Category: nanotechnology – Page 110
Nanoparticle-coated catalyst boosts sustainable acetate production
Acetic acid, also known as acetate, and other products that can be developed from acetic acid are used in a variety of industries, from food production to medicine to agriculture. Currently, acetate production uses a significant amount of energy and results in harmful waste products. The efficient and sustainable production of acetate is an important target for researchers interested in improving industrial sustainability.
A paper published in Carbon Future (“CO 2 electroreduction to acetate by enhanced tandem effects of surface intermediate over Co 3 O 4 supported polyaniline catalyst”) outlines a method using a polyaniline catalyst with cobalt oxide nanoparticles to produce acetate through carbon dioxide electroreduction.
This image shows a polyaniline catalyst coated in cobalt oxide nanoparticles and demonstrates how the catalyst facilitates the conversion of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide to acetate. (Image: Carbon Future)
New 3D reconstruction method aids analysis of property-defining defects
An international research collaboration, including a group from Cornell Engineering, has applied a new X-ray-based reconstruction technique to observe, for the first time, topological defects in a nanoscale self-assembly-based cubic network structure of a polymer-metal composite material imaged over a relatively large sample volume.
Gold co-catalyst improves photocatalytic degradation of micropollutants, finds study
To remove micropollutants such as pesticides and trace chemicals from the environment, you need something equally small and cunning. One potential method is photocatalysis, which uses semiconducting nanomaterials powered by sunlight to adsorb toxic chemicals on the materials’ surface and degrade them.
Not Science Fiction: Researchers Have Developed Metasurface Tractor Beams
Researchers at TMOS have developed a metasurface-enabled solenoid beam that can pull particles towards it, potentially revolutionizing non-invasive medical procedures like biopsies. This technology, which uses a thin layer of nanopatterned silicon, offers a lightweight, portable alternative to the bulky equipment previously required for such beams. Credit: University of Melbourne.
Researchers at TMOS, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems, have made a significant initial advancement in creating tractor beams enabled by metasurfaces. These beams of light, capable of drawing particles towards them, are inspired by the fictional tractor beams seen in science fiction.
In research published in ACS Photonics, the University of Melbourne team describes their solenoid beam that is generated using a silicon metasurface. Previous solenoid beams have been created by bulky special light modulators (SLMs), however, the size and weight of these systems prevent the beams from being used in handheld devices. The metasurface is a layer of nanopatterned silicon only about 1/2000 of a millimeter thick. The team hopes that one day it could be used to take biopsies in a non-invasive manner, unlike current methods such as forceps that cause trauma to the surrounding tissues.
Nano MIND: Scientists use magnetism to brain-control mice wirelessly
Unlocking the brain: how magnetic nanomaterials could transform neuroscience.
Mind-control magnet tech to regulate behavior, emotions, hunger.
Understanding the brain’s intricate networks and functions is a complex challenge.
Using magnetic fields and nanoparticles, researchers were able to increase and decrease feeding behavior and appetite in mice models.