Magnetism guides individual atoms

Potential for controlled atomic movement in nanotechnology and data storage

12-Jun-2025 - Normally, individual atoms move on surfaces rather randomly - influenced primarily by the symmetry of the surface. This process, known as "diffusion", plays a central role in the production of semiconductors, in catalysts or in the construction of nanostructures. Researchers have long suspected ...

Efficient energy transport through covalent organic frameworks

New prospects for the development of sustainable organic materials in photocatalysis and optoelectronics

16-Jan-2025 - An interdisciplinary research team from LMU, the Technical University of Munich (TUM), and the University of Oxford has employed novel spectroscopic techniques to investigate the diffusion of excited states in so-called covalent organic frameworks (COFs). These modular materials can be adapted ...

"Hot" graphene reveals migration of carbon atoms

The study is an example of serendipity in research

27-Jun-2022 - The migration of carbon atoms on the surface of the nanomaterial graphene was recently measured for the first time. Although the atoms move too swiftly to be directly observed with an electron microscope, their effect on the stability of the material can now be determined indirectly while the ...

Why gold-palladium alloys are better than palladium for hydrogen storage

11-Jul-2018 - Materials that absorb hydrogen are used for hydrogen storage and purification, thus serving as clean energy carriers. The best-known hydrogen absorber, palladium (Pd), can be improved by alloying with gold (Au). New research led by The University of Tokyo Institute of Industrial Science explains ...

How do very small particles behave at very high temperatures?

09-Apr-2018 - A Swansea University nanomaterials expert has been looking at how small gold particles survive when subjected to very high temperatures. The research is important to the engineering sector for some potential applications of nanotechnology, for example in catalysis and aerospace, where particles ...

A super resolution view of chemical reactions

14-Feb-2018 - Researchers from the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences have demonstrated, using a super resolution microscopic technique, how to follow chemical reactions taking place in very small volumes. The method of analysis developed by the Warsaw physicists in collaboration ...

A new type of powerful battery

Move over, lithium-ion - now, there's a better battery on the horizon

07-Feb-2018 - A multi-institution team of scientists led by Texas A&M University chemist Sarbajit Banerjee has discovered an exceptional metal-oxide magnesium battery cathode material, moving researchers one step closer to delivering batteries that promise higher density of energy storage on top of ...

Liquid-metal membrane technology to make hydrogen fuel cell vehicles viable

31-Aug-2017 - While cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells offer clear advantages over the electric vehicles that are growing in popularity (including their longer range, their lower overall environmental impact, and the fact that they can be refueled in minutes, versus hours of charging time), they have yet to ...

Universal stabilization

Microparticles with a rough, raspberry-like surface stabilise emulsions following a new principle

16-Jun-2017 - Researchers led by Lucio Isa, Professor of Interfaces, Soft Matter and Assembly at ETH Zurich's Department of Materials, have created a new type of silica particle able to stabilise emulsions in a new way. An emulsion is a finely dispersed mixture of two immiscible liquids, constituted by ...

How nanoparticles affect flow through porous stuff in surprising ways

06-Apr-2017 - Those who have mixed oil and vinegar may have unknowingly observed a strange fluid phenomenon called fingering instability. A type of this phenomenon, called viscous fingering (VF), occurs in porous media where fluids of differing viscosity converge in finger-shaped patterns as a result of ...