Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

This raw 3-D printed ploymeric material known as Kapton, created and printed at Virginia Tech, might one day be used in space vehicles or satellites because of its ability to withstand high temperatures. Credit: Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech researchers have created a novel way to 3D print the type of high-temperature polymeric materials commonly used to insulate spacecraft and satellites from extreme heat and cold. Previously, the polyimide could previously be made only in sheets. The material, formally known as Kapton, is an aromatic polymer composed of carbons and hydrogens in benzene rings, which provides exceptional thermal and chemical stability. But because of this molecular structure, the material is notoriously difficult to produce in any format other than thin sheets...

An artist’s depiction of the promise of carbon nanotube porins for desalination. The image depicts a stylized carbon nanotube pipe that delivers clean desalinated water from the ocean to a kitchen tap. Credit: Image by Ryan Chen/LLNL

Lawrence Livermore scientists, in collaboration with Northeastern University have developed a saltwater purification device. The team also found that water permeability in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with diameters smaller than a nanometer (0.8 nm) exceeds that of wider CNTs by an order of magnitude. The nanotubes, hollow structures made of carbon atoms in a unique arrangement, are more than 50,000 times thinner than a human hair...

Fast kinetics of magnesium monochloride cations in interlayer-expanded titanium disulfide for magnesium rechargeable batteries. Nature Communications, August 2017 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00431- 9

Nanostructured cathode, understanding of new electrolyte lead to greater efficiency. Magnesium batteries offer promise for safely powering modern life – unlike traditional lithium ion batteries, they are not flammable or subject to exploding – but their ability to store energy has been limited. Researchers reported Aug. 24 in the journal Nature Communications the discovery of a new design for the battery cathode, drastically increasing the storage capacity and upending conventional wisdom that the magnesium-chloride bond must be broken before inserting magnesium into the host.

The work was first ...

Artist’s rendering of bioreactor (left) loaded with bacteria decorated with cadmium sulfide, light-absorbing nanocrystals (middle) to convert light, water and carbon dioxide into useful chemicals (right). Credit: Kelsey K. Sakimoto

Photosynthesis provides energy for the vast majority of life on Earth. But chlorophyll, the green pigment that plants use to harvest sunlight, is relatively inefficient. To enable humans to capture more of the sun’s energy than natural photosynthesis can, scientists have taught bacteria to cover themselves in tiny, highly efficient solar panels to produce useful compounds. “Rather than rely on inefficient chlorophyll to harvest sunlight, I’ve taught bacteria how to grow and cover their bodies with tiny semiconductor nanocrystals,” says Kelsey K. Sakimoto, Ph.D....