(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. National Science Foundation)
Hydrogen fuel cells rely on proton exchange membranes to conduct protons while preventing the unwanted crossover of hydrogen molecules. Thinner membranes can improve performance but also allow more hydrogen molecules to leak through, reducing overall efficiency. So, researchers from Vanderbilt University, along with international collaborators, have developed a way to improve fuel cell efficiency without reducing its performance. By incorporating a monolayer of graphene – an ultra-thin material just one atom thick – into proton exchange membranes, the team significantly reduced hydrogen crossover by more than 50% while maintaining high proton conductivity. Part of the research work was performed at the Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering.

(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. National Science Foundation)
Researchers have long recognized that quantum communication systems would transmit quantum information better and be unaffected by certain forms of error if nonlinear optical processes were used. But past efforts at using such processes could not operate with the very low light levels required for quantum communication. Now, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have improved the technology by basing the nonlinear process on an indium-gallium-phosphide nanophotonic platform. The result requires much less light and operates all the way down to single photons, the smallest units of light.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. National Science Foundation)
Researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Purdue University, and the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago have created DNA origami structures – which are made by folding DNA into nanoscale scaffolds – that can selectively deliver fluorescent imaging agents to pancreatic cancer cells without affecting normal cells. The team experimented with different sizes of tube- and tile-shaped DNA origami structures. They found that tube-shaped structures about 70 nanometers in length and 30 nanometers in diameter, as well as ones that are about 6 nanometers in length and 30 nanometers in diameter, experienced the greatest uptake by the pancreatic cancer tissue while not being absorbed by the surrounding, noncancerous tissue. Larger tube-shaped structures and all sizes of tile-shaped structures did not perform as well.

(Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation)
Researchers from The State University of New York, Buffalo; St. Bonaventure University; and Stony Brook University have created a molecular nanocage that captures the bulk of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) found in water – and it works better than traditional filtering techniques that use activated carbon. Made of an organic nanoporous material designed to capture only PFAS, this tiny chemical-based filtration system removed 80% of PFAS from sewage and 90% of PFAS groundwater, while showing very low adverse environmental effects. PFAS are chemical compounds sometimes called “forever chemicals” and are commonly used in food packaging and nonstick coatings.

(Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation)
Monitoring pressure inside the skull is key to treating traumatic brain injuries and preventing long-lasting complications, but most of the monitoring devices are large and invasive. Now, researchers from Georgia Tech and Louisiana State University, along with international collaborators, have created a nanosensor made from ultra-thin, flexible silicone that can be embedded in a catheter. Once the catheter is in a patient’s skull, the nanosensor can continuously gather data at a more sensitive rate than traditional devices. With this nanosensor, even the smallest pressure changes could alert clinicians that further treatment is needed.