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

Date Published
(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy)

While scientists have long known how to make nanoparticles of transition metal oxides, no one has found a controllable way to grow these 3D nanoparticles into nanosheets, which are thin 2D materials just a few atoms thick. Now, a team of scientists led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has gained valuable insight into 3D transition metal oxide nanoparticles’ natural “edge” for 2D growth.

(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy)

While scientists have long known how to make nanoparticles of transition metal oxides, no one has found a controllable way to grow these 3D nanoparticles into nanosheets, which are thin 2D materials just a few atoms thick. Now, a team of scientists led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has gained valuable insight into 3D transition metal oxide nanoparticles’ natural “edge” for 2D growth.

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

A team of researchers at the University of Michigan has built catalysts that guide chemical reactions toward the right version of chiral molecules. This discovery could lead to more efficient production of some medicines. The catalysts, which are assemblies of mineral nanoparticles made chiefly from zinc oxide, are at least 10 times better at selecting a particular version of a chiral molecule than earlier catalysts of this type.

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

A team of researchers at the University of Michigan has built catalysts that guide chemical reactions toward the right version of chiral molecules. This discovery could lead to more efficient production of some medicines. The catalysts, which are assemblies of mineral nanoparticles made chiefly from zinc oxide, are at least 10 times better at selecting a particular version of a chiral molecule than earlier catalysts of this type.

(Funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)

Much like some snakes use infrared to "see" at night, University of Central Florida researchers are working to create similar viper vision to improve the sensitivity of night-vision cameras. The ability to enhance night vision capabilities could have implications in improving what can be seen in space, in chemical and biological disaster areas, and on the battlefield. The trick in developing the new highly sensitive, but uncooled, infrared detector was engineering the two-dimensional nanomaterial graphene into a material that can carry an electric current.

(Funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)

Much like some snakes use infrared to "see" at night, University of Central Florida researchers are working to create similar viper vision to improve the sensitivity of night-vision cameras. The ability to enhance night vision capabilities could have implications in improving what can be seen in space, in chemical and biological disaster areas, and on the battlefield. The trick in developing the new highly sensitive, but uncooled, infrared detector was engineering the two-dimensional nanomaterial graphene into a material that can carry an electric current.

(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation)

Researchers have developed a new method for upcycling abundant, seemingly low-value plastics into high-quality liquid products, such as motor oils, lubricants, detergents, and even cosmetics. The catalyst used to convert plastics into value-added commercial products consists of platinum nanoparticles — just two nanometers in size — deposited onto perovskite nanocubes, which are about 50-60 nanometers in size. Northwestern University, Argonne National Laboratory, and Ames Laboratory led the multi-institutional team.

(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation)

Researchers have developed a new method for upcycling abundant, seemingly low-value plastics into high-quality liquid products, such as motor oils, lubricants, detergents, and even cosmetics. The catalyst used to convert plastics into value-added commercial products consists of platinum nanoparticles — just two nanometers in size — deposited onto perovskite nanocubes, which are about 50-60 nanometers in size. Northwestern University, Argonne National Laboratory, and Ames Laboratory led the multi-institutional team.

(Funding by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research)

An engineer at the University of California Santa Barbara has proposed a way to overcome the relatively low efficiency and performance of existing quantum computing prototypes that use light to encode and process information. To develop an all-electrical, all-on-chip quantum photonic platform, he proposes to integrate three technologies that have been developed for different platforms and applications: electrically driven quantum dot single-photon sources, silicon-based photonics for optical operations, and superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors.

(Funding by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research)

An engineer at the University of California Santa Barbara has proposed a way to overcome the relatively low efficiency and performance of existing quantum computing prototypes that use light to encode and process information. To develop an all-electrical, all-on-chip quantum photonic platform, he proposes to integrate three technologies that have been developed for different platforms and applications: electrically driven quantum dot single-photon sources, silicon-based photonics for optical operations, and superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors.