http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. An ultimate goal in the field of carbon nanotube research is to synthesise single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with controlled chiralities. Twenty years after the discovery of SWNTs, scientists from Aalto University in Finland, A.M. Prokhorov General Physics Institute RAS in Russia and the Center for Electron Nanoscopy of Technical University of Denmark (DTU) have managed to control chirality in carbon nanotubes during their chemical vapor deposition synthesis http://phys.org/news286439101.html Nanotechnology Mon, 29 Apr 2013 07:25:24 EST news286439101 (Phys.org) —Graphene, the single-atom-thick form of carbon, has become famous for its extraordinary strength. But less-than-perfect sheets of the material show unexpected weakness, according to researchers at Rice University in Houston and Tsinghua University in Beijing. http://phys.org/news283699481.html Nanotechnology Thu, 28 Mar 2013 14:24:57 EST news283699481 For the first time, scientists have created single layers of a naturally occurring rare mineral called tungstenite, or WS2. The resulting sheet of stacked sulfur and tungsten atoms forms a honeycomb pattern of triangles that have been shown to have unusual light-emitting, or photoluminescent, properties. According to team leader Mauricio Terrones, a professor of physics and of materials science and engineering at Penn State, the triangular structures have potential applications in optical technology; for example, for use in light detectors and lasers. The results of the research will be published in a print edition of the journal Nano Letters. http://phys.org/news279288672.html Nanotechnology Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:11:19 EST news279288672 (Phys.org)—Using graphene – either as an alternative to, or most likely as a complementary material with – silicon, offers the promise of much faster future electronics, along with several other advantages over the commonly used semiconductor. However, creating the one-atom thick sheets of carbon known as graphene in a way that could be easily integrated into mass production methods has proven difficult. http://phys.org/news277470053.html Nanotechnology Tue, 15 Jan 2013 11:02:01 EST news277470053 Researchers are creating graphene p-n junctions by transferring films of the electronic material to substrates that have been patterned by compounds that are either strong electron donors or electron acceptors. http://phys.org/news274355446.html Nanotechnology Mon, 10 Dec 2012 09:50:57 EST news274355446 Tiny sensors—made of a potentially trailblazing material just one atom thick and heralded as the "next best thing" since the invention of silicon—are now being developed to detect trace elements in Earth's upper atmosphere and structural flaws in spacecraft. http://phys.org/news273948884.html Nanotechnology Wed, 05 Dec 2012 16:54:56 EST news273948884 MIT researchers find that heat moving in materials called superlattices behaves like waves; finding could enable better thermoelectrics. http://phys.org/news272209381.html Nanotechnology Thu, 15 Nov 2012 14:00:35 EST news272209381 Much has been made of graphene's exceptional qualities, from its ability to conduct heat and electricity better than any other material to its unparalleled strength: Worked into a composite material, graphene can repel bullets better than Kevlar. Previous research has also shown that pristine graphene—a microscopic sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb pattern—is among the most impermeable materials ever discovered, making the substance ideal as a barrier film. http://phys.org/news270196065.html Nanotechnology Tue, 23 Oct 2012 08:00:05 EST news270196065 (Phys.org)—Glass is strong enough for so much: windshields, buildings and many other things that need to handle high stress without breaking. But scientists who look at the structure of glass strictly by the numbers believe some of the latest methods from the microelectronics and nanotechnology industry could produce glass that's about twice as strong as the best available today. http://phys.org/news267429090.html Physics Fri, 21 Sep 2012 06:56:30 EST news267429090 Many people answer with a resounding "yes!" when asked if they want environmentally-friendly solar cell-based power – though it should be inexpensive. For this reason, a veritable price war is raging among the makers of photovoltaic cells. Above all, it are the cheap products of Asian origin that are making life tough for domestic manufacturers. Tough, that is, until now: the researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST in Braunschweig are providing support to these companies. They are engineering coating processes and thin film systems aimed at lowering the production costs of solar cells drastically. http://phys.org/news267271293.html Technology Wed, 19 Sep 2012 11:01:39 EST news267271293 (Phys.org)—A group of researchers from Nagoya University and Bando Chemical Industries Ltd has partnered to create a flexible thin film transistor (TFT) display based on carbon nanotubes using flexographic printing technology. The team announced their results at the recent Japan Society of Applied Physics Autumn Meeting in Tokyo. http://phys.org/news267085361.html Nanotechnology Mon, 17 Sep 2012 07:22:56 EST news267085361 (Phys.org)—Like tiny ships finding port in a storm, carbon atoms dock with the greater island of graphene in a predictable manner. But until recent research by scientists at Rice University, nobody had the tools to make that kind of prediction. http://phys.org/news265981713.html Nanotechnology Tue, 04 Sep 2012 12:48:47 EST news265981713 (Phys.org) -- Similar to how tighter stiches make for a better quality quilt, the "stitching" between individual crystals of graphene affects how well these carbon monolayers conduct electricity and retain their strength, Cornell researchers report. http://phys.org/news257752391.html Nanotechnology Fri, 01 Jun 2012 06:53:26 EST news257752391 Solar-powered electricity prices could soon approach those of power from coal or natural gas thanks to collaborative research with solar start-up Ampulse Corporation at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). http://phys.org/news250244346.html Technology Tue, 06 Mar 2012 09:00:01 EST news250244346 New research has established the "miracle material" called graphene as the world's thinnest known coating for protecting metals against corrosion. Their study on this potential new use of graphene appears in ACS Nano. http://phys.org/news249138184.html Nanotechnology Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:03:25 EST news249138184 Researchers from the University of Bristol have measured and identified for the first time the stress and strain shear modulus and internal friction of graphene sheets. Graphene is a material that has many potential groundbreaking uses in the electronics and composites industry. http://phys.org/news248437631.html Nanotechnology Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:27:29 EST news248437631 (PhysOrg.com) -- Graphene is sort of a scientific rock star, with countless groups studying its amazing electrical properties and tensile strength and dreaming up applications ranging from flat-panel screens to elevators in space. http://phys.org/news240045785.html Nanotechnology Wed, 09 Nov 2011 07:24:14 EST news240045785 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from the CNST and Arizona State University have demonstrated that the overall catalytic activity of nickel particles for the formation of carbon nanostructures is improved by the addition of a small amount of gold (below 0.2 mol fraction). http://phys.org/news237699500.html Nanotechnology Thu, 13 Oct 2011 04:39:07 EST news237699500 Boston College researchers have discovered two early-stage phases of carbon nanotube growth during plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, finding a disorderly tangle of tube growth that ultimately yields to orderly rows of the nanoscopic tubes, according to a report in the latest edition of the journal Nanotechnology. http://phys.org/news236779377.html Nanotechnology Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:00:01 EST news236779377 There is a new way to design computer chips and electronic circuitry for extreme environments: make them out of diamond. http://phys.org/news231685571.html Nanotechnology Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:10:01 EST news231685571 MIT researchers have found a way to improve the energy density of a type of battery known as lithium-air (or lithium-oxygen) batteries, producing a device that could potentially pack several times more energy per pound than the lithium-ion batteries that now dominate the market for rechargeable devices in everything from cellphones to cars. http://phys.org/news230799400.html Technology Mon, 25 Jul 2011 07:56:59 EST news230799400 A new approach to growing graphene greatly reduces problems that have plagued researchers in the past and clears a path to the crystalline form of graphite's use in sophisticated electronic devices of tomorrow. http://phys.org/news230227532.html Nanotechnology Mon, 18 Jul 2011 17:05:45 EST news230227532 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers have developed a method for creating single-crystal arrays of a material called graphene, an advance that opens up the possibility of a replacement for silicon in high-performance computers and electronics. http://phys.org/news225611978.html Nanotechnology Thu, 26 May 2011 07:00:31 EST news225611978 A report, published in the March 14 edition of the Journal of Materials Chemistry, announced the successful fabrication and testing of a new type solar cell using an inorganic core/shell nanowire structure. http://phys.org/news221817703.html Nanotechnology Tue, 12 Apr 2011 09:02:08 EST news221817703 (PhysOrg.com) -- A little zinc can do a lot of damage to graphene. Rice University researchers have taken advantage of that to create single-atomic-layer lithography. http://phys.org/news218454262.html Nanotechnology Fri, 04 Mar 2011 09:45:00 EST news218454262 Ordinary table sugar could be a key ingredient to developing much lighter, faster, cheaper, denser and more robust computer electronics for use on U.S. military aircraft. http://phys.org/news217873351.html Chemistry Fri, 25 Feb 2011 16:22:50 EST news217873351 (PhysOrg.com) -- Ordinary table sugar could be a key ingredient to developing much lighter, faster, cheaper, denser and more robust computer electronics for use on U.S. military aircraft. http://phys.org/news216930794.html Nanotechnology Mon, 14 Feb 2011 18:50:01 EST news216930794 (PhysOrg.com) -- A team of scientists at the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, or JAIST for short, led by Tatsuya Shimoda, a professor at the JAIST School of Materials Science, has created an amorphous silicon photovoltaic cell by applying a liquid Si. http://phys.org/news216580715.html Technology Thu, 10 Feb 2011 17:30:01 EST news216580715 Japanese researchers have succeeded in the batch fabrication of suspended structures (cantilevers and bridges) of single crystal diamond for nano/micro electromechanical systems. http://phys.org/news212404410.html Nanotechnology Fri, 24 Dec 2010 09:13:54 EST news212404410 While refining their novel method for making nanoscale wires, chemists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology discovered an unexpected bonus -- a new way to create nanowires that produce light similar to that from light-emitting diodes (LEDs). These "nano-LEDs" may one day have their light-emission abilities put to work serving miniature devices such as nanogenerators or lab-on-a-chip systems. http://phys.org/news204998362.html Nanotechnology Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:59:40 EST news204998362