Tag: nanotechnology
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Faster, Cheaper Thermoelectric Materials Process Developed
Engineers and materials scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York have discovered new methods to create nanomaterials for more efficient refrigerators and cooling systems with no refrigerants or moving parts. The research is described in a paper published online in the journal Nature Materials (paid subscription required), and the authors have started commercializing…
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Nanotech Solar Energy Paint Developed
Researchers at University of Notre Dame in Indiana have created an inexpensive paste made with semiconducting nanoparticles to produce a spreadable substance that can generate energy. The work of chemistry professor Prashant Kamat and colleagues is described in the 6 December issue of the journal ACS Nano (paid subscription required). Kamat’s team based the compound…
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Algae Protein Electrodes Boost Photosynthesis Process
Researchers from the Swiss research institute Empa, University of Basel in Switzerland, and Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago have developed electrodes made from algal protein that mimic a key process in photosynthesis used to directly generate hydrogen from water. The team describes their findings in the online issue of the journal Advanced Functional Materials (paid…
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Battery Developer, Utility to Partner on Grid Energy Storage
Lithium-ion battery developer A123 Systems in Waltham, Massachusetts and Massachusetts electric power company NSTAR have agreed to pilot test A123 batteries as storage devices in a suburban power grid. The pilot project will study and document the performance and reliability of A123 batteries at a substation in Medway, Massachusetts and is expected to become operational…
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FDA, Ohio Consortium to Partner on Biomaterials Regulations
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron (ABIA) are collaborating on the development of regulations affecting biomaterials in medical devices. The consortium of Akron, Ohio area hospitals, universities, and foundations signed the partnership agreement with FDA yesterday. The FDA and ABIA established the partnership to develop the research protocols…
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Prototype Molybdenite Microchip Developed
Researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland have developed the first microchip on a molybdenite platform. The chip, with capabilities that exceed the limits of silicon, is described in a recent online issue of the journal ACS Nano (paid subscription required). Physicist Andras Kis and colleagues from EPFL’s Laboratory of Nanoscale Electronics and…
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Graphene-Based Nanotech Gas Detector Developed
Engineers from the U.S. and China devised a foam substance made from graphene that is more sensitive in detecting potentially dangerous and explosive chemicals than current technologies. The researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shenyang published their research in the journal Scientific Reports. The graphene-based…
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Copper Compound Nanoparticles Advance Battery Electrodes
Materials scientists at Stanford University in California have developed a new, longer-lasting battery electrode with crystalline nanoparticles of a copper compound. Their discovery, with implications for solar and wind energy storage on the power grid, is described this week in the journal Nature Communications (paid subscription required). According to the authors — materials science professor…
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Industry, Academic Team Creates Ultralight Material
Researchers at HRL Laboratories LLC in Malibu California, with colleagues from California Institute of Technology and the University of California at Irvine, have developed an ultralight material with a density of 0.9 milligrams per cubic centimeter (mg/cc). The substance, about 100 times lighter than Styrofoam packing material, is described in the November 18 issue of…
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Trial of Insulin-Coated Gold Nanoparticles Approved
Midatech Ltd. in Oxford, U.K. says it has received approval from regulatory authorities in Switzerland for a clinical trial of the company’s insulin-coated gold nanoparticles. The company says it is the first test in humans of therapies based on solid nanoparticles. Midatech says the trial will test the safety of insulin-coated gold nanoparticles when applied…