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

Date Published
(Funded by the National Science Foundation)

Researchers at North Carolina State University have verified that it is possible to engineer two-layered nanofibers consisting of an ordered row of alternating peptides. The researchers also have determined what makes these peptides automatically assemble into this pattern. This discovery raises the possibility of creating tailored "ABAB" peptide nanofibers for a variety of biomedical applications.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation)

Electrical engineers and microbiologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have created a device with electrically conductive protein nanowires (3 nanometers in diameter by 1–3 micrometers in length) produced by bacteria. The device uses these protein nanowires to create electricity from moisture in the air. The researchers say that this new technology could have significant implications for the future of renewable energy, climate change, and the future of medicine.

(Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation)

Electrical engineers and microbiologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have created a device with electrically conductive protein nanowires (3 nanometers in diameter by 1–3 micrometers in length) produced by bacteria. The device uses these protein nanowires to create electricity from moisture in the air. The researchers say that this new technology could have significant implications for the future of renewable energy, climate change, and the future of medicine.

(Funded by the Army Research Office and the U.S. Department of Energy)

Researchers at the University of Michigan have shown, for the first time, how a nanoscale thermal switch can be built by using nanoscale effects that arise when heat is transferred between a hot and cold nanoscale-thick membrane via thermal radiation. Compared to the vast array of devices, such as transistors and diodes, that are available to control the flow of electricity, there are few proposals for controlling the flow of heat, especially at the nanoscale. This research was performed to overcome this challenge.

(Funded by the Army Research Office and the U.S. Department of Energy)

Researchers at the University of Michigan have shown, for the first time, how a nanoscale thermal switch can be built by using nanoscale effects that arise when heat is transferred between a hot and cold nanoscale-thick membrane via thermal radiation. Compared to the vast array of devices, such as transistors and diodes, that are available to control the flow of electricity, there are few proposals for controlling the flow of heat, especially at the nanoscale. This research was performed to overcome this challenge.

(Funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the U.S. Department of Energy)

Scientists at Rice University, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have created laser-induced graphene with a very small visible beam mounted to a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The SEM-mounted laser was used to burn the top five microns of polyimide, a commercial polymer, writing graphene features as small as 12 microns. The features of this laser-induced graphene are more than 60% smaller than the macro version and almost 10 times smaller than typically achieved with infrared laser. This discovery could lead to wider commercial production of flexible electronics and sensors.

(Funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the U.S. Department of Energy)

Scientists at Rice University, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have created laser-induced graphene with a very small visible beam mounted to a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The SEM-mounted laser was used to burn the top five microns of polyimide, a commercial polymer, writing graphene features as small as 12 microns. The features of this laser-induced graphene are more than 60% smaller than the macro version and almost 10 times smaller than typically achieved with infrared laser. This discovery could lead to wider commercial production of flexible electronics and sensors.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Office of Naval Research)

A team of researchers at Northwestern University has developed a new method to view the dynamic motion of atoms in atomically thin two-dimensional materials. The imaging technique, which reveals the underlying cause behind the performance failure of a widely used two-dimensional material, could help researchers develop more stable and reliable materials for future wearables and flexible electronic devices.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Office of Naval Research)

A team of researchers at Northwestern University has developed a new method to view the dynamic motion of atoms in atomically thin two-dimensional materials. The imaging technique, which reveals the underlying cause behind the performance failure of a widely used two-dimensional material, could help researchers develop more stable and reliable materials for future wearables and flexible electronic devices.

(Funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Office of Naval Research, the Army Research Office, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the National Science Foundation)

Researchers have found that a material shaped like a one-dimensional DNA helix, encapsulated in a nanotube made of boron nitride, helps build a field-effect transistor with a diameter of two nanometers. Transistors on the market are made of bulkier silicon and range between 10 and 20 nanometers in scale. The work was performed by engineers at Purdue University in collaboration with Michigan Technological University, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of Texas at Dallas.