A New Form of Carbon Opens Door to Nanosized Wires

Rakennekuvan yläosassa näkyvät hiiliatomien säännönmukaisesti muodostamat neli-, kuusi- ja kahdeksankulmiot. Alaosa on atomivoimamikroskooppikuva keinotekoisesti valmistetusta materiaalista. Kuva: Marburgin yliopisto, Aalto-yliopisto
Structure of the new network. The upper part schematically shows how the carbon atoms link as squares, hexagons, & octagons. The lower part is an image of the network, obtained with high resolution microscopy. Credit: University Marburg & Aalto University

New type of atomically thin carbon material. Researchers at the University of Marburg in Germany and Aalto University in Finland have now discovered a new carbon network, which is atomically thin like graphene, but is made up of squares, hexagons, and octagons forming an ordered lattice. They confirmed the unique structure of the network using high-resolution scanning probe microscopy and interestingly found that its electronic properties are very different from those of graphene.

In contrast to graphene and other forms of carbon, ...

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An Inconstant Hubble Constant? Research suggests fix to cosmological cornerstone

Pictured is the supernova of the type Ia star 1994D, in galaxy NGC 4526. The supernova is the bright spot in the lower left corner of the image. Image credit: ESA/Hubble

More than 90 years ago, astronomer Edwin Hubble observed the first hint of the rate at which the universe expands, called the Hubble constant. Almost immediately, astronomers began arguing about the actual value of this constant, and over time, realized that there was a discrepancy in this number between early universe observations and late universe observations.

Early in the universe’s existence, light moved through plasma – there were no stars yet – and from oscillations similar to sound waves created by this, scientists deduced that the Hubble constant was about 67...

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An Illuminating Possibility for Stroke Treatment: Nano-Photosynthesis

Brain slices of mice that received nano-photosynthetic therapy (right) have fewer damaged neurons, shown in green, than control mice (left).
Credit: Adapted from Nano Letters 2021, DOI: 10.10.21/acs.nanolett.1c00719

Blocked blood vessels in the brains of stroke patients prevent oxygen-rich blood from getting to cells, causing severe damage. Plants and some microbes produce oxygen through photosynthesis. What if there was a way to make photosynthesis happen in the brains of patients? Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Nano Letters have done just that in cells and in mice, using blue-green algae and special nanoparticles, in a proof-of-concept demonstration.

Strokes result in the deaths of 5 million people worldwide every year, according to the World Health Organization...

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A Safer, Greener way to make Solar Cells: Toxic Solvent Replaced

Researcher Carys Worsley at work in the SPECIFIC labs, identifying a safer, greener way to make solar cells
Researcher Carys Worsley at work in the SPECIFIC labs, identifying a safer, greener way to make solar cells 

Scientists at SPECIFIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre, Swansea University, have found a way to replace the toxic, unsustainable solvents currently needed to make the next generation of solar technology.

Printed carbon perovskite solar cells have been described as a likely front runner to the market because they are extremely efficient at converting light to electricity, cheap and easy to make.

A major barrier to the large-scale manufacture and commercialisation of these cells is the solvents used to control crystallisation of the perovskite during fabrication: this is because they are made from unsustainable materials and are banned in many countries due to their toxicity...

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