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

Researchers at Rice University have discovered that virtually any source of solid carbon — from food scraps to old car tires — can be turned into graphene, which are sheets of carbon atoms prized for applications ranging from high-strength plastic to flexible electronics. Current techniques yield tiny quantities of picture-perfect graphene; the new method already produces grams per day of near-pristine graphene in the lab, and researchers are now scaling it up to kilograms. The researchers have already founded a startup company to commercialize their waste-to-graphene process.

Researchers at Rice University have discovered that virtually any source of solid carbon — from food scraps to old car tires — can be turned into graphene, which are sheets of carbon atoms prized for applications ranging from high-strength plastic to flexible electronics. Current techniques yield tiny quantities of picture-perfect graphene; the new method already produces grams per day of near-pristine graphene in the lab, and researchers are now scaling it up to kilograms. The researchers have already founded a startup company to commercialize their waste-to-graphene process.

Using straightforward chemistry and a mix-and-match, modular strategy, researchers at Penn State have developed a simple approach that could produce over 65,000 different types of complex nanoparticles, each containing up to six different materials and eight segments, with interfaces that could be exploited in electrical or optical applications. These rod-shaped nanoparticles are about 55 nanometers long and 20 nanometers wide, and many are considered to be among the most complex ever made.

Using straightforward chemistry and a mix-and-match, modular strategy, researchers at Penn State have developed a simple approach that could produce over 65,000 different types of complex nanoparticles, each containing up to six different materials and eight segments, with interfaces that could be exploited in electrical or optical applications. These rod-shaped nanoparticles are about 55 nanometers long and 20 nanometers wide, and many are considered to be among the most complex ever made.

A team of engineers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has boosted the performance of its previously developed 3D inductor technology by adding as much as three orders of magnitudes more induction to meet the performance demands of modern electronic devices. The researchers filled the already-rolled membranes with an iron oxide nanoparticle solution using a tiny dropper, which allowed the microchip inductors to operate at higher frequency with less performance loss.

A team of engineers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has boosted the performance of its previously developed 3D inductor technology by adding as much as three orders of magnitudes more induction to meet the performance demands of modern electronic devices. The researchers filled the already-rolled membranes with an iron oxide nanoparticle solution using a tiny dropper, which allowed the microchip inductors to operate at higher frequency with less performance loss.

This article profiles Liam Collins, a scientist at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, a user facility at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Collins supports the center’s user program by advancing microscopy techniques that push the limits of observation and enable researchers to study materials and their properties on a nanometer length scale and gain insights that lead to new frontiers in energy, biology, and medicine.

This article profiles Liam Collins, a scientist at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, a user facility at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Collins supports the center’s user program by advancing microscopy techniques that push the limits of observation and enable researchers to study materials and their properties on a nanometer length scale and gain insights that lead to new frontiers in energy, biology, and medicine.

Researchers at the University of Chicago and the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have developed a new method to measure how photocurrents flow in a two-dimensional material— a substance with a thickness of a few nanometers or less. This ultra-sensitive method will help researchers better understand the material in the hopes of using it to create flexible electronics and solar cells.

Researchers at the University of Chicago and the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have developed a new method to measure how photocurrents flow in a two-dimensional material— a substance with a thickness of a few nanometers or less. This ultra-sensitive method will help researchers better understand the material in the hopes of using it to create flexible electronics and solar cells.