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

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering have introduced the first universal adsorption model that accounts for detailed nanoparticle structural characteristics, metal composition and different adsorbates, making it possible to not only predict adsorption behavior on any metal nanoparticles but screen their stability, as well. This improvement will significantly accelerate nanomaterials design and avoid trial and error experimentation in the lab.

Researchers at Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and Harvard Medical School have developed a method that combines the team's DNA-powered imaging technology with a single-molecule labeling strategy at a desired location within synthetic nanostructures or intact cells. This approach could allow researchers to stimulate or inhibit the functions of individual molecules in real time and with very high resolution.a

Researchers at Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and Harvard Medical School have developed a method that combines the team's DNA-powered imaging technology with a single-molecule labeling strategy at a desired location within synthetic nanostructures or intact cells. This approach could allow researchers to stimulate or inhibit the functions of individual molecules in real time and with very high resolution.

Platinum is one of the most commonly used catalysts for fuel cells, but its high cost has spurred research efforts to find ways to use smaller amounts of it while maintaining the same catalytic. Now researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have demonstrated that films of platinum only two atoms thick supported by graphene could enable fuel cell catalysts with unprecedented catalytic activity and longevity.

Platinum is one of the most commonly used catalysts for fuel cells, but its high cost has spurred research efforts to find ways to use smaller amounts of it while maintaining the same catalytic. Now researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have demonstrated that films of platinum only two atoms thick supported by graphene could enable fuel cell catalysts with unprecedented catalytic activity and longevity.

Researchers Sandia National Laboratories have developed a nanoantenna-enabled detector that can boost the signal of a thermal infrared camera by up to three times and improve image quality by reducing dark current — a major component of image noise — by 10 to 100 times. A nanoantenna is a nanoscale antenna-like structure that sends and transmits electromagnetic waves.

Researchers Sandia National Laboratories have developed a nanoantenna-enabled detector that can boost the signal of a thermal infrared camera by up to three times and improve image quality by reducing dark current — a major component of image noise — by 10 to 100 times. A nanoantenna is a nanoscale antenna-like structure that sends and transmits electromagnetic waves.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have shown how a fuel cell can be built with monodisperse platinum-cobalt nanocrystals – a scientific advance that could pave the way for making fuel cell technology more stable and cost-effective.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have shown how a fuel cell can be built with monodisperse platinum-cobalt nanocrystals – a scientific advance that could pave the way for making fuel cell technology more stable and cost-effective.

Researchers at Penn State have developed a field-effect transistor that is made of 2D materials and that is more energy efficient and produces less heat than field-effect transistors used in current computers. This new transistor is inspired by how the brain works and provides a range of probabilistic responses instead of “on” or “off” responses.