Nanostructures, as a physical system, are materials or assemblies characterized by at least one spatial dimension in the nanometer range (typically 1–100 nm), where quantum confinement, high surface-to-volume ratio, and size-dependent effects dominate their physical behavior. They include zero-, one-, two-, and three-dimensional architectures such as quantum dots, nanowires, nanotubes, and nanoporous frameworks. In this size regime, electronic, optical, mechanical, and thermal properties deviate markedly from bulk counterparts, enabling tunable band gaps, altered phonon and electron transport, and enhanced catalytic activity. Nanostructures are central platforms in nanophotonics, nanoelectronics, energy conversion, and sensing, where controlled synthesis, morphology, and interface engineering critically determine system performance.
The phenomenon where electron spins align in a specific direction after passing through chiral materials is a cornerstone for future spin-based electronics. Yet, the precise process behind this effect has remained a mystery—until ...
Nanophysics
Jan 16, 2026
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Gold nanorods are promising photocatalysts that can use light energy to drive chemical reactions—such as converting CO₂ into usable fuels or producing hydrogen from water. In this process, the nanorods act like tiny antennas ...
Nanophysics
Jan 15, 2026
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63
LMU researcher Professor Alexander Urban and his team have developed a tool that could revolutionize the design of new materials. Synthesizer is a platform that combines automated chemical synthesis, high-throughput characterization, ...
Nanomaterials
Jan 15, 2026
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27
Graphene has long been hailed as a "wonder material." It is incredibly strong, highly conductive and almost impossibly thin—just one atom thick. These properties make it a promising candidate for next-generation technologies ...
The organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology behind flexible cell phones, curved monitors, and televisions could one day be used to make on-skin sensors that show changes in temperature, blood flow, and pressure in ...
Nanophysics
Jan 14, 2026
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Mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with various chronic diseases and cancers, including neurodegenerative diseases and metabolic syndrome. Gently extracting a single mitochondrion from within a living cell—without ...
Bio & Medicine
Jan 12, 2026
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51
An unexpected discovery in a Harvard lab has led to a breakthrough insight into choosing an unconventional material, silica, to make optical metasurfaces—ultra-thin, flat structures that control light at the nanoscale and ...
Nanophysics
Jan 12, 2026
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Controlling light is an important technological challenge—not just at the large scale of optics in microscopes and telescopes, but also at the nanometer scale. Recently, physicists at the University of Amsterdam published ...
Optics & Photonics
Jan 8, 2026
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44
In recent years, two-dimensional (2D) single-crystalline metal nanosheets have emerged as a promising next-generation platform for self-powered electronics. However, their potential for triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs)—a ...
Nanomaterials
Jan 8, 2026
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Inspired by biological systems, materials scientists have long sought to harness self-assembly to build nanomaterials. The challenge: the process seemed random and notoriously difficult to predict.
Nanophysics
Jan 8, 2026
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