Nano News: 03/10/15

Scientists have found a way to make the strongest spider silk fibers

Researchers from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) have produced the strongest spider silk fiber so far. They used a technique that made popular the silk from Murcia in the 19th century. Given the good properties of this new material, this silk can be used for regenerative medicine. Following the same procedure used to fabricate the hijuela in...

Optical microfibres light the way for brain-like computing

Computers that function like the human brain could soon become a reality thanks to new research using optical fibres made of speciality glass. The research, published in ("Amorphous Metal-Sulphide Microfibers Enable Photonic Synapses for Brain-Like Computing"), has the potential to allow faster and smarter optical computers capable of learning and...

Hydrocarbon photocatalysts get in shape and go for gold

A combination of semiconductor catalysts, optimum catalyst shape, gold-copper co-catalyst alloy nanoparticles and hydrous hydrazine reducing agent enables an increase of hydrocarbon generation from CO2 by a factor of ten. “Solar-energy-driven conversion of CO2 into hydrocarbon fuels can simultaneously generate chemical fuels to meet energy demand and...