(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. National Science Foundation)
Researchers from the University of California, Davis, have developed a new technique to trap clusters of platinum atoms in nanoscale islands. Previous work had shown that platinum arranged in clusters of a few atoms on a surface makes a better hydrogenation catalyst than either single platinum atoms or larger nanoparticles of platinum. But such small clusters tend to clump easily into larger particles, losing efficiency. So, the researchers decided to “trap” platinum clusters on a tiny island of cerium oxide supported on a silica surface and noticed that such clusters showed good catalytic activity in hydrogenation of ethylene.

(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation)
Researchers from Vanderbilt University have developed advanced dialysis membranes using an atomically thin material called graphene. These innovative membranes leverage a protein-enabled sealing mechanism that works as follows: When proteins escape through larger pores, they react with molecules on the other side of the graphene membrane. This reaction triggers a sealing process, selectively closing larger pores while preserving smaller ones. This self-sealing capability ensures precise size-selective filtration and improves the membrane’s overall effectiveness. The defect-sealed membranes remained stable for up to 35 days and consistently outperformed state-of-the-art commercial dialysis membranes.

(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. National Science Foundation)
Scientists from Montana State University, Columbia University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Pennsylvania State University, North Carolina State University, the Honda Research Institute in San Jose, CA, and the National University of Singapore have enabled the emission of single photons of light in ultra small, two-dimensional, ribbon-shaped materials measuring one atom thick and tens of atoms wide – about a thousand times narrower than the width of a human hair. Although the ability to emit single photons was known to occur in large sheets of two-dimensional materials, the observation made in this study is the first demonstration that the ability to emit single photons also occurs in much smaller ribbon structures.

(Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation)
Researchers from the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA) (a joint institute of the University of Colorado Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology), KMLabs Inc. in Boulder, CO, and 3M Center in St. Paul, MN, have developed a novel microscope that makes examining ultrawide-bandgap semiconductors – which have a relatively large energy gap between the valence and conduction bands – possible on an unprecedented scale. The microscope uses high-energy deep ultraviolet laser light to create a nanoscale interference pattern on the material’s surface, heating it in a controlled, periodic pattern. Observing how this pattern fades over time provides insights into the electronic, thermal, and mechanical properties at spatial resolutions as fine as 287 nanometers, well below the wavelength of visible light.

(Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation)
Measuring temperature and humidity in a variety of crop-growing circumstances has prompted the development of numerous sensors, but ensuring these devices are effective while remaining environmentally friendly and cost-effective is a challenge. Now, researchers at Auburn University in Alabama have developed paper-based temperature and humidity sensors that are accurate and reliable, as well as eco-friendly. The researchers created the sensors by printing silver lines on four types of commercially available paper through a process called dry additive nanomanufacturing. The sensors successfully detected changes in relative humidity levels from 20% to 90% and temperature variations from 25°C to 50°C.