New insights into why and how nanowires take the form they do will have profound implications for the development of future electronic components. PhD student Peter Krogstrup from the Nano-Science Center at the University of Copenhagen is behind the sensational new theoretical model, which is developed in collaboration with researchers from CINAM-CNRS in Marseille.

Future Markets, Inc., a technology consultancy firm, presents the first in a new series of commercialization charts on nanotechnology and nanomaterials.

There are already several technologies that potentially allow mass production of graphene sheets; several of them are processing graphene in solution by exfoliating graphite. The general problem with this approach is however that is has been so far impossible to regenerate the undisturbed graphene lattice which was present prior to oxidation as decarboxylation inevitable takes place in the reduction step. In new work, researchers have now demonstrated the first bulk wet chemical exfoliation of graphite in association with an in situ covalent functionalization of intermediately generated graphene. With this novel chemical method, it is now possible to achieve covalently bonded functionalities without mechanical or sonochemical treatment. The covalent functionalization also protects the single-layer graphene from reaggregation and substrate-induced doping.

The March 27-28 event is designed to explore the route for development of cost-effective systems capable of achieving 25 percent energy conversion from solar resources in Abu Dhabi by the year 2020.

Solar-powered 'nanoalloys' can convert polluting nitrates into ammonia fertilizer without releasing carbon dioxide.

Researchers gather to discuss the state of their field and the potential for new treatments.

In a standard dye sensitized solar cell, an organic molecule adsorbed on the surface of a porous electrode absorbs light and then initiates the charge separation process eventually leading to generation of photocurrent. While the dye appears to have "sensitized" the large bandgap material, it never actually does, because only the dye molecules absorb the light and generate the carriers, the large bandgap material primarily serves the function of a conducting channel to take the electrons out. While wide bandgap materials alone can not absorb the sun light efficiently, it has been predicted that if two large bandgap materials with type-II band alignment form coaxial nanowires, the effective indirect bandgap could be substantially smaller than either of the individual materials. After a few years effort, one research team has now demonstrated a real functional device that exhibits the key feature of the idea: the use of two large bandgap materials to make a solar cell behaving like a small bandgap material.

TTM Co. Ltd today announced they are showcasing the MTRAN and NANOTIM thermal solutions to conferees attending the annual Semi Therm conference in San Jose, March 20-24.

Programmable "correlated" electromagnet array technology from Correlated Magnetics Research (CMR) was recently selected by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers as one of the 2011Innovations That Could Change the Way You Manufacture.

Controlling climate change, abandoning dependency on fossil fuels, and creating the conditions for sustainable development will require as great a transformation as our ancestors accomplished over tens of thousands of years in moving from agrarian to urban societies. "Nanotechnology: Engines On" is a new book about how Nanotechnology is contributing to solve this vital challenges.

Researchers at Berkeley Lab have been able to enhance spontaneous magnetization in special versions of the popular multiferroic material bismuth ferrite. What's more, they can turn this magnetization "on/off" through the application of an external electric field, a critical ability for the advancement of spintronic technology.

A major milestone in microfluidics could soon lead to stand-alone, self-powered chips that can diagnose diseases within minutes. The device, developed by an international team of researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, Dublin City University in Ireland and Universidad de Valparaiso Chile, is able to process whole blood samples without the use of external tubing and extra components.

Motion control specialist PI (Physik Instrumente) and piezo ceramics specialist PI Ceramic are planning to invest approximately $13 million for the third extension of their piezo ceramics factory and R+D center in Thuringia over the next three years.

Scientists at CSIRO have developed a simple but effective technique for growing and adding value to an exciting new group of smart materials which could be used in areas such as optical sensing and drug storage and delivery.

Argonne National Laboratory and Nalco Company, with headquarters in Naperville, Ill., have reached a licensing agreement for an electrodeionization technology that will help significantly reduce the cost of producing clean energy and of the chemicals and water used in industry. The separations technology can process biomass-based feedstocks into biofuels and chemicals.

Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory shined a low-power laser - similar in intensity to ones used in office laser pointers - into a solution of gold and carbon nanoparticles suspended in water. Unexpectedly, they found that the carbon nanoparticles decomposed or deformed to create a kind of "glue" that enabled the creation of long gold and carbon chains that assembled continuously wherever the laser was pointed.

Elan Drug Technologies (EDT), the leading drug delivery unit of Elan Corporation, plc, announced that the first injectable product using EDT's NanoCrystal technology has been approved by the European Commission.

At Pittcon 2011, Bruker launches the e-FlashHR, a high resolution, high sensitivity detector for electron backscatter diffraction analysis (EBSD) on third party electron microscopes.

The first truly simultaneous X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer covering almost all elements of the periodic table in one run.

GN11 will address challenges and opportunities for nanotechnology, and delineate how companies can incorporate green nanotechnology into its products and processes. The meeting will focus on two key research areas where reduction to practice has the most potential to significantly advance the field. It will highlight state-of-the-art in materials and characterization challenges, and biological impacts of nanotechnology.