Nano News: 04/07/15

Atomic structure identified in coherent interfaces between superhard materials of diamond and boron nitride

The research group led by Professor Yuichi Ikuhara (also appointed as a professor at Tokyo University), Associate Professor Zhongchang Wang and Assistant Professor Chunlin Chen at the Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University (AIMR), in collaboration with Group Leader Takashi Taniguchi at the National Institute for Materials Science...

Phonon tunneling across a tiny gap

Conduction and thermal radiation are two ways in which heat is transferred from one object to another: Conduction is the process by which heat flows between objects in physical contact, such as a pot of tea on a hot stove, while thermal radiation describes heat flow across large distances, such as heat emitted by the sun. These two fundamental heat-transfer...

Single-walled carbon nanotube composites show great promise for 'unconventional' computing

As we approach the miniaturization limits of conventional electronics, alternatives to silicon-based transistors--the building blocks of the multitude of electronic devices we've come to rely on--are being hotly pursued. Inspired by the way living organisms have evolved in nature to perform complex...

In situ production of biofunctionalised few-layer defect-free microsheets of graphene

This potentially scalable graphene production method has just been published in Advanced Functional Materials by the ICN2 Nanobioelectronics and Biosensors Group, led by ICREA Prof Arben Merkoçi, in collaboration with the Department of Chemical Sciences from University of Naples “Federico II”, led by Prof. Paola Giardina. The method consists in the...

Researchers put safety of 'magic anti-cancer bullet' to test

A group of MIPT researchers together with their colleagues from Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Australia and the Netherlands have carried out the first systematic study analyzing the safety of so-called upconversion nanoparticles that may be used to treat skin cancer and other skin diseases. This study ("Cytotoxicity and non-specific cellular uptake of bare...