Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

Image shows how controlled and dynamic surface architecturing/roughening of atomically thin MoS2 affects wettability.

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), which is ubiquitously used as a solid lubricant, has recently been shown to have a 2D form similar to graphene. But, when thinned down to less than a nanometer thick, MoS2 demonstrates properties with great promise as a functional material for electronic devices and surface coatings. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a new approach to dynamically tune the micro- and nano-scale roughness of atomically thin MoS2, and consequently the appropriate degree of hydrophobicity for various potential MoS2-based applications.

“The knowledge of how new materials interact with water is a fundamental,” explained SungW...

1.3-D tissue imaged using 3-D fluorescent imaging, where many cells laid down sequentially to make attached layers of alternating cell types like membranes in the human body.
Credit: York University
2. York U chemistry Professor Muhammad Yousaf looks at the 3D heart tissue cells beating together as one

Matters of the heart can be complicated, but York University scientists have found a way to create 3D heart tissue that beats in synchronized harmony, like a heart in love, that will l

ead to better understanding of cardiac health and improved treatments. York U chemistry Professor Muhammad Yousaf and his team of grad students have devised a way to stick 3 different types of cardiac cells together, like Velcro, to make heart tissue that beats as one.

Until now, most 2D and 3D in vitro tissue d...

A ball and stick model of the graphene-tungsten ditelluride-graphene stack used for imaging in the research.

University of Pennsylvania researchers are now among the first to produce a single, 3-atom-thick layer of a unique 2D material called tungsten ditelluride. Unlike other 2D materials, scientists believe tungsten ditelluride has what are called topological electronic states. This means that it can have many different properties not just one. When one thinks about 2D materials, graphene is probably the first that comes to mind. The tightly packed, atomically thin sheet of carbon first produced in 2004 has inspired countless avenues in research that could revolutionize everything from technology to drinking water...

A layered ruthenate Ca2RuO4-y ceramic body contracts on heating, or exhibits negative thermal expansion (NTE). The sintered-body structure shows colossal NTE when extremely anisotropic thermal expansion of the crystal grains produces deformation, consuming open spaces (voids) on heating. The total volume change related to NTE reaches 6.7 percent at most, the largest reported so far. Credit: Koshi Takenaka

Machines and devices in modern industry are required to withstand harsh conditions. When environmental temperature changes, the volume of the materials used to make these devices usually changes slightly, typically by <0.01%. Although this may seem trivial, over time this thermal expansion can seriously degrade the performance of industrial systems and equipment.

Materials that contract o...