Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

A big step toward the development of dyes with long-wavelength near-infrared absorption. A research group has discovered that near-infrared absorbing dyes, which had previously been considered to have closed-shell electronic structures, have an intermediate electronic structure, between closed- and open-shell structures. They also found that as the wavelength of near-infrared light that can be absorbed becomes longer the contribution of open-shell forms increases within the dye. These newly discovered characteristics are expected to be utilized to develop new near-infrared absorbing dyes that can absorb longer wavelength near-infrared light.

Near-infrared light, whose wavelength is longer than visible light, is invisible and can pass through many substances...

Micron-sized “bow ties,” self-assembled from nanoparticles, form a variety of different curling shapes that can be precisely controlled, a research team led by the University of Michigan has shown.

The development opens the way for easily producing materials that interact with twisted light, providing new tools for machine vision and producing medicines.

While biology is full of twisted structures like DNA, known as chiral structures, the degree of twist is locked in—trying to change it breaks the structure...

Perovskites are materials that are increasingly popular for a wide range of applications because of their remarkable electrical, optical, and photonic properties...

Hydrogen fuel could be a more viable alternative to traditional fossil fuels according to University of Surrey researchers who have found that a type of metal-free catalysts could contribute to the development of cost-effective and sustainable hydrogen production technologies.

The study has shown promising results for the use of edge-decorated nanocarbons as metal-free catalysts for the direct conversion of methane, which is also a powerful greenhouse gas, into hydrogen. Among the nano carbons investigated, nitrogen-doped nano carbons presented the highest level of performance for hydrogen production at high temperatures.

Crucially, the researchers also found that the nitrogen-doped and phosphorus-doped nano carbons had strong resistance to carbon poisoning, which is a common is...