Zap! Graphene is bad news for bacteria

24-May-2017 - Scientists at Rice University and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) have discovered that laser-induced graphene (LIG) is a highly effective anti-fouling material and, when electrified, bacteria zapper. LIG is a spongy version of graphene, the single-atom layer of carbon atoms. The Rice lab ...

Deconstructing osmosis provides insight for medical and industrial use

22-May-2017 - Osmosis, the fluid phenomenon responsible for countless slug deaths at the hands of mischievous children, is fundamentally important not only to much of biology, but also to engineering and industry. Most simply put, osmosis refers to the flow of fluid across a membrane driven by a (solute) ...

Graphene-nanotube hybrid boosts lithium metal batteries

22-May-2017 - Rice University scientists have created a rechargeable lithium metal battery with three times the capacity of commercial lithium-ion batteries by resolving something that has long stumped researchers: the dendrite problem. The Rice battery stores lithium in a unique anode, a seamless hybrid of ...

Gas gives laser-induced graphene super properties

18-May-2017 - Rice University scientists who invented laser-induced graphene (LIG) for applications like supercapacitors have now figured out a way to make the spongy graphene either superhydrophobic or superhydrophilic. And it's a gas. Until recently, the Rice lab of James Tour made LIG only in open air, ...

Electrostatic design of materials: A fundamentally new approach

Collective electrostatic effects are used to intentionally manipulate material properties

12-May-2017 - Computational materials design is traditionally used to improve and further develop already existing materials. Simulations grant a deep insight into the quantum mechanical effects which determine material properties. Egbert Zojer and his team at the Institute of Solid State Physics of TU Graz go ...

Chemically tailored Graphene

Spectral fingerprint allows control of function

10-May-2017 - Two-dimensional graphene consists of single layers of carbon atoms and exhibits intriguing properties. The transparent material conducts electricity and heat extremely well. It is at the same time flexible and solid. Additionally, the electrical conductivity can be continuously varied between a ...

A fast, non-destructive test for 2-dimensional materials

04-May-2017 - Thinning a material down to a single-atom thickness can dramatically change that material's physical properties. For example, graphene, the best-known 2D material, has unparalleled strength and electrical conductivity, unlike its bulk form, graphite. Researchers have begun to study hundreds of ...

New method for 3-D printing extraterrestrial materials

18-Apr-2017 - When humans begin to colonize the moon and Mars, they will need to be able to make everything from small tools to large buildings using the limited surrounding resources. Northwestern University's Ramille Shah and her Tissue Engineering and Additive Manufacturing (TEAM) Laboratory have ...

Major breakthrough in smart printed electronics

10-Apr-2017 - Researchers in AMBER, the Science Foundation Ireland-funded materials science research centre hosted in Trinity College Dublin, have fabricated printed transistors consisting entirely of 2-dimensional nanomaterials for the first time. These 2D materials combine exciting electronic properties with ...

Fabrication of active-matrix 3-D pressure sensors

07-Apr-2017 - A recent study, affiliated with UNIST has created a three-dimensional, tactile sensor that could detect wide pressure ranges from human body weight to a finger touch. This new sensor with transparent features is capable of generating an electrical signal based on the sensed touch actions, also, ...