(Phys.org) -- A stunning discovery by Queensland University of Technology soil scientist Marek Zbik of nanoparticles inside bubbles of glass in lunar soil could solve the mystery of why the moon's surface topsoil has many unusual properties.

Dr Zbik, from Queensland University of Technology's Science and Engineering Faculty, said scientists had long observed the strange behaviour of lunar soil but had not taken much notice of the nano and submicron particles found in the soil and their source was unknown.

Dr Zbik took the lunar soil samples to Taiwan where he could study the glass bubbles without breaking them using a new technique for studying nano materials call synchrotron-based nano tomography to look at the particles. Nano tomography is a transmission X-ray microscope which enables 3D images of nanoparticles to be made.

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View a 3D image from inside the lunar bubble using transmission X-Ray microscopy. You can see what is inside the lunar bubble with 3D glasses.

"Instead of gas or vapour inside the bubbles, which we would expect to find in such bubbles on Earth, the lunar glass bubbles were filled with a highly porous network of alien-looking glassy particles that span the bubbles' interior.

"It appears that the nanoparticles are formed inside bubbles of molten rocks when meteorites hit the lunar surface. Then they are released when the glass bubbles are pulverised by the consequent bombardment of meteorites on the moon's surface.

"This continuous pulverising of rocks on the lunar surface and constant mixing develop a type of soil which is unknown on Earth."

Dr Zbik said nanoparticles behaved according to the laws of quantum physics which were completely different from so called 'normal' physics' laws. Because of this, materials containing nanoparticles behave strangely according to our current understanding.

"Nanoparticles are so tiny, it is their size and not what they are made of that accounts for their exceptional properties.

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Nanoparticles found in moon glass bubbles explain weird lunar soil behaviour

SKOKIE, IL--(Marketwire -06/11/12)- NanoProfessor, a division of NanoInk, Inc. focused on nanotechnology education, announced today that Inter American University of Puerto Rico in Bayamn has chosen the NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program to serve as the foundation for its new nanoscience education program. The Bayamn campus will become the first location in Puerto Rico to implement the NanoProfessor Program.

Inter American University has partnered with NanoProfessor through a grant award from the U.S. Department of Education's Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program (MSEIP) to promote long-range improvement in science and engineering education at predominantly minority institutions. The NanoProfessor Program fits well into the goals of the grant, as it aims to expand hands-on nanotechnology education from the cleanrooms of research-based universities to undergraduate classrooms, such as those at Inter American University of Puerto Rico.

"We are pleased that Inter American University of Puerto Rico has chosen the NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program as the foundation for its new nanotechnology curriculum," said Dean Hart, chief commercial officer of NanoInk. "Aside from tourism, important industries within Puerto Rico's economy include pharmaceuticals, electronics, renewable energy, and aerospace; and nanotechnology is yielding breakthroughs in all of these areas. Students who complete the NanoProfessor Program at the Bayamn campus of Inter American University of Puerto Rico will help meet the nano-savvy workforce needs of these growing and high paying industries."

"Through the NanoProfessor Program, our students will gain hands-on experience and training with state-of-the-art instrumentation used by professionals in the nanotechnology field today," said Dr. Nedim Vardar, School of Engineering of Inter American University. "We are committed to providing our students with a meaningful education and the cutting-edge skills needed to help them land jobs and build careers in growth industries, such as those using nanotechnology to revolutionize their businesses and products."

Nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter at dimensions between approximately one and 100 nanometers (nm), where unique phenomena enable novel applications which are not feasible when working with bulk materials. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. Encompassing nanoscale science, engineering, and technology, nanotechnology involves imaging, measuring, modeling, and manipulating matter at the nanoscale. A study funded by the National Science Foundation projects that six million nanotechnology workers will be needed worldwide by 2020, with two million of those jobs in the United States. However, as of 2008, there were only 400,000 estimated workers worldwide in the field of nanotechnology, with an estimated 150,000 of those in the United States.

The NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program alternates between classroom lectures and hands-on lab work. The curriculum includes a textbook authored by leading nanotechnology experts, covering the topics of Nanotechnology Basics, Nanophysics, Nanochemistry, Nanobiology, and Environmental, Health, and Safety perspectives on nanotechnology. In conducting the hands-on lab experiments, students learn the fundamentals for building custom-engineered nanoscale structures while working with state-of-the-art equipment including NanoInk's NLP 2000 Desktop NanoFabrication System, a student-friendly atomic force microscope (AFM), a best-of-class fluorescence microscope, an advanced nanoparticle characterization instrument, and various chemical and biological materials used today within current and emerging nanotechnology applications.

Inter American University of Puerto Rico (IAUPR) is a private, Hispanic Serving Higher Education non-profit institution founded in 1912, with eleven academic units throughout the Island. The Bayamn campus of Inter American University of Puerto Rico (IAUPRBC) is a specialized academic unit with emphasis on technology, engineering, aviation, computing, communications, science, and business administration. More information is available at http://bayamon.inter.edu.

About the NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program The NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program aims to advance undergraduate nanotechnology education and address the growing need for a skilled, nano-savvy workforce. The NanoProfessor Program, including instruments, an expert-driven curriculum, and student/teacher support materials, is available for high schools, community colleges, technical institutes, and universities worldwide. More information is available at http://www.NanoProfessor.net or (847)679-NANO (6266). You can also like NanoProfessor on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NanoProfessor1 and follow on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nanoprofessor1.

NanoInk, NanoProfessor, and the NanoProfessor logo, are trademarks or registered trademarks of NanoInk, Inc.

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Inter American University of Puerto Rico Chooses Nanoprofessor as Foundation for New Nanoscience Education Program

Nanovis LLC, an orthopedic/neurosurgical company, announced that a patent covering nano-scale dimensions and production methods used for creating nano-surfaced surgical implants has been allowed in Canada.

Annies is the new name for the craft and nostalgia media division of DRG. The name unites the family of companies including Annies Attic, House of White Birches, The Needlecraft Shop, Clotilde and American School of Needlework.

Bethlehem Woods Nursing and Rehabilitation received a deficiency-free survey by the Indiana State Department of Health.

RezFX reached a deal with Southern Comfort for a national advertising campaign titled Lingo Cops.

Dirig Sheet Metal won the HVAC/ductwork contract for Southeast Fountain Elementary School in Veedersburg.

Kosciusko County Farmers Market recently had a ribbon-cutting celebration for its grand opening at its downtown Warsaw location on Center Street between Buffalo and Lake streets. For information, call 574-253-1102.

B.A. Romines Sheet Metal Inc. won the contract to furnish labor, material and equipment to install the HVAC ductwork at Eastside Jr./Sr. High School.

Stoops Freightliner-Quality Trailer of Fort Wayne recently celebrated its new designation as a Daimler Elite Support location. Elite Support classifications are reserved for dealers meeting the most stringent criteria for quality assurance, rapid diagnostics, exceptional turnaround time and consistent communications.

One Lucky Guitar won the HOW Promotion Design Awards sponsored by HOW magazine for projects for Fort Wayne Trails, Arts United and The Good Ones Clothing Company.

Vera Bradley has introduced hardshell and silicone iPhone cases at more than 1,000 Verizon stores, on http://www.verizonwireless.com, at Vera Bradley stores and at http://www.verabradley.com.

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Business at a glance

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, June 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Element Six, the world leader in synthetic diamond supermaterials, working in partnership with academics in Harvard University, California Institute of Technology and Max-Planck-Institut fr Quantenoptik, has used its Element Six single crystal synthetic diamond grown by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) to demonstrate the capability of quantum bit memory to exceed one second at room temperature.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120608/537611 )

This study demonstrated the ability of synthetic diamond to provide the read-out of a quantum bit which had preserved its spin polarisation for several minutes and its memory coherence for over a second. This is the first time that such long memory times have been reported for a material at room temperature, giving synthetic diamond a significant advantage over rival materials and technologies that require complex infrastructure which necessitates, for example, cryogenic cooling.

The versatility, robustness, and potential scalability of this synthetic diamond system may allow for new applications in quantum information science and quantum based sensors used, for example, in nano-scale imaging of chemical/biological processes.

The synthetic diamond technical work was completed by the Element Six synthetic diamond R&D team based at Ascot in the UK who developed novel processes for growing synthetic diamond using chemical vapour deposition (CVD) techniques. Steve Coe, Element Six Group Innovation Director, explained the success of the collaboration:

"The field of synthetic diamond science is moving very quickly and is requiring Element Six to develop synthesis processes with impurity control at the level of parts per trillion - real nano-engineering control of CVD diamond synthesis. We have been working closely with Professor Lukin's team in Harvard for three years - this result published in Science is an example of how successful this collaboration has been."

Professor Mikhail Lukin of Harvard University's Department of Physics described the significance of the research findings:

"Element Six's unique and engineered synthetic diamond material has been at the heart of these important developments. The demonstration of a single qubit quantum memory with seconds of storage time at room temperature is a very exciting development, which combines the four key requirements of initialisation, memory, control and measurement. These findings might one day lead to novel quantum communication and computation technologies, but in the nearer term may enable a range of novel and disruptive quantum sensor technologies, such as those being targeted to image magnetic fields on the nano-scale for use in imaging chemical and biological processes."

The findings represent the latest developments in quantum information processing, which involves manipulating individual atomic sized impurities in synthetic diamond and exploiting the quantum property spin of an individual electron, which can be thought of classically as a bar magnet having two states: up (1) and down (0). However, in the quantum mechanical description (physics of the very small), this quantum spin (qubit) can be both 0 and 1 simultaneously. It is this property that provides a framework for quantum computing, but also for more immediate applications such as novel magnetic sensing technologies.

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Element Six and Harvard University Collaboration on Nano-Engineered Synthetic Diamond Sets a New Quantum Information ...

June 6, 2012 12:57 am

By Our Staff Reporter Bhopal, June 5 Rising student entrepreneurs, innovators and scientists from around the world were recognized today as Intel Corporation and Society for Science & the Public announced the top winners of the worlds largest high school science research competition, the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Gargi Pare from Ujjain won the Second Award from the LANXESS Corporation for her project on Nano Zero Valent Iron: solution for coloured wastewater remediation. We congratulate Gargi Pare and all the students from India on their success at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, said Ashutosh Chadha, Director Corporate Affairs Group, Intel South Asia. Gargi and all the other finalists this week, further demonstrate how a background of STEM (science, engineering, technology, and math) education creates the breeding ground for creativity and ingenuity that will help solve the pressing issues of the future. This year, more than 1,500 young scientists were selected to compete in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. They were selected from 446 affiliate fairs in approximately 70 countries, regions and territories. In addition to the winners mentioned above, more than 400 finalists received awards and prizes for their groundbreaking work. Awards included 17 Best of Category winners who each received a $5,000 prize. The Intel Foundation also awarded a $1,000 grant to each winners school and to the affiliated fair they represent. Society for Science & the Public, a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to public engagement in scientific research and education, owns and has administered the International Science and Engineering Fair since its inception in 1950, as the National Science Fair. The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair finalists are selected annually from hundreds of affiliated fairs around the world. Their projects are then evaluated onsite by more than 1,200 judges from nearly every scientific discipline, each with a Ph.D. or the equivalent of six years of related professional experience in one of the scientific disciplines.

The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair 2012 is funded jointly by Intel and the Intel Foundation with additional awards and support from dozens of other corporate, academic, governmental and science-focused organizations.

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MP girl ‘Gargi Pare’ brings laurels to State

President Barack Obama, accompanied by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, center, holds a silicon wafer, as they tour the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at State University of New York at Albany's Nano-Tech complex, Tuesday, May 8, 2012, in Albany, N.Y., with Chris Borst, assistant V.P. for Engineering and Integration.

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Editorial: State sets example on economy, bipartisanship

(Phys.org) -- Many organic contaminants in the air and in drinking water need to be detected at very low-level concentrations. Research published by the laboratory of Prashant V. Kamat, the John A. Zahm Professor of Science at the University of Notre Dame, could be beneficial in detecting those contaminants.

The Kamat laboratory uses Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy to make use of silver nanoparticles to increase the sensitivity limit of chemical detection. Researchers in this study have prepared a semiconductor-graphene-metal film that has distinct advantages: The absorption of organic molecules on the films graphene surface increases the local contaminant concentration adjacent to silver nanoparticles.

The researchers have investigated the use of graphene oxide films in which the semiconductor titanium dioxide (TiO2) and metal nanoparticles are deposited on opposite sides of the graphene surface. We are currently working toward the detection of environmental contaminants at even lower levels, Kamat says. Careful control of metal size and loading will be the key to optimize strips for testing water quality.

Under UV illumination, the electrons from TiO2 are captured by the graphene oxide film and shuttled across the film to reduce metal ions into metal nanoparticles. This electron-hopping process across the graphene oxide film allows the design of a side-separated semiconductor-metal nanoparticle architecture.

Graphene, a two-dimensional crystalline form of carbon, is known for its remarkable mechanical strength, very high thermal and electrical conductivity and broad variety of applications. While the conducting properties of graphene sheets deposited on various substrates are well understood, the Kamat group has demonstrated that the transport of electrons is not limited to the 2-D plane. Here, the hopping of electrons from one side of the graphene allows for the side-selective deposition of silver nanoparticles.

Another potential application is in the area of photocatalytic generation of solar fuels," Kamat says. "For example, having semiconductor nanoparticles on one side of a graphene sheet and a metal catalyst on the other side, one can create a hybrid assembly that can selectively split water into oxygen and hydrogen.

More information: The paper, Electron Hopping Through Single-to-Few-Layer Grapheme Oxide Films: Side-Selective Photocatalytic Deposition of Metal Nanoparticles, was published recently in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. Authors are Ian Lightcap, Sean Murphy, Timothy Schumer and Kamat. The research was supported by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Department of Energy.

Journal reference: Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters

Provided by University of Notre Dame

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New nano-research leads to sensors that detect contaminants in water

Little satellites grow up to be big satellites. At least, that’s what will happen if Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) gets its way. Working in conjunction with the University of Surrey, the UK-based company plans to launch a pair of nano-satellites into orbit equipped with Kinect motion-control sensors that will allow the minisats to seek each other out and dock to form a new, larger ...

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Tiny satellites will use Kinect to dock with one another

An electric and elastic mechanism has an opportunity to revolutionize the world of cancer research.

Ankit Jain, a graduate student, and Muhammad Alam, an electrical and computer engineering professor, have discovered a way to detect cancer in its early stages and personalize medicine for each individual. This possibility comes from a more sensitive biosensor called Flexure-FET.

It has two parts, Jain said. The first word, Flexure, comes from the flexibility it has, like a diving board. The second, (FET), comes from the electrical part of it.

The new sensor is combined with two, less sensitive sensor techniques to make the super sensitive sensor. An idea to mix the two came from each sensors lack of cost efficiency.

The idea for it is, Can you do something that is highly sensitive, and at the same time will be inexpensive? Alam said. (We want to make it) like the glucose monitors sold at Walmart.

According to Jains research article, electrical biosensors identify particles based on their electrical charge. Nano cantilevers locate the diseased molecules under the skins surface by measuring the mass, stiffness and/or surface stress. With the Flexure-FET including both of these abilities, Alam said early cancer detection and personalized medicine will be available in the future.

The personalized medicine looks at the main composition of protein networks that you have and the DNA sequence, Alam said. (From knowing a persons body composition) one would be able to design medicine specifically tailored for one person.

Alam used a diving board metaphor to describe the flexibility of an early cancer detection technique in regards to each persons diseased molecules.

When people jump into a swimming pool, think about that as one class of sensors, he said. If a heavy person stands on the edge of a spring board, then it will bend more, if a lighter person stands on the edge, it will bend less. We can detect molecules like that.

Alam was surprised at how the two techniques came together better than he expected.

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Nano technology improves health field

Posted at: 05/31/2012 5:13 PM | Updated at: 05/31/2012 6:22 PM By: John McLoughlin

UAlbany's Nanoscale College is joining forces with SEFCU and with Girls, Inc, for a five-year combination of summer camps in the high tech and even some paid internships to help about 150 young girls hopefully become tomorrow's scientists and engineers.

Seventh-grader Maiya Dargan is hoping that she is chosen among the first 30 girls

Maiya wants to be a computer scientist, and this brand-new program will expose these Albany girls to several weeks here at the Nanoscale Center, to hopefully encourage them all to pursue science.

Women are greatly under-represented in the so-called stem disciplines science, technology, engineering, and math.

In just a 10 year span community colleges saw a 25 per cent drop in stem degrees granted to women.

SEFCU, the credit union is donating $340,000 of the $800,000 cost of this new program.

This program will also give the girls year round guidance in business and personal skills

Those first 30 girls will be spending five days a week, for about four weeks on the Nanoscale campus, rubbing elbows with the scientists for about four weeks each summer, until there are 150 girls in the program with paid internships in years three through five.

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Girls Inc.and SEFCU to provide internships at Nano College

Technology News

May 18, 2012 // Julien Happich

Kansas State University researchers have come closer to solving an old challenge of producing graphene quantum dots of controlled shape and size at large densities, which could revolutionize electronics and optoelectronics.

Vikas Berry, William H. Honstead professor of chemical engineering, has developed a novel process that uses a diamond knife to cleave graphite into graphite nanoblocks, which are precursors for graphene quantum dots. These nanoblocks are then exfoliated to produce ultrasmall sheets of carbon atoms of controlled shape and size.

By controlling the size and shape, the researchers can control graphene's properties over a wide range for varied applications, such as solar cells, electronics, optical dyes, biomarkers, composites and particulate systems. "The process produces large quantities of graphene quantum dots of controlled shape and size and we have conducted studies on their structural and electrical properties," Berry said.

While other researchers have been able to make quantum dots, Berry's research team can make quantum dots with a controlled structure in large quantities, which may allow these optically active quantum dots to be used in solar cell and other optoelectronic applications.

"There will be a wide range of applications of these quantum dots," Berry said. "We expect that the field of graphene quantum dots will evolve as a result of this work since this new material has a great potential in several nanotechnologies."

It is known that because of the edge states and quantum confinement, the shape and size of graphene quantum dots dictate their electrical, optical, magnetic and chemical properties. This work also shows proof of the opening of a band-gap in graphene nanoribbon films with a reduction in width. Further, Berry's team shows through high-resolution transmission electron micrographs and simulations that the edges of the produces structures are straight and relatively smooth.

Visit the Kansas State University at http://www.k-state.edu

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Graphene quantum dots and nano-ribbons cleaved from graphene sheets

A band of extremist eco-anarchist groups has attacked several researchers and organizations involved with nuclear science and nanotechnology.

By Cristina Luiggi | May 29, 2012

Flickr, lulazzo

Earlier this month, an eco-anarchist group called the Olga Cell claimed responsibility for the non-fatal shooting of Roberto Adinolfi, a nuclear-engineering executive at Ansaldo Nucleare in Genoa, Italy. In a 4-page letter sent to an Italian newspaper, the Olga Cell not only justified the attack on Adinolfiby stating with this action of ours, we return to you a tiny part of the suffering that you, man of science, are pouring into this worldbut also threatened further attacks on scientists.

The Olga Cell had previously been linked to other acts of terrorism, including the 2011 bombing of the offices of the lobby group, Swissnuclear, in Olten, Switzerland.

According to Nature, the Olga Cell, which is part of the larger Informal Anarchist Federation International Revolutionary Front, is now joining forces with extremist groups in other countries, including Mexico, Chile, Greece, and the United Kingdomprompting some research organizations to ramp up security measures.

Nuclear science isnt the only field under attack. A terrorist group called Tending Towards Savagery bombed two nanotechnology facilities in Mexico in 2011. Some believe that these separate attacks form part of an increasing degree of international networking between perpetrators, a Swiss Federal Intelligence Service spokesman told Nature. Although the danger of drawing an attack varies depending on the fieldwith defense-related fields and nano- and nuclear sciences at seemingly higher risksits up to institutions to take preventative actions, the spokesman said.

By Edyta Zielinska

Researchers use radio signals to switch on nanoparticles that activate insulin production in mice.

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Attacks on Nuclear and Nano Science

Non-degradable nanoparticles bind to solid residues resulting from the incineration of waste and thus can find their way into the environment. Depicted: the waste incineration plant Emmenspitz. Credit: Tobias Walser

(Phys.org) -- Tiny particles of cerium oxide do not burn or change in the heat of a waste incineration plant. They remain intact on combustion residues or in the incineration system, as a new study by Swiss researchers from ETH Zurich reveals.

Over 100 million tons of waste are incinerated worldwide every year. Due to the increasing use of nanoparticles in construction materials, paints, textiles and cosmetics, for instance, nanoparticles also find their way into incineration plants. What happens to them there, however, had not been investigated until now. Three ETH-Zurich teams from fields of chemistry and environmental engineering thus set about finding out what happens to synthetic nano-cerium oxide during the incineration of refuse in a waste incineration plant. Cerium oxide itself is a non-toxic ceramic material, not biologically degradable and a common basic component in automobile catalytic converters and diesel soot filters.

Unknown danger?

Experts fear that non-degradable nanomaterials might be just as harmful for humans and the environment as asbestos. As yet, however, not enough is known about the properties of nanomaterials. One thing is for sure: they differ greatly from larger particles of the same material. Nanoparticles are more mobile and have a different surface structure. Knowledge of these properties is important with the increasing use of nanomaterials as, as they are transferred through incineration plants or sewage, and as they are absorbed by people in food and perhaps even through the skin and respiration, and can thus enter the body.

Consequently, the scientists sprayed ten kilograms of cerium oxide particles measuring eighty nanometers in diameter onto refuse to be incinerated in a waste incineration plant in Solothurn, thus modelling refuse that is rich in nanoparticles. Up to eight tons of waste is incinerated at the Solothurn plant per hour. It has modern filters and fly-ash separation systems based on electrostatic filters and a wet scrubber.

In a second experiment, the particles were sprayed directly into the combustion chamber, thereby simulating a future worst case scenario with massive nanoparticle release during incineration. The study was backed and approved by the SUVA, the Federal Offices of Public Health and the Environment, and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.

Nanoparticles stick to surfaces

The researchers tests revealed that cerium oxide does not change significantly during incineration. The fly-ash separation devices proved extremely efficient: the scientists did not find any leaked cerium oxide nanoparticles in the waste incineration plants clean gas. That said, the nanoparticles remained loosely bound to the combustion residues in the plant and partially in the incineration system, too. The fly ash separated from the flue gas also contained cerium oxide nanoparticles.

Nowadays, combustion residues and thus the nanoparticles bound to them end up on landfills or are reprocessed to extract copper or aluminium, for instance. The researchers see a need for action here. We have to make sure that new nanoparticles dont get into the water and food cycle via landfills or released into the atmosphere through further processing measures, says Wendelin Stark, head of the study and a professor of chemical engineering at ETH Zurich. Moreover, the fact that nanoparticles that could be inhaled if inadequate protection is worn might be present in the incineration system needs to be taken into consideration during maintenance work.

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Synthetic nano-waste does not disappear

Newswise The following are brief summaries of papers recently accepted for publication in journals of the American Institute of Physics (AIP): Applied Physics Letters, Journal of Applied Physics, and Physics of Fluids.

1. A Nanoclutch for Nano-bots

Chinese researchers have designed and tested simulations of a nanoclutch, a speed regulation tool for nanomotors. The nanoclutch consists of two carbon nanotubes (CNTs), one inside the other, separated by a film of water. Electrowetting forces control the friction between the water and the inner and outer walls of the CNTs. When the two tubes are electrically charged, the water confined between them can transmit the torque from the inner tube to the outer tube, and the device is said to be in the engaged state. When the CNTs are uncharged, the device is in the disengaged state. In a paper accepted to the American Institute of Physics Journal of Applied Physics, the authors write that their proposed device can perform stepless speed regulation by changing the magnitude of the charge assigned to the CNT atoms. Though further work is needed, they say the model may be helpful in designing and manufacturing nanorobots.

Title: Carbon Nanotube-Based Charge-Controlled Speed-Regulating Nanoclutch Journal: Journal of Applied Physics (jap.aip.org) Authors: Zhong-Qiang Zhang (1), Hong-Fei Ye (2), Zhen Liu (3), Jian-Ning Ding (1), Guang-Gui Cheng (1), Zhi-Yong Ling (1), Yong-Gang Zheng (2), Lei Wang (4), and Jin-Bao Wang (5)

(1) Micro/Nano Science and Technology Center, Jiangsu University, China (2) State Key Laboratory of Structural Analysis for Industrial Equipment, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Faculty of Vehicle Engineering and Mechanics, Dalian University of Technology, China (3) School of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, China (4) Department of Engineering Mechanics, College of Mechanics and Materials, Hohai University, China (5) School of Naval Architecture & Civil Engineering, Zhejiang Ocean University, China

2. Sound Increases the Efficiency of Boiling

Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology achieved a 17-percent increase in boiling efficiency by using an acoustic field to enhance heat transfer. The acoustic field does this by efficiently removing vapor bubbles from the heated surface and suppressing the formation of an insulating vapor film. As reported in the American Institute of Physics (AIP) journal the Physics of Fluids, bubble removal was enhanced because the acoustic field induces capillary waves on the bubble, causing its contact line to contract and detach the bubble from the surface. The mechanisms associated with these interactions were explored using three acoustic experiments: an air bubble on the underside of a horizontal surface, a single vapor bubble on the top side of a horizontal heated surface, and pool boiling from a horizontal heated surface. The researchers were able to isolate and identify the dominant forces involved in these acoustically forced motions by measuring the capillary waves induced on the bubbles, bubble motion, and heat transfer during boiling. Title: Acoustically Enhanced Boiling Heat Transfer Journal: Physics of Fluids (pof.aip.org) Authors: Zachary Douglas (1), Thomas R. Boziuk (1), Marc K. Smith (1), and Ari Glezer (1)

(1) Georgia Institute of Technology

3. Slip-and-slide Power Generators

Researchers from Vestfold University College in Norway have created a simple, efficient energy harvesting device that uses the motion of a single droplet to generate electrical power. The new technology could be used as a power source for low-power portable devices, and would be especially suitable for harvesting energy from low frequency sources such as human body motion, write the authors in a paper accepted to the American Institute of Physics (AIP) journal Applied Physics Letters. The harvester produces power when an electrically conductive droplet (mercury or an ionic liquid) slides along a thin microfabricated material called an electret film, which has a permanent electric charge built into it during deposition. Cyclic tilting of the device causes the droplet to accelerate across the films surface; the maximum output voltage (and power) occurs when the sliding droplet reaches its maximum velocity at one end of the film. A prototype of the fluidic energy harvester demonstrated a peak output power at 0.18 microwatts, using a single droplet 1.2 millimeters in diameter sliding along a 2-micrometer-thick electret film.

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Journal Tips from the American Institute of Physics: May 24, 2012

EU researchers developed polymer blends and processing techniques facilitating recovery of scrap from industrial processes. Advances in this area have the potential to decrease costs and waste while protecting the environment.

Scrap materials, including those left over from consumption as well as those left over from production but not useful for a variety of reasons, comprise a vast range of reclaimable materials of potential use in other products.

European researchers supported by funding of the Innovative molecular modelling approach to upgrade polymeric materials from post industrial rejects (MOMO) project sought to develop tailor-made multi-component polymer blends from so-called post-industrial rejects, thereby extending their life-cycle and diminishing their negative environmental impact. Reclamation of scrap was seen as an important part not only of recycling but of cost reduction and elimination of waste.

The properties of nanocomposites change significantly depending on the types of matrix and filler used as well as their amounts. Polymer blends of interest included polycarbonates (PCs), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).

Investigators focused on embedding nanoparticles in the polymer matrices to obtain novel materials with thermal resistance and stability together with transparency and mechanical strength. In particular, nanofillers such as nanoclays or nanopowders were of interest to improve mechanical properties and mouldability.

MOMO researchers developed modelling protocols for pure polymers, polymer blends, polymer nanocomposites and nanoclays.

With the simulation tools, investigators evaluated the dispersion of nanoclays in polymers and polymeric blends and studied how production technologies including injection moulding, fibre spinning and extrusion could be used to process novel nanocomposites in a cost-effective and optimal manner.

The MOMO consortium developed four demonstrators to assess project outcomes and facilitate commercialisation. Results are of particular importance to the lighting, automotive, construction and textile industries. Commercial exploitation could thus provide a competitive edge to numerous sectors of the European economy as well as enhance sustainability and help the planet.

Provided by CORDIS

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Nano-structured polymer-based materials from scrap

SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwire -05/21/12)- Shocking Technologies, Inc., the developer of the Voltage Switchable Dielectric (VSD) material, a breakthrough patented polymer nano-composite for protecting electronic products from electrostatic discharge (ESD), today announced it has raised $10.5 million. The lead investor is Littelfuse, Inc. (LFUS), which had also participated in a prior strategic investment round last year. To date, Shocking Technologies has raised over $60 million in investment capital, and will use the latest funding to drive and meet global demand for its innovative VSD solution.

Shocking Technologies' XStatic material is a polymer nano-composite that functions substantially as an insulator (dielectric) during normal circuit operation and becomes substantially conductive when the voltage increases beyond a predefined threshold. The XStatic material reverts back to behaving substantially as an insulator after the voltage drops back below the threshold to normal operating levels. The net result is that when the XStatic material is incorporated in a PCB or package substrate, damaging ESD voltages and currents can be routed to ground or to other predetermined locations so that elements, circuits, components and devices can be effectively protected against ESD events. The XStatic material comes with the accompanying software analysis tools.

"We continue to be very pleased with the results OEMs and PCB manufacturers are seeing with this product," said Gordon Hunter, Chief Executive Officer of Littelfuse. "We believe that the XStatic material is a potentially disruptive technology that provides some very interesting opportunities for the future of circuit protection and addressing the ESD challenge most electronics companies face."

"The company has made great strides in making our ESD solution a predictable and reliable way to offer better ESD protection faster and cheaper, making it ideal for a broad range of consumer applications and sub systems. Through the combination of the unique properties of our VSD material and our robust suite of design and analysis tools, customers are seeing the benefits we can bring from both the standpoint of reduced time-to-market and bill-of-materials," said Lex Kosowsky, President and CEO of Shocking Technologies. "We are pleased with the confidence Littelfuse, as an industry leader in this area, continues to have in us and we value their ongoing input into the strategy of the company."

About Shocking TechnologiesFounded in 2006, Shocking Technologies offers an innovative solution to protecting electronic products in the handheld, cell phone, LCD display, memory and other markets from the harmful effects of electrostatic discharge (ESD). Its patented Voltage Switchable Dielectric (VSD) polymer nano-composite material, XStatic, can be applied to PCB and package substrates, and coupled with Shocking's advanced design and simulation technologies provides the industry's only embedded solution capable of up to 100% protection against ESD. The ease of implementation and comprehensive coverage of the XStatic solution also lowers development time and costs and reduces product design size by eliminating less effective components traditionally used to protect devices against ESD effects. The company has more than 180 patents and applications worldwide and has licensed numerous additional licensed patents and applications. Shocking Technologies is a privately held company with investments from ARCH Venture Partners, ATA Ventures, Skylake Incuvest, Vista Ventures, Balch Hill Capital, Littelfuse, Inc., and a limited number of private investors. For more information, go to http://www.shockingtechnologies.com

About LittelfuseFounded in 1927, Littelfuse, Inc., the worldwide leader in circuit protection, offers the industry's broadest and deepest portfolio of circuit protection products and solutions. Littelfuse devices protect products in virtually every market that uses electrical energy, from consumer electronics to automobiles to industrial equipment. In addition to its Chicago, Illinois world headquarters, Littelfuse has more than 30 sales, distribution, manufacturing and engineering facilities in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Technologies offered by Littelfuse include Fuses; Gas Discharge Tubes (GDTs); Positive Temperature Coefficient Devices (PTCs); Protection Relays; PulseGuard ESD Suppressors; SIDACtor Devices; TVS Diode Arrays (SPA Family of Products); Switching Thyristors; TVS Diodes and Varistors. The company also offers a comprehensive line of highly reliable Electromechanical and Electronic Switch and Control Devices for commercial and specialty vehicles, as well as underground Power Distribution Centers for safe control and distribution of electricity in mining operations. For more information, please visit Littelfuse's Web site at littelfuse.com.

Voltage Switchable Dielectric, XStatic, and the Shocking Technologies name and logo are trademarks of Shocking Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks referred to are property of their respective owners.

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Shocking Technologies Raises Additional $10.5 Million From Circuit Protection Leader Littelfuse

Newswise A new study shows that the availability of hydrogen plays a significant role in determining the chemical and structural makeup of graphene oxide, a material that has potential uses in nano-electronics, nano-electromechanical systems, sensing, composites, optics, catalysis and energy storage.

The study also found that after the material is produced, its structural and chemical properties continue to evolve for more than a month as a result of continuing chemical reactions with hydrogen.

Understanding the properties of graphene oxide and how to control them is important to realizing potential applications for the material. To make it useful for nano-electronics, for instance, researchers must induce both an electronic band gap and structural order in the material. Controlling the amount of hydrogen in graphene oxide may be the key to manipulating the material properties.

Graphene oxide is a very interesting material because its mechanical, optical and electronic properties can be controlled using thermal or chemical treatments to alter its structure, said Elisa Riedo, an associate professor in the School of Physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology. But before we can get the properties we want, we need to understand the factors that control the materials structure. This study provides information about the role of hydrogen in the reduction of graphene oxide at room temperature.

The research, which studied graphene oxide produced from epitaxial graphene, was reported on May 6 in the journal Nature Materials. The research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at Georgia Tech, and by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Graphene oxide is formed through the use of chemical and thermal processes that mainly add two oxygen-containing functional groups to the lattice of carbon atoms that make up graphene: epoxide and hydroxyl species. The Georgia Tech researchers began their studies with multilayer expitaxial graphene grown atop a silicon carbide wafer, a technique pioneered by Walt de Heer and his research group at Georgia Tech. Their samples included an average of ten layers of graphene.

After oxidizing the thin films of graphene using the established Hummers method, the researchers examined their samples using X-ray photo-emission spectroscopy (XPS). Over about 35 days, they noticed the number of epoxide functional groups declining while the number of hydroxyl groups increased slightly. After about three months, the ratio of the two groups finally reached equilibrium.

We found that the material changed by itself at room temperature without any external stimulation, said Suenne Kim, a postdoctoral fellow in Riedos laboratory. The degree to which it was unstable at room temperature was surprising.

Curious about what might be causing the changes, Riedo and Kim took their measurements to Angelo Bongiorno, an assistant professor who studies computational materials chemistry in Georgia Techs School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Bongiorno and graduate student Si Zhou studied the changes using density functional theory, which suggested that hydrogen could be combining with oxygen in the functional groups to form water. That would favor a reduction in the epoxide groups, which is what Riedo and Kim were seeing experimentally.

Elisas group was doing experimental measurements, while we were doing theoretical calculations, Bongiorno said. We combined our information to come up with the idea that maybe there was hydrogen involved.

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Hydrogen Controls Chemical Structure of Graphene Oxide

ScienceDaily (May 22, 2012) A new study shows that the availability of hydrogen plays a significant role in determining the chemical and structural makeup of graphene oxide, a material that has potential uses in nano-electronics, nano-electromechanical systems, sensing, composites, optics, catalysis and energy storage.

The study also found that after the material is produced, its structural and chemical properties continue to evolve for more than a month as a result of continuing chemical reactions with hydrogen.

Understanding the properties of graphene oxide -- and how to control them -- is important to realizing potential applications for the material. To make it useful for nano-electronics, for instance, researchers must induce both an electronic band gap and structural order in the material. Controlling the amount of hydrogen in graphene oxide may be the key to manipulating the material properties.

"Graphene oxide is a very interesting material because its mechanical, optical and electronic properties can be controlled using thermal or chemical treatments to alter its structure," said Elisa Riedo, an associate professor in the School of Physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "But before we can get the properties we want, we need to understand the factors that control the material's structure. This study provides information about the role of hydrogen in the reduction of graphene oxide at room temperature."

The research, which studied graphene oxide produced from epitaxial graphene, was reported on May 6 in the journal Nature Materials. The research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at Georgia Tech, and by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Graphene oxide is formed through the use of chemical and thermal processes that mainly add two oxygen-containing functional groups to the lattice of carbon atoms that make up graphene: epoxide and hydroxyl species. The Georgia Tech researchers began their studies with multilayer expitaxial graphene grown atop a silicon carbide wafer, a technique pioneered by Walt de Heer and his research group at Georgia Tech. Their samples included an average of ten layers of graphene.

After oxidizing the thin films of graphene using the established Hummers method, the researchers examined their samples using X-ray photo-emission spectroscopy (XPS). Over about 35 days, they noticed the number of epoxide functional groups declining while the number of hydroxyl groups increased slightly. After about three months, the ratio of the two groups finally reached equilibrium.

"We found that the material changed by itself at room temperature without any external stimulation," said Suenne Kim, a postdoctoral fellow in Riedo's laboratory. "The degree to which it was unstable at room temperature was surprising."

Curious about what might be causing the changes, Riedo and Kim took their measurements to Angelo Bongiorno, an assistant professor who studies computational materials chemistry in Georgia Tech's School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Bongiorno and graduate student Si Zhou studied the changes using density functional theory, which suggested that hydrogen could be combining with oxygen in the functional groups to form water. That would favor a reduction in the epoxide groups, which is what Riedo and Kim were seeing experimentally.

"Elisa's group was doing experimental measurements, while we were doing theoretical calculations," Bongiorno said. "We combined our information to come up with the idea that maybe there was hydrogen involved."

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Availability of hydrogen controls chemical structure of graphene oxide

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We're back! With a round up of the news featured in the May issue of Materials Today. 14 May 2012

Round up of the news featured in the January-February issue of Materials Today. 21 February 2012

Interview with: Prof Jackie Ying, Editor of Nano Today. 01 February 2012

Interview with: Prof Ian Robertson from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 11 January 2012

Round up of the news featured in the December issue of Materials Today. 04 January 2012

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