https://phys.org/nanotech-news/nano-materials/ en-us The latest science news on nanomaterials, nanotechnology, nanoparticles and nanoscience. Over the past several decades, light sources have gradually transitioned to light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, and inorganic LEDs are now used across a wide range of applications. In parallel, organic LEDs, or OLEDs, have become widely used in display technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-molecule-ultranarrow-emission-spectrum.html Nanophysics Thu, 11 Jun 2026 14:00:08 EDT news700398901 A KAIST research team has succeeded, for the first time, in synthesizing the core raw material for fabricating asymmetric MXene, a so-called "Janus-faced" nanomaterial that can perform distinct functions because of differing atomic compositions on its two sides, paving the way for the development of multifunctional materials with applications such as removing radioactive pollutants and shielding electromagnetic waves. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-janus-nanomaterials-pave-capturing-radioactive.html Nanomaterials Thu, 11 Jun 2026 11:00:10 EDT news700391943 DNA is composed of long chains that act as the blueprint for living organisms. In genetic engineering, scientists cut DNA at specific sites and join the resulting fragments to other DNA sequences, enabling applications such as advanced crop breeding, treatment of genetic diseases, and the generation of animal models for drug discovery. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-silver-nanoparticles-pave-precise-dna.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 10 Jun 2026 20:10:01 EDT news700303802 The nanoscale world appears to have a new ball to kick around. Researchers from Brown University have shown the first experimental evidence for a "buckyball" molecule made from 80 boron atoms. The new structure is the cousin of the carbon buckyball, known formally as Buckminsterfullerene—a soccer ball-shaped molecule made from 60 carbon atoms that helped launch the nanotechnology revolution when it was discovered just over 40 years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-atom-boron-buckyball-nanotechnology-spotlight.html Nanomaterials Wed, 10 Jun 2026 12:20:04 EDT news700308361 MIT researchers have demonstrated a low-cost design for specialized electronic nozzles, called triaxial electrospray emitters, that could be used to manufacture time-release drug-delivery particles or self-healing materials efficiently and at scale. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-3d-nozzle-array-production-drug.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 09 Jun 2026 12:20:05 EDT news700222923 An international team led by the Max Born Institute has developed a new type of momentum microscopy to image magnons—the quanta of collectively excited spins—directly in two-dimensional reciprocal space using soft X-rays. Owing to its remarkable sensitivity, simplicity, and access to nanometer-scale wavelengths, this novel technique establishes a powerful and versatile platform for exploring nonlinear magnon interactions, which are promising for future computing schemes. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-magnon-momentum-microscopy-window-nanoscale.html Nanophysics Mon, 08 Jun 2026 17:30:01 EDT news700156202 What do iron, lead and nickel have in common? These heavy metals are an indispensable part of many industries. However, they also share a dark reality: They are serious environmental and public health threats. Every day, they find their way into the atmosphere and water bodies through industrial activities, mining and urban waste. Heavy metals are highly toxic, do not break down naturally and tend to build up in the tissues of living organisms over time. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-medicinal-yield-carbon-nanoparticles-red.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 08 Jun 2026 16:50:01 EDT news700154762 The fixed idea that DNA is only a molecule that stores genetic information is being challenged. KAIST researchers have developed a technology that controls the chemical environment around catalysts at the nanometer scale by designing DNA sequences—the arrangement of A, T, G and C that make up genetic information. The team has presented a new catalyst platform that can improve hydrogen production efficiency and increase the yield of desired chemical products by designing DNA much like writing a computer program. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-dna-nanometer-scale-catalyst-cleaner.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 08 Jun 2026 16:10:06 EDT news700152361 Two-dimensional (2D) materials, which are significantly thinner than a single sheet of paper, have long drawn attention for their exceptional performance. However, they have faced a critical limitation: Their performance degrades significantly when multiple layers are stacked. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-stacking-2d-conductor-layer-bulk.html Nanophysics Mon, 08 Jun 2026 15:50:02 EDT news700151762 Researchers have demonstrated the ability to use van der Waals forces to tune the physical and electronic properties of ferroelectric thin films. The work opens the door to new techniques for engineering materials for use in smaller, more energy efficient electronic devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-van-der-waals-play-unexpected.html Nanophysics Mon, 08 Jun 2026 15:20:04 EDT news700148551 A light, flexible polymer material developed at the University of Waterloo could replace the lead in heavy X-ray aprons, providing the same protection from harmful radiation while reducing their weight by almost 90%. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-lighter-ray-aprons-health-workers.html Nanomaterials Mon, 08 Jun 2026 12:20:01 EDT news700134983 A material may appear flawless on the surface yet fail to function properly. The cause lies in structural defects hidden within two-dimensional thin films, which are considered key materials for next-generation semiconductor devices. Recently, a Korean research team developed an optical analysis method that can identify these invisible defects using light. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-flawless-flipped-hidden-defects-2d.html Nanomaterials Sun, 07 Jun 2026 15:00:01 EDT news699875372 Colloidal photonic glasses offer an appealing way to produce vivid colors without any chemical dyes—but so far, a stubborn optical effect has long prevented them from generating a true red color. Now, Yuwon Jeon and colleagues at KU-KIST in Seoul have developed a new approach that overcomes this limitation, producing bright, stable colors spanning the full visible spectrum. The research has been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-gold-nanoparticles-vibrant-visible-spectrum.html Nanophysics Sun, 07 Jun 2026 11:40:02 EDT news699711382 Designing surfaces that precisely control how light behaves at the nanoscale is tricky. Optical Fourier surfaces, which are nanostructured gratings that redistribute light into specific directions and wavelengths, hold enormous potential for compact spectrometers, augmented-reality displays, and advanced sensors. However, their standard design process relies on computer simulations that assume idealized conditions such as single-angle illumination and the absence of fabrication imperfections—a far cry from reality. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ai-optical-surfaces-real-world.html Nanophysics Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:20:05 EDT news699794762 Researchers in Japan have created some of the world's smallest semiconducting nanotubes, structures 100,000 times thinner than a human hair. By growing molybdenum disulfide inside protective tubes of boron nitride, the researchers, including those from the University of Tokyo, produced highly uniform tubes just 1 nanometer wide, a scale at which it's difficult to make stable nanotube structures. The work confirms decades-old theoretical predictions about how these ultrafine materials behave and could also provide a new route toward miniaturized electronic devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ultrathin-nanotubes-nanometer-path-smaller.html Nanomaterials Thu, 04 Jun 2026 14:00:12 EDT news699784622 A research team led by Professor Shuichi Hiraoka at the University of Tokyo and Professor Masanori Tachikawa at Yokohama City University has quantitatively analyzed how molecules pass through dynamic nanoscale pores using self-assembled molecular "nanocubes" in water. The researchers discovered an unexpected phenomenon: For linear alkane molecules, longer molecules passed through the molecular gates faster than shorter ones. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-dynamic-nanogates-longer-molecules-faster.html Nanomaterials Wed, 03 Jun 2026 19:40:01 EDT news699719342 Nanodiamonds are tiny diamond particles only a few nanometers in size. Because they are chemically highly stable and can host so-called color centers, optically active defects in the crystal lattice, they are considered promising materials for quantum technologies, sensing and biomedical research. Until now, however, it has been difficult to reliably produce nanodiamonds with uniform size, high purity and precisely integrated optical properties. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-route-tailor-diamond-nanoparticles-quantum.html Nanophysics Wed, 03 Jun 2026 17:10:02 EDT news699721201 Whisky-inspired chemicals could help power a new generation of microscopic machines, according to researchers who have discovered a way to make tiny particles "swim" through liquid using compounds linked to the production of Scotland's national drink. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-whiskey-chemistry-propels-microscopic-machines.html Nanophysics Wed, 03 Jun 2026 11:20:03 EDT news699697081 From chewing to chomping to grinding, teeth suffer from a lifetime of repeated mechanical stress. It makes sense, then, that enamel is one of the hardest natural materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-molecular-picture-tooth-enamel-reveals.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 03 Jun 2026 11:00:17 EDT news699278641 Cornell researchers have developed a new way to create moiré patterns—atomic-scale structures that can give materials unusual quantum behaviors—without relying on the traditionally used difficult-to-control twisting and stacking methods. The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-strain-moir-2d-materials-stacking.html Nanophysics Tue, 02 Jun 2026 19:40:02 EDT news699629881 Researchers have discovered that atoms can be mixed, separated, and recombined within the same experiment, providing a pathway to a record-breaking catalyst for green hydrogen production. In their study, the team created nanoscale particles containing only a few dozen platinum and nickel atoms and observed unusual dynamic behavior in direct space and in real time. As the two metals separate from one another while maintaining an interface, they become highly active for electrochemical water splitting, leading to efficient hydrogen evolution. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-atomic-reshuffle-catalysts-hydrogen-production.html Nanomaterials Tue, 02 Jun 2026 19:10:01 EDT news699630241 Energy engineers worldwide are working on various new technologies that could help to limit greenhouse gas emissions on Earth and address climate change. One proposed alternative to polluting fossil fuels, such as petrol, diesel and natural gas, is hydrogen. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-nanoengineered-materials-hydrogen-room-temperature.html Nanomaterials Mon, 01 Jun 2026 08:00:05 EDT news699274199 Using finely tuned nanoscale building blocks, researchers from Brown University and the University of Michigan College of Engineering have stabilized a fleeting structural phase of matter that had been predicted theoretically but never before stabilized in a physical material. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-silver-nanoparticles-enable-theorized-previously.html Nanophysics Thu, 28 May 2026 17:30:01 EDT news699201122 Heat behaves in predictable ways: a hot cup of coffee cools, a laptop warms your hands, the sun heats Earth. But at scales thousands of times smaller than a human hair, those rules begin to break down, and scientists are learning how to take advantage of that. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-metamaterials-enable-nanoscale-potentially-energy.html Nanophysics Wed, 27 May 2026 17:40:05 EDT news699116822 Researchers from Monash University have developed a breakthrough nanoscale circuit that can generate, direct, and read light-based information, all on a single chip. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-tiny-chip-circuit-power-generation.html Nanophysics Tue, 26 May 2026 04:00:02 EDT news698662142 Magnetic switching processes are considered a prime example of controllable physics at the nanometer scale: in certain thin-film systems, a short electrical current pulse is sufficient to reverse the magnetization in a targeted way. The underlying effect is the so-called spin–orbit torque: the current exerts a force on the magnetic moments in the material and can thus flip them in a controlled manner. This effect is expected to enable new data storage and computing architectures in the future. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-chaos-turbulent-birth-magnetic-nanovortices.html Nanophysics Sun, 24 May 2026 16:00:01 EDT news698669668 A German–Israeli research team led by Dr. Andreas Furchner has demonstrated how imaging ellipsometry enables non-destructive characterization and quality control of microstructured MXene thin films during device fabrication. The authors used two complementary ellipsometry approaches for precise, multi-scale access to key material properties. The work positions imaging ellipsometry as a powerful platform for monitoring thin-film uniformity, device integrity, and functionality throughout processing, including critical lithographic steps. The study was published in Applied Physics Letters and selected as an Editor's Pick. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-imaging-ellipsometry-tracks-mxene-thin.html Nanophysics Fri, 22 May 2026 18:40:01 EDT news698678101 A new chip-making technique exploits a material's crystal structure to create nanoscale patterns at room temperature directly onto hard materials used in devices, including silica. The method could make it easier to pattern chips relaying both electronic- and light-based signals, helping advance next-generation photonic and optoelectronic devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-stressed-crystal-nanoscale-patterns-chip.html Nanophysics Fri, 22 May 2026 11:00:07 EDT news698662022 Complexity may seem subjective, but a quantitative measure of the complexity of nanomaterials was recently developed by a team of researchers from the University of Michigan Engineering, the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Their metric promises to take nanomaterials engineering from a process of discovery to one of design, enabling engineers to produce combinations of properties not seen in natural or existing man-made materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-complexity-isnt-subjective-amount-results.html Nanomaterials Thu, 21 May 2026 18:20:01 EDT news698594941 Living systems such as cells rely on membrane pores and channels to transport molecules, exchange signals, and organize biochemical reactions. These functions emerge from dynamic interactions between molecular components. Researchers at the University of Stuttgart have used DNA nanotechnology to develop a synthetic membrane architecture that mimics such interactions. The new platform enables coordinated molecular transport and programmable biochemical reactions inside an artificial compartment. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-coupled-dna-nanopores-molecular-traffic.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 21 May 2026 15:40:02 EDT news698592782