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Archive for the ‘nanotechnology’ category: Page 2

Mar 9, 2024

Researchers find exception to 200-year-old scientific law governing heat transfer

Posted by in categories: engineering, nanotechnology

A team of researchers led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst has recently found an exception to the 200-year-old law, known as Fourier’s Law, that governs how heat diffuses through solid materials.

Though scientists have shown previously that there are exceptions to the law at the nanoscale, the research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first to show that the law doesn’t always hold true at the macro scale, and that pure electromagnetic radiation is also at work in some common materials like plastics and glasses.

“This research began with a simple question,” says Steve Granick, Robert K. Barrett Professor of Polymer Science and Engineering at UMass Amherst and the paper’s senior author. “What if heat could be transmitted by another pathway, not just the one that people had assumed?”

Mar 9, 2024

Scientists shine new light on the future of nanoelectronic devices

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, nanotechnology, robotics/AI, solar power

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform technologies as diverse as solar panels, in-body medical sensors and self-driving vehicles. But these applications are already pushing today’s computers to their limits when it comes to speed, memory size and energy use.

Fortunately, scientists in the fields of AI, computing and nanoscience are working to overcome these challenges, and they are using their brains as their models.

That is because the circuits, or neurons, in the have a key advantage over today’s computer circuits: they can store information and process it in the same place. This makes them exceptionally fast and energy efficient. That is why scientists are now exploring how to use materials measured in billionths of a meter— nanomaterials—to construct circuits that work like our neurons. To do so successfully, however, scientists must understand precisely what is happening within these nanomaterial circuits at the atomic level.

Mar 9, 2024

Spontaneous curvature the key to shape-shifting nanomaterials, finds study

Posted by in categories: materials, nanotechnology

Inspired by nature, nanotechnology researchers have identified ‘spontaneous curvature’ as the key factor determining how ultra-thin, artificial materials can transform into useful tubes, twists and helices.

Greater understanding of this process—which mimics how some seed pods open in nature—could unlock an array of new chiral materials that are 1,000 times thinner than a , with the potential to improve the design of optical, electronic and mechanical devices.

Chiral shapes are structures that cannot be superimposed on their mirror image, much like how your left hand is a of your right hand but cannot fit perfectly on top of it.

Mar 9, 2024

Communication between rotors in molecular motor observed for the first time

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry, nanotechnology

A pair of chemists at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, has observed communication between rotors in a molecular motor. In their study, reported in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Carlijn van Beek and Ben Feringa conducted experiments with alkene-based molecular motors.

Molecular motors are natural or artificial molecular machines that convert energy into movement in living organisms. One example would be DNA polymerase turning single-stranded DNA into double-stranded DNA. In this new effort, the researchers were experimenting with light-driven, alkene-based molecular motors, using light to drive molecular rotors. As part of their experiments, they created a motor comprising three gears and two rotors and observed an instance of communication between two of the rotors.

To build their motor, the researchers started with parts of existing two motors, bridging them together. The resulting isoindigo structure, they found, added another dimension to their motor relative to other synthesized motors—theirs had a doubled, metastable intermediary connecting two of the rotors, allowing for communication between the two.

Mar 9, 2024

Nickel Nanoparticles Confined in Core–Shell Derived from Covalent Organic Framework for the Efficient Electrocatalytic NO Reduction to NH3

Posted by in category: nanotechnology

The electrocatalytic nitric oxide reduction reaction (NORR) has attracted significant attention as an ecofriendly alternative to the conventional Haber–Bosch process for producing ammonia (NH3). However, the poor selectivity to NH3 and low catalyst stability under harsh conditions are great challenges in NORR. Herein, the core–shell structure of nickel nanoparticles enclosed with a nitrogen-doped carbon layer (Ni@NC) electrocatalyst derived from covalent organic frameworks is employed for high performance in NORR. The Ni@NC-700 achieved the highest FENH3 of 82.94% with an NH3 yield rate of 19.00 μmol cm–2 h–1 at 0.16 V (vs reversible hydrogen electrode) in a 0.1 M HClO4 electrolyte. Control experiments revealed that nickel nanoparticles (Ni NPs) acted as active centers in Ni@NC for efficient production of NH3. The ideal carbon shell protection of Ni NPs and the high inherent catalytic TOF of Ni@NC-700 revealed a promising candidate for an efficient NORR electrocatalyst. The stability test demonstrated the remarkable stability of Ni@NC. The Ni NPs were protected by carbon nanostructures resembling core–shell catalysts, preventing metal dissolution during rough electrolysis.

Mar 9, 2024

Lipid Nanoparticles Engineered to Target Lung Cells Reduce Tumor Size in Mice

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, genetics, nanotechnology

Using lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), engineers have successfully delivered genetic material to the lung that suppresses lung tumors in mice.

Mar 8, 2024

Aluminum nanoparticles make tunable green catalysts

Posted by in categories: chemistry, nanotechnology, particle physics, sustainability

Catalysts unlock pathways for chemical reactions to unfold at faster and more efficient rates, and the development of new catalytic technologies is a critical part of the green energy transition.

The Rice University lab of nanotechnology pioneer Naomi Halas has uncovered a transformative approach to harnessing the catalytic power of aluminum nanoparticles by annealing them in various gas atmospheres at high temperatures.

According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Rice researchers and collaborators showed that changing the structure of the oxide layer that coats the particles modifies their , making them a versatile tool that can be tailored to suit the needs of different contexts of use from the production of sustainable fuels to water-based reactions.

Mar 7, 2024

Giant leap toward neuromorphic devices: High-performance spin-wave reservoir computing

Posted by in categories: nanotechnology, particle physics, robotics/AI

A group of Tohoku University researchers has developed a theoretical model for a high-performance spin wave reservoir computing (RC) that utilizes spintronics technology. The breakthrough moves scientists closer to realizing energy-efficient, nanoscale computing with unparalleled computational power.

Details of their findings were published in npj Spintronics on March 1, 2024.

The brain is the ultimate computer, and scientists are constantly striving to create neuromorphic devices that mimic the brain’s processing capabilities, , and its ability to adapt to neural networks. The development of neuromorphic computing is revolutionary, allowing scientists to explore nanoscale realms, GHz speed, with low energy consumption.

Mar 3, 2024

Mixed-dimensional transistors enable high-performance multifunctional electronic devices

Posted by in categories: computing, economics, nanotechnology

The downscaling of electronic devices, such as transistors, has reached a plateau, posing challenges for semiconductor fabrication. However, a research team led by materials scientists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) recently discovered a new strategy for developing highly versatile electronics with outstanding performance using transistors made of mixed-dimensional nanowires and nanoflakes.

This innovation paves the way for simplified chip circuit design, offering versatility and low power dissipation in future electronics. The findings, titled “Multifunctional anti-ambipolar electronics enabled by mixed-dimensional 1D GaAsSb/2D MoS2 heterotransistors,” were published in the journal Device.

In recent decades, as the continuous scaling of transistors and integrated circuits has started to reach physical and economic limits, fabricating in a controllable and cost-effective manner has become challenging. Further scaling of transistor size increases current leakage and thus power dissipation. Complex wiring networks also have an adverse impact on power consumption.

Mar 3, 2024

Synergy palladium single atoms and twinned nanoparticles for efficient CO₂ photoreduction

Posted by in categories: engineering, nanotechnology, particle physics

The challenge of regulating the electronic structures of metal single-atoms (M-SAs) with metal nanoparticles (M-NPs) lies in the synthesis of a definite architecture. Such a structure has strong electronic metal-support interactions and maintains electron transport channels to facilitate carbon dioxide photoreduction (CO2PR).

In a study published in Advanced Powder Materials, a group of researchers from Zhejiang Normal University, Zhejiang A&F University and Dalian University of Technology, revealed the engineering of the of Pd single atoms with twinned Pd nanoparticles assisted by strong electronic interaction of the atomic metal with the support and unveiled the underlying mechanism for expedited CO2PR.

“As one of the most promising CO2PR semiconductors, polymeric graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) featured with sp2 π-conjugated lamellar structures can offer electronegative nitrogen atoms to anchor M-SAs, forming active metal-nitrogen moieties (M–Nx),” explained Lei Li, lead author of the study. “However, stable M–Nx configurations forbid tunability of electronic structures of M-SA sites.”

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