Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

Larry Lu (left), and Jiong Yang with the lens shown on screen. Credit: Image Stuart Hay, ANU

Scientists have created the world’s thinnest lens, 1/2000 the thickness of a human hair, opening the door to flexible computer displays and a revolution in miniature cameras. Dr Yuerui (Larry) Lu from The Australian National University (ANU) said the discovery hinged on the remarkable potential of the molybdenum disulphide crystal. “This type of material is the perfect candidate for future flexible displays,” said Dr Lu. “We will also be able to use arrays of micro lenses to mimic the compound eyes of insects.”

The 6.3-nanometre lens outshines previous ultra-thin flat lenses, made from 50-nanometre thick gold nano-bar arrays, known as a metamaterial.
“Molybdenum disulphide is an amazing crystal,” s...

Squeezing iron-containing ferrocene (not to scale) in the pores of the metal-organic framework known as MIL-101 lets ferrocene’s iron snag oxygen from passing air. Credit: PNNL

Inexpensive materials called MOFs pull gases out of air or other mixed gas streams, but fail to do so with oxygen. Now, a team has overcome this limitation by creating a composite of a MOF and a helper molecule in which the 2 work in concert to separate oxygen from other gases simply and cheaply. The results might help with a wide variety of applications, including making pure oxygen for fuel cells, using that oxygen in a fuel cell, removing oxygen in food packaging, making oxygen sensors, or for other industrial processes...

Flexible OLED light sources on transparent electrodes developed within TREASORES. These OLEDs were made by Fraunhofer FEP using a roll-to-roll process. Credit: Fraunhofer FEP

In >3yrs of work, European scientists have finally made future lighting technology ready to market. They developed flexible lighting foils that can be produced roll-to-roll. These devices pave the path towards cheaper solar cells and LED lighting panels. Project TREASORES was lead by Empa scientist Frank Nüesch and combined knowhow from 9 companies and 6 research institutes in 5 european countries.

In Nov 2012, the TREASORES project (Transparent Electrodes for Large Area Large Scale Production of Organic Optoelectronic Devices) started with the aim of developing technologies to dramatically reduce the production cost...

Dr Shakil Awan, Lecturer in the School of Computing, Electronics and Mathematics at Plymouth University, said:
Our results for the first time not only confirm the theoretical properties of graphene but also open up many new applications of the material in high-speed electronics and bio-sensing
Dr Awan (pictured right) uses a Cascade probe station and Keysight Parameter Analyser in the Wolfson Nanomaterials and Devices Laboratory in Plymouth

Now research has shown graphene out-performs any other known material, including superconductors, when carrying high-frequency electrical signals compared to direct current, essentially transmitting signals without any additional energy loss...