Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

A schematic diagram illustrating the preparation of Ru@C₂N is shown in the figure above. (Ruthenium: shown in gold, Carbon: shown in grey , Nitrogen: shown in sky-blue)

UNIST scientists have developed an exiting new catalyst that can split water into hydrogen almost as well as platinum can, but less costly and found frequently on Earth. As described in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, this ruthenium (Ru)-based material works almost as efficient as platinum and likely shows the highest catalytic performance not affected by the pH of the water.

The research team, led by Professor Jong-Beom Baek of the Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST has synthesized Ru and C2N, a 2D organic structure, to verify its performance as a water-splitting catalyst...

1. Graphene foam invented at Rice University is reinforced with carbon nanotubes. It can hold thousands of times its own weight and still bounce back to its full height. Credit: Tour Group/Rice University
2. Graphene foam invented at Rice University is reinforced with carbon nanotubes. It can hold thousands of times its own weight and still bounce back to its full height. Credit: Tour Group
3. A microscope image of rebar graphene shows carbon shells, multiwalled carbon nanotubes and two-dimensional graphene. Credit: Tour Group

A chunk of conductive graphene foam reinforced by carbon nanotubes can support more than 3000X its own weight and easily bounce back to its original height, according to Rice University scientists...

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...