News from the NNI Community - Research Advances Funded by Agencies Participating in the NNI

Researchers at Rice University have developed a new cost-effective technology for desalinating industrial-strength brine by using a thin coating of the 2D nanomaterial hexagonal boron nitride. Boron nitride’s combination of chemical resistance and thermal conductivity facilitated a system that produced a flux of more than 42 kilograms of water per square meter of membrane per hour — more than 10 times greater than ambient solar membrane distillation technologies — at an energy efficiency much higher than existing membrane distillation technologies.

Researchers at Rice University have developed a new cost-effective technology for desalinating industrial-strength brine by using a thin coating of the 2D nanomaterial hexagonal boron nitride. Boron nitride’s combination of chemical resistance and thermal conductivity facilitated a system that produced a flux of more than 42 kilograms of water per square meter of membrane per hour — more than 10 times greater than ambient solar membrane distillation technologies — at an energy efficiency much higher than existing membrane distillation technologies.

Researchers at the University of Washington have designed the first end-to-end molecular tagging system that enables rapid, on-demand encoding and decoding at scale. Instead of radio waves or printed lines, the tagging scheme relies on a set of distinct DNA strands called molecular bits, or “molbits” for short, that incorporate highly separable nanopore signals to ease later readout. The molbits are extremely tiny, making them ideal for tracking small items or flexible surfaces that aren’t suited to conventional tagging methods.

Researchers at the University of Washington have designed the first end-to-end molecular tagging system that enables rapid, on-demand encoding and decoding at scale. Instead of radio waves or printed lines, the tagging scheme relies on a set of distinct DNA strands called molecular bits, or “molbits” for short, that incorporate highly separable nanopore signals to ease later readout. The molbits are extremely tiny, making them ideal for tracking small items or flexible surfaces that aren’t suited to conventional tagging methods.

Penn State researchers have reported advancing the development of “smart glass,” or glass equipped with automatic sensing properties. The Penn State team integrated atomically thin molybdenum disulfide in photosensors with durable materials such as those currently used in smartphone screens. This technology could be applied in biomedical imaging, security surveillance, environmental sensing, optical communication, night vision, motion detection, and collision avoidance systems for autonomous vehicles and robots. 

Penn State researchers have reported advancing the development of “smart glass,” or glass equipped with automatic sensing properties. The Penn State team integrated atomically thin molybdenum disulfide in photosensors with durable materials such as those currently used in smartphone screens. This technology could be applied in biomedical imaging, security surveillance, environmental sensing, optical communication, night vision, motion detection, and collision avoidance systems for autonomous vehicles and robots. 

Scientists at the University of Washington have developed a nanoparticle-based drug delivery system that can ferry a potent anti-cancer drug through the bloodstream safely and inhibit tumor growth in mice. The nanoparticle is derived from chitin, a natural and organic polymer that makes up the outer shells of shrimp. The nanoparticles showed no adverse side effects, likely since they are derived in part from naturally occurring polymers.

Scientists at the University of Washington have developed a nanoparticle-based drug delivery system that can ferry a potent anti-cancer drug through the bloodstream safely and inhibit tumor growth in mice. The nanoparticle is derived from chitin, a natural and organic polymer that makes up the outer shells of shrimp. The nanoparticles showed no adverse side effects, likely since they are derived in part from naturally occurring polymers.

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and colleagues have demonstrated a room-temperature method that could significantly reduce carbon dioxide levels in fossil-fuel power plant exhaust. Previous methods of removing carbon dioxide have required high temperature or pressure and employed costly precious metals. The team relied on the energy harvested from traveling waves of electrons, known as localized surface plasmons (LSPs). Aluminum nanoparticles were able to transfer the LSP energy to graphite at room temperature, enabling the reduction of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide.

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and colleagues have demonstrated a room-temperature method that could significantly reduce carbon dioxide levels in fossil-fuel power plant exhaust. Previous methods of removing carbon dioxide have required high temperature or pressure and employed costly precious metals. The team relied on the energy harvested from traveling waves of electrons, known as localized surface plasmons (LSPs). Aluminum nanoparticles were able to transfer the LSP energy to graphite at room temperature, enabling the reduction of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide.