Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

Sangchul Roh, Dishit P. Parekh, Bhuvnesh Bharti, Simeon D. Stoyanov, Orlin D. Velev. 3D Printing by Multiphase Silicone/Water Capillary Inks. Advanced Materials, 2017; 1701554 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201701554

Using the principles behind the formation of sandcastles from wet sand, North Carolina State University researchers have achieved 3D printing of flexible and porous silicone rubber structures through a new technique that combines water with solid and liquid forms of silicone into a pasty ink that can be fed through a 3D printer. The finding could have biomedical applications and uses in soft robotics. Orlin Velev and coll

eagues show that, in a water medium, liquid silicone rubber can be used to form bridges between tiny silicone rubber beads to link them together – much as a small amo...

Photosystems (PS) I and II are large protein complexes that contain light-absorbing pigment molecules needed for photosynthesis. PS II captures energy from sunlight to extract electrons from water molecules, splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen ions (H+) and producing chemical energy in the form of ATP. PS I uses those electrons and H+ to reduce NADP+ (an electron-carrier molecule) to NADPH. The chemical energy contained in ATP and NADPH is then used in the light-independent reaction of photosynthesis to convert carbon dioxide to sugars.
Credit: Brookhaven National Laboratory

Photosynthesis in green plants converts solar energy to stored chemical energy by transforming atmospheric CO2 and water into sugar molecules that fuel plant growth...

A new material, may finally bring an end to the misery of cracked devices. Molecular Arrangement and Charge Transfer in C60/Graphene Heterostructures. ACS Nano, 2017; 11 (5): 4686 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.7b00551 Credit: © smspsy / Fotolia

Currently, most parts of a smart phone are made of silicon and other compounds, which are expensive and break easily, but with almost 1.5 billion smart phones purchased worldwide last year, manufacturers are on the lookout for something more durable and less costly...