Contour Energy Systems, Inc. an innovative portable power company commercializing next-generation battery systems, today announced the acquisition of a breakthrough carbon nanotube technology that can dramatically improve the power capability of lithium-ion batteries, through an exclusive technology licensing agreement with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Early findings from researchers at MIT confirm that using carbon nanotubes for battery electrodes can produce a tenfold increase in the amount of power that can be delivered from a given weight of material when compared to a conventional lithium-ion battery, and this performance can be sustained across thousands of charge-discharge cycles.

A Florida State University engineering professor's innovative research with nanomaterials could one day lead to a new generation of hydrogen fuel cells that are less expensive, smaller, lighter and more durable — advantages that might make them a viable option for widespread use in automobiles and in military and industrial technology.

Carbon nanotubes — those tiny particles poised to revolutionize electronics, medicine, and other areas — are much bigger in the strength department than anyone ever thought, scientists are reporting. New studies on the strength of these submicroscopic cylinders of carbon indicate that on an ounce-for-ounce basis they are at least 117 times stronger than steel and 30 times stronger than Kevlar, the material used in bulletproof vests and other products.

Using carbon nanotubes, MIT chemical engineers have found a way to concentrate solar energy 100 times more than a regular photovoltaic cell. Such nanotubes could form antennas that capture and focus light energy, potentially allowing much smaller and more powerful solar arrays.

Arkema, CNRS, Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse and Université Paul Sabatier have signed a framework agreement to set up a joint research laboratory, NAUTILE (NAnotUbes et écoToxIcoLogiE), the first public/private joint laboratory dedicated to the study of the ecotoxicological impact of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the aquatic environment.

Channels could be used for sensitive detectors or water-desalination systems.

Graphene, a one-atom-thick layer of graphitic carbon, has great potential to make electronic devices such as radios, computers and phones faster and smaller. But its unique properties have also led to difficulties in integrating the material into such devices.

Speakers made from carbon nanotube sheets that are a fraction of the width of a human hair can both generate sound and cancel out noise -- properties ideal for submarine sonar to probe the ocean depths and make subs invisible to enemies. That’s the topic of a report on these “nanotube speakers," which appears in ACS’ Nano Letters, a monthly journal.

CVD Equipment Corporation and Graphene Laboratories, Inc., today launched a new line of Chemical Vapor Deposited (CVD) Graphene products. These products include large-area single layer graphene films grown on copper foils or copper-coated wafers. This is the first truly two dimensional material that has become commercially available on the market. CVD Equipment Corporation will manufacture single-layer CVD grown graphene based materials and products and Graphene Laboratories, Inc. will provide marketing of the new products with the CVDGraphene™ trademark for sale worldwide.

By dipping plain cotton cloth in a high-tech broth full of silver nanowires and carbon nanotubes, Stanford researchers have developed a new high-speed, low-cost filter that could easily be implemented to purify water in the developing world.

Researchers at Imperial College London have developed a versatile, practical and efficient method for activating sites on the surface of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and subsequently binding a wide range of molecules to them. This new method will enable large-scale manufacture of modified CNTs.

Nanocomp Technologies, Inc., a developer of energy saving performance materials and component products from carbon nanotubes (CNTs), today announced that it has been awarded a multi-million dollar Phase II contract by the United States Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) under the Department of Defense's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

SouthWest NanoTechnologies, Inc. (SWeNT) the leading manufacturer of single-wall and Specialty Multi-Wall (SMW™) carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is manufacturing specialty multi-wall carbon nanotubes for NanoRidge Materials, Inc. These CNTs are being incorporated into enhanced body armour to improve protection of soldiers and law enforcement officers from small arms fire.

Harnessing darkness for practical use, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a laser power detector coated with the world's darkest material—a forest of carbon nanotubes that reflects almost no light across the visible and part of the infrared spectrum.

Bones have a capacity to regenerate themselves after suffering partial damage. However, it is really quite another thing when a serious break or tumour lesion occurs and the loss of tissue is substantial. Today these cases are treated with various kinds of grafts, but they have a number of disadvantages, such as rejection, contamination or limitations on donors.

Nanotechnology refers to a broad range of tools, techniques and applications that simply involve particles on the approximate size scale of a few to hundreds of nanometers in diameter. Particles of this size have some unique physicochemical and surface properties that lend themselves to novel uses. Indeed, advocates of nanotechnology suggest that this area of research could contribute to solutions for some of the major problems we face on the global scale such as ensuring a supply of safe drinking water for a growing population, as well as addressing issues in medicine, energy, and agriculture.

Researchers have shown that an advanced cooling technology being developed for high-power electronics in military and automotive systems is capable of handling roughly 10 times the heat generated by conventional computer chips.

Starting with simple carbon nanotubes, a team of researchers from the United Kingdom and Spain has developed a sugar-coated nanocapsule that can deliver large doses of radioactivity to tumours. The researchers envision developing a series of nanoscale delivery devices that can target specific organs in the body for radiation therapy or imaging by tinkering with the sugar coating on the nanocapsule.

 

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?