nanocrystals

Engineering Nanoparticles for Maximum Strength

harminka — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 07:10:34 -0500

Because they are riddled with defects, bulk crystalline materials never achieve their ideal strength; nanocrystals, on the other hand, are so small there’s no room for defects. (“Nano” is short for nanometer, a billionth of a meter.)

Ultrathin polyethylene films made of nanocrystals

harminka — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:09:15 -0500

Layers of plastic, much thinner than a strand of hair—this type of ultrathin polymer film is of great interest to scientists and engineers. Applications include protective coatings, for example. A research team led by Stefan Mecking at the University of Konstanz has now developed a new method to produce wafer-thin layers. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, the scientists made their films from individual prefabricated nanocrystal building blocks.

Breakthrough results in super-hard nanocrystalline iron

harminka — Tue, 27 May 2008 14:28:51 -0500

Researchers at North Carolina State University have created a substance far stronger and harder than conventional iron, and which retains these properties under extremely high temperatures – opening the door to a wide variety of potential applications, such as engine components that are exposed to high stress and high temperatures.

Measurement technique probes surface structure of gold nanocrystals

harminka — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 11:40:08 -0500

In the hands of jewelers, gold can be fashioned into rings and pendants of long-lasting beauty. But, when reduced in size to nanocrystals containing a few thousand atoms, this noble metal is a surprisingly good catalyst.

JILA solves problem of quantum dot 'blinking'

harminka — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 05:56:37 -0600

Quantum dots—tiny, intense, tunable sources of colorful light—are illuminating new opportunities in biomedical research, cryptography and other fields. But these semiconductor nanocrystals also have a secret problem, a kind of nervous tic. They mysteriously tend to “blink” on and off like Christmas tree lights, which can reduce their usefulness.

Water droplets as templates, gold nanorods self-assemble into rings

harminka — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 12:55:20 -0500