Carbon news, January 2018

Cleaning nanotubes improves their efficiency

Cleaning nanotubes through heat and ion bombardment.

Cheaper fuel cells with nanomaterials

Using carbon nanotubes and modified graphene nano ribbons in fuel cells.

New nanostructure offers gateway to organic thin-film transistors

A nanostructure made from a fluoropolymer and metal oxide materials allows thin-film transistors to operate with unprecedented stability.

‘Gyroscope’ crystal spins on the inside

A crystal with an exterior case surrounding a rotating axis is the first proof that a single material can be both static and moving, or amphidynamic.

New alloy catalyst produces fuels without coking

An innovative platinum and copper alloy catalyst can convert methane from shale gas into hydrocarbon fuels without becoming coated in carbon.

Curves and edges could help turn carbon nanomaterials into fuel-cell cathodes

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes or modified graphene nanoribbons could replace the platinum cathodes that currently reduce oxygen in fuel cells.

Topological insulator offers smooth way to switch from graphene

The topological insulator trisodium bismuthide can be as electronically smooth as the highest-quality graphene-based devices.

Carbon nanotube contaminants mess up conductivity

A novel method for removing contaminants from carbon nanotubes has helped to reveal why their electrical properties are so difficult to measure.

Diamene looks like graphene, acts like diamond

Applying pressure at the nanoscale to two layers of graphene transforms them into a super-hard, diamond-like material, termed diamene.

Scientists cover metal ‘mesas’ in graphene

A method for encapsulating metals such as dysprosium and copper in a single layer of graphene could produce materials with novel properties.

Materials Today takes a special look at research "Down Under"

Read our latest series and find out about materials science researchers in New Zealand and Australia.

Scientists create ‘artificial graphene’ from semiconducting materials

Scientists have engineered ‘artificial graphene’ by replicating, for the first time, the electronic structure of graphene with semiconducting materials.

Just add water for carbon capture

Adding water to asphalt-derived porous carbon produces a material that can adsorb more than two times its weight of carbon dioxide.

Heating boosts graphene’s conductivity

Two-step thermal reduction process boosts conductivity and mobility of reduced graphene oxide (RGO), opening up new potential applications.

Plasma process offers fine control over diamond properties

Adding a tiny amount of boron to a carbon-containing plasma can alter the grain size and electrical properties of the diamond film produced by the plasma.

Materials Today ‘How Many Marbles in a Jar’ Competition Winner

Charred polymers produce precise graphene nanoribbons

Scientists have developed a new method for produce semiconducting graphene nanoribbons by heating a specially-prepared polymer.