Nanomaterials

Reducing the environmental impacts of MXene synthesis: Life cycle assessment and production guide offer tips

By Lisa McDonald / September 15, 2023

Despite the meteoric rise of MXenes from discovery to commercial products in only a decade, the environmental impacts of MXene synthesis have not been assessed systematically. ACerS member Babak Anasori helped lead two recent studies that provided a life cycle assessment and step-by-step guide for synthesizing Ti3C2Tx MXenes, respectively.

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Compliant combustion: Nanocoating offers new way to control ‘runaway’ thermal reactions

By Lisa McDonald / September 8, 2023

Current methods for controlling “runaway” thermal reactions such as combustion and pyrolysis remain rather rudimentary. Researchers led by North Carolina State University developed a new nanocoating that, when applied to a material before combustion, allows for the reaction rate and direction of ignition propagation to be controlled.

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Foiled no more: A review of advancements in producing carbon nanotubes on flexible metal substrates

By Lisa McDonald / August 8, 2023

Growing carbon nanotubes on metal foils rather than traditional silicon or quartz substrates would allow the process to be easily integrated into large-scale manufacturing processes. But metal foils present other challenges, such as reactivity at high temperatures. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers published a review paper summarizing efforts to overcome these challenges.

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Discovery of ferroelectricity in elementary substance expands understanding of this property

By Lisa McDonald / April 14, 2023

Ferroelectricity traditionally is believed to only occur in compounds. However, in the past decade, some theoretical works suggested that ferroelectricity is possible in certain elementary substances. Now researchers in China and Singapore experimentally confirmed ferroelectricity in monolayer α-phase bismuth.

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Finding trees within the forest: Deep learning network detects individual carbon nanotubes in SEM images

By Lisa McDonald / March 21, 2023

For researchers to improve the properties of carbon nanotubes grown en masse, they must first be able to measure and characterize how individual nanotubes are assembled within carbon nanotube “forests.” In a recent paper, researchers at the University of Missouri outlined a deep learning technique to segment these forests in scanning electron microscopy images.

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New carbon structures open a realm of possibilities

By Lisa McDonald / March 14, 2023

As applications for carbon nanostructures flourish, the exploration for new carbon structures continues. Today’s CTT highlights three discoveries announced during the past few months.

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Model reveals how nanopores form in 2D materials hit by highly charged ions

By Lisa McDonald / February 24, 2023

Bombarding materials with highly charged ions is one way researchers can manipulate and modify 2D heterostructures. TU Wien researchers developed a model to simulate this bombardment and reveal why, when hit, some 2D materials form nanopores and others do not.

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Small scale, big discoveries: Reducing thickness of antiferroelectric films turns them ferroelectric

By Lisa McDonald / February 14, 2023

While size effects in ferroelectric materials have been extensively studied, there are far fewer studies on how structure and properties evolve in antiferroelectric materials with reduced dimensions. In a recent open-access paper, researchers report the surprising discovery that below a certain thickness, antiferroelectric films will become completely ferroelectric.

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MXenes advance the ancient art of calligraphy

By Lisa McDonald / February 10, 2023

Advanced applications are not the only use for advanced materials. A graduate engineering student at Drexel University discovered he could create bleed-free inks for calligraphy using MXenes, a novel 2D material family comprising transition metal carbides and nitrides.

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Protecting peels from peeling: Nanoparticle spray reduces sunburn damage in pineapples

By Lisa McDonald / December 16, 2022

Sunburn in fruits and fruiting vegetables is a big concern for farmers because it affects the food’s marketability. Researchers in Brazil tested the potential of spray-on calcium carbonate nanoparticles to protect pineapples from sunburn.

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