Technical insights’ advanced coatings and surface technology alert
The recently developed method of crystal ion slicing (CIS) is rapidly gathering interest and attention as a novel way of successfully obtaining single-crystal thin films.
The excellent opto-electrical properties of barium titanate, BaTiO3, make this ferroelectric crystal eminently suitable for applications such as capacitors, pyroelectric detectors, and nonlinear optics. These films possess high dielectric c
Scientists from Columbia University, IBM and the University of New Orleans today announced a new, three-dimensional designer material assembled from two different types of particles only billionths of a meter across.
In the June 26 issue of the journal Nature, the team describes the precision chemistry methods developed to tune the particles’ sizes in increments of less than one nanometer and to tailor the experimental conditions so the particles would assemble themselves into repeating 3-
Crystals are more than just pretty faces. Many of the useful properties associated with metal alloys or polymer blends — like strength, flexibility and clarity — stem from a material’s specific crystal microstructure. So the more scientists know about how crystal patterns grow as a material solidifies, the better they’ll be able to create new materials with specific properties.
In a recent issue of Nature Materials, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researche
Nano-sized silver particles open way to new breed of antimicrobial materials
Scientists can now incorporate silver particles into polypropylene to produce an anti-microbial material that could be used in anything from carpets, to napkins and surgical masks.
Silver has been medically proven to kill over 650 disease-causing organisms in the body and is also very safe. By combining silver and polypropylene to produce an organic-inorganic fibre, researchers have produced the first safe, ant
One Angstrom Microscope’s observations of the smallest, lightest metal atoms are a first for electron microscopy
For the first time researchers have used a transmission electron microscope — the One Angstrom Microscope (OÅM) at the Department of Energy’s National Center for Electron Microscopy (NCEM) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — to image lithium atoms. Only atoms of hydrogen and helium are smaller and lighter than those of lithium, which under ordinary conditions is
A new type of polymers can be produced in a more environmentally friendly way, using wood instead of oil as a raw material, according to research at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, Sweden. The next step is to replace the wood with the process water from the pulp industry. This means a solution to an environmental problem and access to a cheap renewable raw material.
The substances in question, hemicellulose-based hydrogels, are a good example of how oil can be replaced
A new National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) project aims to stir up materials research by adapting “lab-on-a-chip” technology to mix and evaluate experimental concoctions at a rapid clip, hastening improvements in products ranging from paints to shampoos to plastics.
Initially, researchers at the NIST Combinatorial Methods Center (NCMC) and several of the NCMC’s company members plan to rev up the search for new or better emulsions–often-complex formulations that are th
Dentists beware: Teeth soon may be smart enough to fix themselves.
“Smart materials” invented at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) soon may be available that stimulate repair of defective teeth. Laboratory studies show that these composites, made of amorphous (loosely structured) calcium phosphate embedded in polymers, can promote re-growth of natural tooth structures efficiently. In the presence of saliva-like solutions, the material releases calcium and pho
New glow-in the-dark plastic technology has enabled researchers to develop a torch that glows in the dark, so you can find it in the dark. Collaboration between DualGlo Ltd, a Hereford technology company and Innovation-Direct, a free consultancy service for SME companies delivered by the Universities of Warwick and Wolverhampton, has developed a unique product that is now entering markets all around the world.
After turning to the Innovation Direct advice centre DualGlo Ltd, a small techno
To date, machines carrying out electroerosion-based machining processes have only had use of automated parameters for metallic materials such as steel. In his thesis, Navarre Public University researcher and lecturer, Iñaki Puertas, presents technologies for those applications using ceramic material, a highly interesting development from a technological viewpoint as it enables the use of ceramics in the fabrication of parts requiring great hardness and durability such as medical prothesis or those de
Scientists at The University of Manchester have developed a new type of adhesive, which mimics the mechanism employed by geckos (a type of lizard) to climb surfaces, including glass ceilings.
Researchers within the newly opened Manchester Centre for Mesoscience and Nanotechnology at the University have been working on the new adhesive since 2001, after learning the mechanism of gecko’s climbing skills from biophysicists. Now they have been able to manufacture self-cleaning, re-attachab
A new imaging technique that uses electron diffraction waves to improve both image resolution and sensitivity to small structures has been developed by scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The technique works on the same principle as X-ray diffraction, but can record structure from a single nanostructure or macromolecule.
Determining the structure of materials — such as protein crystals — is currently performed using X-ray diffraction. However, many small structur
There is more to mother-of-pearl than good looks. Also called nacre, the gleaming, white material is renowned in scientific circles for its strong, yet flexible, properties. Now researchers have developed a nanoscale, layered material that comes close to nacre’s properties, including its iridescence.
The ability to nanomanufacture artificial nacre may provide lightweight, rigid composites for aircraft parts, artificial bone and other applications.
Reporting online in Nature Mater
Scientists at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Teddington, Middlesex, UK have good news for manufacturers and users across the optical instrumentation industry. Based on existing processes developed in the US and Japan, a team of researchers at NPL has developed a new technique for commercial manufacturing of ultra-black coatings, which represent one of the blackest, lowest reflectance surfaces developed so far.
Performance of optical instrumentation depends on the quality of material
University of Toronto researchers have developed a hybrid plastic that can produce light at wavelengths used for fibre-optic communication, paving the way for an optical computer chip.
The material, developed by a joint team of engineers and chemists, is a plastic embedded with quantum dots – crystals just five billionths of a metre in size – that convert electrons into photons. The findings hold promise for directly linking high-speed computers with networks that transmit information using
Finland Leads Europe In The Development Of Biodegradable Plastics
VTT, Technical Research Centre of Finland, has made degradable bioplastic more durable due to reinforcement with natural fibres. This biocomposite, which is totally biodegradable, supports sustainable development. The waste costs for products made from this will be small, and in the future consumers will have an enhanced appreciation of biodegradability of materials.
VTT achieved this biocomposite using flax fi
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