 March 2009 Bendy, see-through electrodes Minute though it may be, the carbon atom is single-handedly responsible for an entire branch of chemistry, and lies at the base of most of biology.
19 March 2009 Parallel light rays converge on invisibility Few ideas capture the imagination as vividly as cloaking, or rendering objects invisible to electromagnetic radiation.
19 March 2009 Brushing up on sensors With colorimetric sensors, problems with selectivity and degradation give rise to stability issues.
27 November 2008 Nano-patterned fibres shine more brightly Organic light sources become steadily more important in the growing field of optoelectronics.
27 November 2008 Soft colloidal mixtures freeze asymmetrically Soft colloidal particles play an important role in large-scale and microfluidic industrial processing applications, as well as in a variety of cosmetic and pharmaceutical products.
27 November 2008 Electrospinning has nanofibers in alignment Up to now, electrospinning has always been accepted as a fast, simple and efficient technique for the production of polymer fibers, with variable dimensions.
27 November 2008 Hydrogen from water The search for suitable semiconductors as photocatalysts for the splitting of water into hydrogen gas using solar energy is one of the noblest missions that face material scientists today.
27 November 2008 Water soluble gold Gold is one of the few metals that is not rejected by our body. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) thus provide non-toxic routes to drug and gene delivery applications.
27 November 2008 Superconductivity Treating the entire superconductivity field, this unparalleled reference resource blends theoretical studies with experimental results to provide the scientists and engineers an indispensable foundation for further research.
27 November 2008 Condition assessment of aged structures A comprehensive single source of information on structural assessment techniques for marine and land based structures, industrial plants and buildings.
27 November 2008 Shape memory alloys for biomedical applications Shape memory alloys are suitable for a wide range of biomedical applications, such as dentistry, bone repair and cardiovascular stents.
27 November 2008 Handbook of advanced dielectric, piezoelectric and ferroelectric materials This comprehensive book covers the latest developments in advanced dielectric, piezoelectric and ferroelectric materials.
27 November 2008 Welcome to the second target station at ISIS Dr Andrew Taylor, Director of the ISIS neutron source, explains the opportunities for materials scientists.
27 November 2008 Implementing educational change: heeding the messages from materials science Change is the order of the day. However, this state of flux is not confined to materials scientists. Organisations such as the UK Centre for Materials Education (UKCME), charged with a remit to enhance student learning, are also in the business of change.
27 November 2008 The Time For Thermochromics A house that changes color to white when it is hot, will reflect more sunlight and require less air conditioning.
27 November 2008 Molecular architecture using DNA The assembly of nanostructures according to one's wishes is one great goal of today's materials science. Probably the most promising approach for molecular construction deals with the utilization of DNA-strands that can be combined with atom point precision.
27 November 2008 More from less with SWNT Single Wall carbon NanoTubes (SWNTs) offer excellent electronic and mechanical properties making them suitable for a vast range of potential applications.
27 November 2008 Tuning lasers at the nanoscale By creating semiconductor nanowires surrounded by multiple concentric quantum wells, researchers at Harvard University and the Georgia Institute of Technology have succeeded in fabricating tunable miniature lasers.
27 November 2008 Building a better gecko Walking effortlessly across vertical surfaces, or hanging comfortably from the ceiling, gecko lizards are capable of performing feats we haven't quite figured out how to replicate yet.
27 November 2008 New insight into superconductivity The physics of high-temperature cuprate superconductors in the overdoped regime, where superconductivity is suppressed, is something of a mystery.
27 November 2008 Multimodal contrast agents combat cardiovascular disease Researchers from Denmark, the Netherlands and the US have developed a technique for creating multimodal contrast agents for the diagnosis of atherosclerosis, a disease affecting the arterial blood vessels
27 November 2008 Nanoparticle superlattices shape-up under pressure Researchers from Cornell University have devised a simple and efficient means of creating highly ordered arrays of nanoparticles without the aid of a surface-modified substrate or self-assembled monolayer acting as a template.
27 November 2008 Egyptian talc is stronger, on paper... Mineral fillers are used in paper making to provide structure, surface finish and a bond between plant fibers, making the paper stronger. A recent study has shown that Egyptian talc, modified with phthalic anhydride and urea, provides a better bond between the fibers and higher resistance to water
27 November 2008 Updates: People & Places A comprehensive update of people and places
26 September 2008 Power on the run Fuel cell technology has emerged over the past few years as one of the most popular fields of research in our quest to improve efficiencies in modern power generation and storage.
26 September 2008 New material puts organic transistors under water Researchers from the US and Germany have developed a new polymeric material that allows organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) to operate stably in water
26 September 2008 Cu promises cheaper solar cells Over the last few years, scientists have been working hard to develop dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) that are both cheaper and easier to manufacture than conventional photovoltaic cells.
19 August 2008 Power to the People? The fragility of our energy infrastructure and an emphasis on climate change provide new business opportunities for materials science.
19 August 2008 Hydrogels bend on command Bryan Kaehr and Jason B. Shear at the University of Texas at Austin have used multiphoton nonlinear excitation to fabricate chemically responsive protein structures embedded in a protein hydrogel matrix.
19 August 2008 New light on quantum computing Photons are an attractive alternative to electron spins as quantum bits in information processing because they can propagate over large distances with low losses and can operate at low powers.
06 June 2008

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