Microbian evolution on a wide variety of surfaces can produce phenomena such as corrosion, dirt, smells and even serious hygiene and health problems.
It is well known there is a great interest in the design and development of the so-called “hygienic surfaces”, referring to surfaces that not only provides biocidal activity but also to those that are easy to clean and even self-cleaning.
Achieving these properties on a surface is possible by means of coatings and treatments
Nanorods of many materials are proving very successful, and their properties often exceed that of nanotubes, making them excellent candidates for industrial applications. Theoretical calculations predicted that diamond nanorods too would have properties superior to that of carbon nanotubes. But, so far, nobody had been able to actually synthesize diamond nanorods. This is no longer true. A team from the Bayerisches Geoinstitut (Universität Bayreuth) has just reported the synthesis of these aggregat
The newest promising material for advanced technology applications is diamond nanotubes, and research at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory is giving new insight into the nature of nanodiamond.
Argonne researcher Amanda Barnard, theorist in the Center for Nanoscale Materials, is working with colleagues at two Italian universities who produced innovative diamond-coated nanotubes.
The diamond-coated tubes resemble a stick of rock candy, hol
Based on superlattice nanobelts
A previously-unknown zinc oxide nanostructure that resembles the helical configuration of DNA could provide engineers with a new building block for creating nanometer-scale sensors, transducers, resonators and other devices that rely on electromechanical coupling.
Based on a superlattice composed of alternating single-crystal “stripes” just a few nanometers wide, the “nanohelix” structure is part of a family of nanobelts – tiny ribbon-l
A novel material that may demonstrate a highly unusual “liquid” magnetic state at extremely low temperatures has been discovered by a team of Japanese and U.S. researchers, according to tomorrow’s issue of Science.*
The material, nickel gallium sulfide (NiGa2S4), was synthesized by scientists at Kyoto University. Its properties were studied by both the Japanese team and by researchers from The Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and the University of Maryland (UM) at the Commerce
Composite material, compression process to reduce time, cost of manufacturing bipolar plates
A single fuel cell does not produce enough energy to power a car. So fuel cells are stacked, with a bipolar plate between each cell through which electrons are conducted. The hydrogen fuel and oxygen, which are part of the fuel cell chemistry, enter the plate through channels along the face on each side of the plates. Creating the channels in the bipolar plate is a manufacturing challenge.
Controlling nanoparticle size
Because the properties of nanoparticles depend so closely on their size, size distribution and morphology, techniques for controlling the growth of these tiny structures is of great interest to materials researchers today.
A research team from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Drexel University has discovered a surprising new mechanism by which polymer materials used in nanocomposites control the growth of particles. Reported on Au
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have combined the world’s hardest known material – diamond – with the world’s strongest structural form – carbon nanotubes. This new process for “growing” diamond and carbon nanotubes together opens the way for its use in a number of energy-related applications.
The technique is the first successful synthesis of a diamond-nanotube nanocomposite, which means for the first time this specialized
Supercritical fluid carbon dioxide used; melt properties provide monitor
There is a lot of excitement about incorporating nano particles into polymers because of the ability to improve various properties with only a small percent of the particles. “You can improve the barrier to gases, such as hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and oxygen. You can increase material strength with little increase in weight,” said Don Baird, professor of chemical engineering at Virginia Tech.
Bu
Performing quantum calculations on a supercomputer, scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have characterized a material that might allow on-board refueling of hydrogen powered vehicles.
Researchers, led by Maciej Gutowski, looked at different crystalline structures of a compound made up of nitrogen, boron and hydrogen – NBH6 – and found one that might be more stable compared to ammonia borane, a molecular crystal built of NH3BH3 molecules. Ammonia borane can hold
Foggy windows and lenses are a nuisance, and in the case of automobile windows, can pose a driving hazard. Now, a group of scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) may have found a permanent solution to the problem. The team has developed a unique polymer coating — made of silica nanoparticles — that they say can create surfaces that never fog.
The transparent coating can be applied to eyeglasses, camera lenses, ski goggles … even bathroom mirrors, they say.
Automobile bumpers that deform and recover rather than crack and splinter, computer cases that withstand the occasional rough encounter, and resilient coatings that can withstand the ravages of the sun, may all be possible if tiny functionalized rubbery particles are imbedded in their plastic matrices, according to Penn State materials scientists.
“Plastics such as polypropylene, nylon, polycarbonate, epoxy resins and other compounds are brittle and fracture easily,” says Dr. T.C.
Renowned for their ability to walk up walls like miniature Spider-Men–or even to hang from the ceiling by one toe–the colorful lizards of the gecko family owe their wall-crawling prowess to their remarkable footpads. Each five-toed foot is covered with microscopic elastic hairs called setae, which are themselves split at the ends to form a forest of nanoscale fibers known as spatulas. So when a gecko steps on almost anything, these nano-hairs make such extremely close contact with the surface th
A discovery reported in the August 5 issue of Science could speed the design of materials that approach the hardness of diamond yet remain supple enough to be worked like metal.
In a massive computer simulation involving 128 computer processors and nearly 19 million atoms, materials scientist Izabela Szlufarska of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and colleagues at University of Southern California demonstrated the precise atomic mechanisms that explain why “nanostructured” cera
LINPAC’s new Zenit line of multi-layer stretch films is undergoing a name change and will, from now on, be called Zenium. Zenium stretch films, which were released earlier this year, are formulated to comply with new EU regulations concerning plastic materials that come into contact with food products.
High resistance to perforation and tearing and optimal flexibility are the major advantages of the Zenium line, which also offers excellent optical properties and increased anti-fogg
Student’s Testing Identifies Metal Mix with Superior Mechanical Properties
Using a high-tech but low-cost technique, a Johns Hopkins undergraduate has tested tiny samples of four metal alloys to find the best blend for use in platinum jewelry. After evaluating four metal mixtures, student researcher Christopher Kovalchick determined that platinum combined with a small amount of chromium in a cold-rolled and heat treatment process displayed the greatest strength.
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