Tag: nanotechnology

Scientists invent “bulletproof” batteries

Posted on January 27, 2015 by - News

Boeing 787 Dreamliner - Wikimedia CommonsLithium ion batteries are notorious for overheating because of short circuits – whether they’re in notebooks, in phones or in Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
But now scientists at the University of Michigan say they’ve come up with some tech that will help prevent disaster disrupting your dreams.
The team has made nano fibres from Kevlar which stops metal tendrils shorting out batteries. Kevlar is used in bulletproof vests.
And the material isn’t a long way away.   The scientists estimate that mass production will start in the fourth quarter of next year.
Nicholas Kotov, a professor of engineering at the University, said: “Unlike other ultra strong materials such as carbon nanotubes, Kevlar is an insulator.  This property is perfect for separators that need to prevent shorting between two electrodes.”

 

Silver nanowires heal themselves

Posted on January 26, 2015 by - News

Silver coinNanotechnology is one of the great hopes of the electronics industry as Intel’s Moore’s Law reaches its inevitable end.
And one of the elements of this future are silver nanowires – regarded by some as a viable alternative for indium tin oxide.
The problem with indium tin oxide is that while it is one of the most used materials for plasma displays, touchscreens and flexible electronics, it is pricey.
So called silver nanowires, which can be one dimensionally embedded in flexible polymers is considered to be one of the answers because it’s transparent and conductive.
Scientists at Northwestern University in the USA said there’s been the lack of a real understanding of its mechanical properties.
But the scientists believe they now understand the behaviour of silver nanowire in electronics better.
A factor called cyclic loading can make conductive films fail but the research team believes that some of the material’s problems self heal, meaning that the wires can stand strong loads for long periods of time.
Essentially, the scientists have come up with a new method that allows them to understand when the materials are flexed millions of times.

 

New mirror invented

Posted on October 16, 2014 by - News

mirrorzScientists claim to have invented a mirror that uses nanoscale technology to create new effects.

According to the Optical Society’s journal Optica, the boffins demonstrated a mirror that abandons a shiny surface but reflects infrared light by using a magnetic property of a non metallic “metamaterial”.

The scientis place nanoscale antennae at the surface of the magnetic mirrors and that allows the capture of electromagnetic radiation that will open up new types of chemical sensors, solar cells, lasers and other devices.

Michael Sinclair, a scientist at Sandia National Labs said: “Our breakthrough comes from using a specially engineered, non metallic surface studded with nanoscale resonators.”

The scientists are developing metamaterials whic are substances engineered with certain properties.

The magnetic mirror uses a two dimensonal array of dioelectric resonators using tellurium.  That means the design is more reflective at infrared wavelengths.

Diamond nanothreads could lift us to space

Posted on September 22, 2014 by - News

Diamond nanothreads, PennA team of researchers at Penn State University said it has produced ultrathin diamond nanothreads that could just possibly lead to the production of a space elevator between earth and the moon.

John V Badding, a professor of chemistry at Penn, said: “One of our wildest dreams for the nanomaterials we are developing is that they could be used to make the super-strong, lightweight cables that would make possible the construction of a “space elevator”, which so far has existed only as a science-fiction idea.”

The discovery shows that the nanothreads include a long strand of carbon atomswhich resemble the fundamental unit of a diamond.

Badding said: “It is as if an incredible jeweller has strung together the smallest possible diamonds into a long miniature necklace. Because this thread is diamond at heart, we expect it will prove to be extraordinarily stuff, extraordinarily strong, and extraordinarily useful.”

The threads are extremely small and only a few atoms across.

Apart from the wild dream of producing an elevator between earth and the moon, more practical applications include materials in vehicles that are lighter, more fuel efficient and so less polluting.

One obstacle is that high pressure needed to produce the diamond nanothreads limit production to only a few cubic millimetres at a time.