Based on the principle of refractive index matching, highly transparent upconversion contact lenses (UCLs) with a high concentration of upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) were developed. These lenses efficiently convert multispectral near-infrared (NIR) light into the three primary visible colors, enabling humans to acquire wearable NIR color vision.
Scientists in China have developed contact lenses that let wearers see light normally invisible to the human eye. Cooler still, the lenses work better through closed eyelids, and other versions could help correct color blindness.
The human eye can see a relatively limited range of colors – light with wavelengths of between about 400 and 700 nanometers. In typical human-centric fashion, we call that the ‘visible’ part of the spectrum, even though other animals can see beyond it.
In a new study, scientists have helped humans catch a glimpse of light between 800 and 1,600 nanometers in length, a range we normally can’t see known as infrared. The trick is to pop in a pair of contact lenses embedded with nanoparticles that convert the infrared wavelengths into visible ones.
Neuroscientists and materials scientists have created contact lenses that enable infrared vision in both humans and mice by converting infrared light into visible light. Unlike infrared night vision goggles, the contact lenses, described in the journal Cell, do not require a power source—and they enable the wearer to perceive multiple infrared wavelengths. Because they’re transparent, users can see both infrared and visible light simultaneously, though infrared vision was enhanced when participants had their eyes closed.
“Our research opens up the potential for noninvasive wearable devices to give people super-vision,” says senior author Tian Xue, a neuroscientist at the University of Science and Technology of China. “There are many potential applications right away for this material. For example, flickering infrared light could be used to transmit information in security, rescue, encryption or anti-counterfeiting settings.”
The contact lens technology uses nanoparticles that absorb infrared light and convert it into wavelengths that are visible to mammalian eyes (e.g., electromagnetic radiation in the 400–700 nm range). The nanoparticles specifically enable the detection of “near-infrared light,” which is infrared light in the 800‑1600 nm range, just beyond what humans can already see.
A serendipitous observation in a Chemical Engineering lab at Penn Engineering has led to a surprising discovery: a new class of nanostructured materials that can pull water from the air, collect it in pores and release it onto surfaces without the need for any external energy.
The research, published in Science Advances, describes a material that could open the door to new ways to collect water from the air in arid regions and devices that cool electronics or buildings using the power of evaporation.
The interdisciplinary team includes Daeyeon Lee, Russell Pearce and Elizabeth Crimian Heuer Professor in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE); Amish Patel, Professor in CBE; Baekmin Kim, a postdoctoral scholar in Lee’s lab and first author; and Stefan Guldin, Professor in Complex Soft Matter at the Technical University of Munich.
Professor Andrei Khlobystov, School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham, said, “We have investigated the ultimate limit for nanowire size while preserving useful electronic properties. This is possible for selenium because the phenomenon of quantum confinement can be effectively balanced by distortions in the atomic structure, thus allowing the band gap to remain within a useful range.”
The researchers hope that these new materials will be incorporated into electronic devices in the future. Accurately tuning the band gap of selenium by changing the diameter of the nanowire could lead to the design of a variety of customized electronic devices using only a single element.
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, have developed a new, easily manufacturable solid-state thermoelectric refrigeration technology with nano-engineered materials that is twice as efficient as devices made with commercially available bulk thermoelectric materials.
As global demand grows for more energy-efficient, reliable and compact cooling solutions, this advancement offers a scalable alternative to traditional compressor-based refrigeration.
In a paper published in Nature Communications, a team of researchers from APL and refrigeration engineers from Samsung Electronics demonstrated improved heat-pumping efficiency and capacity in refrigeration systems attributable to high-performance nano-engineered thermoelectric materials invented at APL known as controlled hierarchically engineered superlattice structures (CHESS).
Researchers at the University of Alabama in the United States have used duct tape from a store to create a triboelectric nanogenerator capable of collect electricity from the human body and the environment.
Their development is capable of powering small devices such as biosensors by converting mechanical energy from friction and movement into electricity. The generator is made of metallized films polyethylene terephthalate, which act as electrodes, and layers of adhesive tape.
The developers emphasize that power generation occurs through interaction polypropylene and of the acrylic adhesive layer when they are pressed and released. At the same time, due to the weak intermolecular interaction (Van der Waals forces) on the borders of the atomic-sized gaps.
IN A NUTSHELL 🌟 Scientists at Japan’s RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics have discovered that carbon nanotubes can emit more energetic light than they absorb. 🔍 The phenomenon, known as up-conversion photoluminescence (UCPL), occurs even in pristine nanotubes, defying previous theories requiring structural defects. ☀️ This discovery holds potential for enhancing solar energy efficiency by.
Recent technological advances are fueling the development of cutting-edge technologies that can monitor and control physiological processes with high precision. These include devices that could control the expression of genes within living organisms, without requiring invasive surgeries or procedures.
Researchers at ETH Zurich recently introduced a new method that enables the electromagnetic programming of the wireless expression regulation (EMPOWER) of transgenes in mammals, via the interfacing of nanoparticles and cells.
Their proposed approach, outlined in a paper published in Nature Nanotechnology, could help to treat chronic conditions, including diabetes, while also opening new possibilities for research in synthetic biology and regenerative medicine.