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Team develops method for control over single-molecule photoswitching

The new research centers on the use of LSPs to achieve atomic-level control of chemical reactions. A team has successfully extended LSP functionality to semiconductor platforms. By using a plasmon-resonant tip in a low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope, they enabled the reversible lift-up and drop-down of single organic molecules on a silicon surface.

The LSP at the tip induces breaking and forming specific chemical bonds between the molecule and silicon, resulting in the reversible switching. The switching rate can be tuned by the tip position with exceptional precision down to 0.01 nanometer. This precise manipulation allows for reversible changes between two different molecular configurations.

An additional key aspect of this breakthrough is the tunability of the optoelectronic function through molecular modification. The team confirmed that photoswitching is inhibited for another organic molecule, in which only one oxygen atom not bonding to silicon is substituted for a nitrogen atom. This chemical tailoring is essential for tuning the properties of single-molecule optoelectronic devices, enabling the design of components with specific functionalities and paving the way for more efficient and adaptable nano-optoelectronic systems.

Flexible nanogenerator with enhanced power density could one day rival the power of solar panels

Your early morning run could soon help harvest enough electricity to power your wearable devices, thanks to a new nanotechnology developed at the University of Surrey.

Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) has developed highly energy-efficient, flexible nanogenerators, which demonstrate a 140-fold increase in when compared to conventional nanogenerators. ATI researchers believe that this development could pave the way for nano-devices that are as efficient as today’s solar cells.

The findings are published in the journal Nano Energy.

The Microscopy Breakthrough That’s Unveiling Hidden Worlds

Scientists at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society have developed a revolutionary microscopy method that enables the direct visualization of nanostructures and their optical properties.

This breakthrough allows researchers to observe nanoscale materials, like metamaterials, in unprecedented detail by manipulating light in innovative ways. The method has taken over five years to develop and leverages the unique capabilities of the Free Electron Laser. The implications of this research are vast, offering the potential to advance flat optics, shrink 3D optics to 2D, and create more efficient optical devices.

Tailoring Light With Nanomaterials

Physicists develop new model that describes how filaments assemble into active foams

Many fundamental processes of life, and their synthetic counterparts in nanotechnology, are based on the autonomous assembly of individual particles into complex patterns. LMU physicist Professor Erwin Frey, Chair of Statistical and Biological Physics at LMU Munich and member of the ORIGINS Excellence Cluster, investigates the fundamental principles of this self-organization.