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Researchers at Northwestern University and Princeton University have created a new kind of polymer that, because of its extraordinary thermal and mechanical properties, could be used in everything from airplanes to solar cells.

The polymer, a nanocomposite that incorporates functionalized, exfoliated graphene sheets, even conducts electricity, and researchers hope to use that property to eventually create thermally stable, optically transparent conducting polymers.

Continue reading ‘By Adding Graphene, Researchers Create Superior Polymer’ »

Researchers at Northwestern University and Princeton University have created a new kind of polymer that, because of its extraordinary thermal and mechanical properties, could be used in everything from airplanes to solar cells.

The polymer, a nanocomposite that incorporates functionalized, exfoliated graphene sheets, even conducts electricity, and researchers hope to use that property to eventually create thermally stable, optically transparent conducting polymers.

The results of their research were published May 11 in the online version of Nature Nanotechnology.

Continue reading ‘By Adding Graphene, Researchers Create Superior Polymer’ »

Microcantilever actuators made from carbon nanotube (CNT)-polymer composites could dramatically improve the performance of microelectromechanical systems, according to scientists in Taiwan. The researchers from National Tsing Hua University have developed an easy to actuate material that rapidly suppresses unwanted oscillations thanks to a low quality factor.

“Lightweight and highly flexible CNT-composites provide fast electrothermo-actuation at low power,” Weileun Fang told nanotechweb.org. “Moving the actuator from its original position to its pull-in position can be employed to define two different states such as 0/1 or on/off, which suits many applications in communications and displays.”

The group’s nanocomposite device has a pull-in voltage of just 50?V for a full deflection of 560?µm. As Fang explains, this value is very low compared with existing microcantilevers, which can demand at least 500?V to achieve a similar displacement. The researchers believe that CNT-based field amplification is responsible for the low pull-in voltage.

Continue reading ‘Nanocomposite offers MEMS upgrade’ »

Ravi S. Kane, professor of chemical and biological engineering video.

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new way to seek out specific proteins, including dangerous proteins such as anthrax toxin, and render them harmless using nothing but light. The technique lends itself to the creation of new antibacterial and antimicrobial films to help curb the spread of germs, and also holds promise for new methods of seeking out and killing tumors in the human body.Scientists have long been interested in wrapping proteins around carbon nanotubes, and the process is used for various applications in imaging, biosensing, and cellular delivery. But this new study at Rensselaer is the first to remotely control the activity of these conjugated nanotubes. Details of the project are outlined in the article “Nanotube-Assisted Protein Deactivation” in the December issue of Nature Nanotechnology.

A team of Rensselaer researchers led by Ravi S. Kane, professor of chemical and biological engineering, has worked for nearly a year to develop a means to remotely deactivate protein-wrapped carbon nanotubes by exposing them to invisible and near-infrared light. The group demonstrated this method by successfully deactivating anthrax toxin and other proteins.

Continue reading ‘Using Carbon Nanotubes To Seek and Destroy Anthrax Toxin and Other Harmful Proteins’ »

Riverside, CA — Two engineers at the University of California, Riverside are part of a binational team that has found semiconducting nanotubes produced by living bacteria — a discovery that could help in the creation of a new generation of nanoelectronic devices.

The research team believes this is the first time nanotubes have been shown to be produced by biological rather than chemical means. It opens the door to the possibility of cheaper and more environmentally friendly manufacture of electronic materials.

Study results appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Continue reading ‘Nanotube-Producing Bacteria Show Manufacturing Promise’ »

New technology could enable new cancer treatment techniques and antibacterial coatings

Troy, NY — Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new way to seek out specific proteins, including dangerous proteins such as anthrax toxin, and render them harmless using nothing but light. The technique lends itself to the creation of new antibacterial and antimicrobial films to help curb the spread of germs, and also holds promise for new methods of seeking out and killing tumors in the human body.

Scientists have long been interested in wrapping proteins around carbon nanotubes, and the process is used for various applications in imaging, biosensing, and cellular delivery. But this new study at Rensselaer is the first to remotely control the activity of these conjugated nanotubes. Details of the project are outlined in the article “Nanotube-Assisted Protein Deactivation” in the December issue of Nature Nanotechnology.

A team of Rensselaer researchers led by Ravi S. Kane, professor of chemical and biological engineering, has worked for nearly a year to develop a means to remotely deactivate protein-wrapped carbon nanotubes by exposing them to invisible and near-infrared light. The group demonstrated this method by successfully deactivating anthrax toxin and other proteins.

Continue reading ‘Using Carbon Nanotubes To Seek And Destroy Anthrax Toxin And Other Harmful Proteins’ »