Rice University scientists have found the "ultimate" solvent for all kinds of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), a breakthrough that brings the creation of a highly conductive quantum nanowire ever closer.

 

Metallic carbon nanotubes show great promise for applications from microelectronics to power lines because of their ballistic transmission of electrons. But who knew magnets could stop those electrons in their tracks?

 

Metallic carbon nanotubes show great promise for applications from microelectronics to power lines because of their ballistic transmission of electrons. But who knew magnets could stop those electrons in their tracks?

 

Available to download now from NANO Magazine, this short guide to nanotechnology gives a basic introduction to nanotechnology and its applications, perfect for anyone who is a newcomer to the nanotech world to grasp the basics fast.

 

A group of Deakin University researchers are aiming to put their expertise in new and developing technologies on the international cycling stage later this year by unveiling a custom-built ‘smart’ bike during the 2010 UCI Road World Championships in Geelong.

 

Empa researchers have demonstrated how they can adjust process conditions to influence the properties of novel plasma polymer coatings containing silver nanoparticles. Tailor-made films can be generated through a one-step plasma process. The scientists developed these new coatings, which kill bacteria while having no negative effect on human tissue, in the frame of an EU project.

 

Since its discovery, graphene—an unusual and versatile substance composed of a single-layer crystal lattice of carbon atoms—has caused much excitement in the scientific community. Now, Nongjian(NJ) Tao, a researcher at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University has hit on a new way of making graphene, maximizing the material's enormous potential, particularly for use in high-speed electronic devices.

 

Old glass is not the same as new glass -- and the difference is not just due to manufacturing techniques. Unlike crystalline solids, glasses change as they age, increasing packing density and stability. Ideally, a glass should be cooled slowly, maybe over 10,000 years or so, but that is not usually practical.

 

A cluster of carbon nanotubes coated with a thin layer of protein-recognizing polymer form a biosensor capable of using electrochemical signals to detect minute amounts of proteins, which could provide a crucial new diagnostic tool for the detection of a range of illnesses, a team of Boston College researchers report in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

 

Over the past couple of decades, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has emerged as a powerful tool for imaging surfaces at astonishing resolutions—fractions of a nanometer in some cases. But suppose you're more concerned with what lies below the surface? Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have shown that under the right circumstances, surface science instruments such as the AFM can deliver valuable data about sub-surface conditions.

 

Organic semiconductors are very promising candidates as starting materials for the manufacture of cheap, large area and flexible electronic components such as transistors, diodes and sensors on a scale ranging from micro to nano. A condition for success in achieving this goal is the ability to join components together with electrically conducting links – in other words, to create an electronic circuit. Empa scientists have developed a new method which allows them to create simple networks of organic nanowires.

 

What could be better than diamond when it comes to a superhard material for electronics under extreme thermal and pressure conditions? Quite possibly BC5, a diamond-like material with an extremely high boron content that offers exceptional hardness and resistance to fracture, but unlike diamond, it is a superconductor rather than an insulator. A research team in China studying BC5 describes its potential in the Journal of Applied Physics, which is published by the American Institute of Physics (AIP).

 

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a simple new method for producing large quantities of the promising nanomaterial graphene. The new technique works at room temperature, needs little processing, and paves the way for cost-effective mass production of graphene.

 

Batteries might gain a boost in power capacity as a result of a new finding from researchers at MIT. They found that using carbon nanotubes for one of the battery's electrodes produced a significant increase — up to tenfold — in the amount of power it could deliver from a given weight of material, compared to a conventional lithium-ion battery. Such electrodes might find applications in small portable devices, and with further research might also lead to improved batteries for larger, more power-hungry applications.

 

Graphene oxide, a single-atomic-layered material made by reacting graphite powders with strong oxidizing agents, has attracted a lot of interest from scientists because of its ability to easily convert to graphene — a hotly studied material that scientists believe could be used to produce low-cost carbon-based transparent and flexible electronics.

 

Gold nanoparticles — tiny spheres of gold just a few billionths of a meter in diameter — have become useful tools in modern medicine. They've been incorporated into miniature drug-delivery systems to control blood clotting, and they're also the main components of a device, now in clinical trials, that is designed to burn away malignant tumours.

 

Since their discovery in the mid 1980s, fullerenes have caused a sensation. The tiny hollow spheres made of 60 carbon atoms, constructed out of pentagons and hexagons like miniature soccer balls, have unusual physical properties. In the meantime, a variety of fullerene-containing materials have been developed.

 

A team of materials scientists and physicists say graphene has the potential to replace carbon fibres in high performance materials that are used to build aircraft ("Interfacial Stress Transfer in a Graphene Monolayer Nanocomposite").

 

Graphene, a carbon sheet that is one-atom thick, may be at the center of the next revolution in material science. These ultrathin sheets hold great potential for a variety of applications from replacing silicon in solar cells to cooling computer chips.

 

This is the first revision of the Guidance Manual for the Testing of Manufactured Nanomaterials, first published in 2009, accompanied with Annex III (Data Sharing Template Format) and Annex IV (Alternative Test Methods). This document is intended to support the testing undertaken in the context of OECD's Sponsorship Programme and to ensure that the information collected from this testing programme be reliable, accurate and consistent. It was always envisaged that this would be a living document and will be updated/amended in an iterative manner.