Category Archives: Nanotech

A team of researchers including scientists from Stanford University and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have discovered how to improve catalytic performance using nanotechnology. The scientists published their findings on May 18 in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

Chirranjeevi Balaji Gopal, a former postdoctoral researcher at Stanford, is the lead author on the study. Other Stanford co-authors include former postdoctoral researcher Max Garcia-Melchor, graduate students Sang Chul Lee, Yezhou Shi, Matteo Monti, and Zixuan Guan, and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering Robert Sinclair. From SLAC, researchers include former staff scientist Aleksandra Vojvodic and Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and faculty scientist William C. Chueh.

This new study found that it was possible to enhance the ability of a common industrial catalyst to store oxygen a crucial function of the catalyst just by stretching or compressing the catalyst a small amount, thereby improving its overall performance (catalysts work to accelerate reactions between chemical substances). The industrial catalyst used in this study was cerium oxide, also known as ceria.

The oxygen storage capacity of ceria is critical to its effectiveness as a catalyst, Vojvodic told Stanford News. The theoretical expectation based on previous studies is that stretching ceria would increase its capacity to store oxygen, while compressing would lower its storage capacity.

However, this new study disproves the traditional predictions surrounding stretching and compressing ceria by showing that compressing the catalyst actually improves its ability to store oxygen instead of diminishing it.

Using nanotechnology, the research team applied enormous pressure 10,000 times the pressure of the Earths atmosphere to microscopic films of ceria. The researchers found that when the molecules stretched and compressed under pressure, not only did the films exhibit no physical malformations from the stress, but the oxygen-storing capacities of the films had improved.

We discovered that the strained films exhibited a fourfold increase in the oxygen storage capacity of ceria, Gopal explains. It doesnt matter if you stretch it or compress it. You get a remarkably similar increase.

These findings have wide-ranging implications for the future of industrial catalysts. Ceria is used in products ranging from self-cleaning ovens to solar water splitters to vehicle exhaust systems.

Ceria stores and releases oxygen as needed, like a sponge, Chueh says. We discovered that stretching and compressing ceria by a few percent dramatically increases its oxygen storage capacity. This finding overturns conventional wisdom about oxide materials and could lead to better catalysts.

Source: Stanford University

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Nanotech Improves Catalytic Performance - Controlled Environments Magazine

A tiny amount of squeezing or stretching can produce a big boost in catalytic performance, according to a new study led by scientists at Stanford University and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

The discovery, published in Nature Communications, focuses on an industrial catalyst known as cerium oxide, or ceria, a spongy material commonly used in catalytic converters, self-cleaning ovens and various green-energy applications, such as fuel cells and solar water splitters.

Ceria stores and releases oxygen as needed, like a sponge, says study co-author Will Chueh, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford and a faculty scientist at SLAC. We discovered that stretching and compressing ceria by a few percent dramatically increases its oxygen storage capacity. This finding overturns conventional wisdom about oxide materials and could lead to better catalysts.

Ceria has long been used in catalytic converters to help remove air pollutants from vehicle exhaust systems.

In your car, ceria grabs oxygen from poisonous nitrogen oxide, creating harmless nitrogen gas, says study lead author Chirranjeevi Balaji Gopal, a former postdoctoral researcher at Stanford. Ceria then releases the stored oxygen and uses it to convert lethal carbon monoxide into benign carbon dioxide.

Studies have shown that squeezing and stretching ceria causes nanoscale changes that affect its ability to store oxygen.

The oxygen storage capacity of ceria is critical to its effectiveness as a catalyst, says study co-author Aleksandra Vojvodic, a former staff scientist at SLAC now at the University of Pennsylvania, who led the computational aspect of this work. The theoretical expectation based on previous studies is that stretching ceria would increase its capacity to store oxygen, while compressing would lower its storage capacity.

To test this prediction, the research team grew ultrathin films of ceria, each just a few nanometers thick, on top of substrates made of different materials. This process subjected the ceria to stress equal to 10,000 times the Earths atmosphere. This enormous stress caused the molecules of ceria to separate and squeeze together a distance of less than one nanometer.

Typically, materials like ceria relieve stress by forming defects in the film. But atomic-scale analysis revealed a surprise.

Using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy to resolve the position of individual atoms, we showed that the films remain stretched or compressed without forming such defects, allowing the stress to remain in full force, says Robert Sinclair, a professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford.

To measure the impact of stress under real-world operating conditions, the researchers analyzed the ceria samples using the brilliant beams of X-ray light produced at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratorys Advanced Light Source.

The results were even more surprising.

We discovered that the strained films exhibited a fourfold increase in the oxygen storage capacity of ceria, Gopal says. It doesnt matter if you stretch it or compress it. You get a remarkably similar increase.

The high-stress technique used by the research team is readily achievable through nanoengineering, Chueh adds.

This discovery has significant implications on how to nanoengineer oxide materials to improve catalytic efficiency for energy conversion and storage, he says. Its important for developing solid oxide fuel cells and other green-energy technologies, including new ways to make clean fuels from carbon dioxide or water.

Other Stanford co-authors of the study are Max Garcia-Melchor, now at Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), and graduate students Sang Chul Lee, Zixuan Guan, Yezhou Shi, and Matteo Monti. Additional co-authors are Andrey Shavorskiy of Lund University (Sweden) and Hendrik Bluhm of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the Stanford Precourt Institute for Energy.

Source: Stanford University

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Performance of Key Industrial Catalyst Boosted by Nanotech - Controlled Environments Magazine

VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - May 18, 2017) - Nanotech Security Corp. (TSX VENTURE: NTS) (OTCQX: NTSFF) is pleased to announce the closing of its previously announced bought deal private placement with a syndicate of Canadian underwriters (the "Underwriters"), pursuant to which the Company issued 11,586,870 common shares (the "Shares") of the Company at a price of $1.15 per Share for gross proceeds of $13,324,900.50 (the "Offering"). The Offering included the Underwriters exercising their over-allotment option for an additional 1,152,087 common shares.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering to simplify and improve Nanotech's capital structure by immediately redeeming the $4.2 million of convertible debentures that bear an interest rate of 12% per annum and are convertible at $1.25, to increase production capacity, strengthen the balance sheet and general corporate initiatives.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains forward-looking statements about the proposed financing. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "predicts", "potential", "targeted" "plans", "possible" and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions or results "will", "may", "could" or "should" occur or be achieved. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation; statements about opportunities that could accelerate the growth of the Company and use of proceeds are forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements made in this news release are qualified by risk factors contained in our public filings at http://www.sedar.com and there can be no assurance that actual results or developments that we currently anticipate, including completion of the financing, will be realized. Nanotech disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

This news release is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States or in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities described in this news release have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of such laws.

About Nanotech Security

Nanotech Security Corp. has been a leading innovator in the design and production of advanced banknote and commercial branding authentication products. Nanotech's KolourOptikand Plasmogram products are nanotechnology based optical imaging product platforms originally inspired by the unique optical properties of the iridescent wings of the Blue Morpho butterfly. Our nano-optical products produce intense, high definition optically-variable images and colour-shift optical thin films. Activated by a simple tilt or rotation, with higher resolutions than the best LED-displays, they are ideal for authentication of currency, passports, and identification cards in addition to distinguishing branded goods from counterfeits.

Additional information about Nanotech can be found at the Company's website http://www.nanosecurity.ca, the Canadian disclosure filings website http://www.sedar.com or the OTCMarkets disclosure filings website http://www.otcmarkets.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

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Nanotech Security Corp. Announces Closing of $13.3 Million Bought ... - Marketwired (press release)

Wrinkle-smoothing hyaluronic acid can now be introduced into the skin without injections, thanks to an Israeli research team that spent years developing a nanotechnology for this purpose.

Facial wrinkles, lines and sagging result from the bodys gradual loss of its ability to produce hyaluronic acid.

In the past, treatments of hyaluronic acid couldnt get into the skins deepest layers except by injection or in a powder form that must be mixed with water and therefore loses its potency.

That problem was solved by a research team headed by Prof. Rachel Lubart and Prof. Aharon Gedanken from the departments of chemistry and physics and Bar-Ilan Universitys Institute for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials (BINA).

The Israeli scientists achieved this breakthrough by micronizing hyaluronic acid.

Based on this development, Israeli cosmeceuticals pioneer Hava Zingboim has created Prophecy, the first-ever cream formula that allows hyaluronic acid to penetrate into the deeper skin layers.

Facial skin before (above) and after treatment with Prophecy hyaluronic acid cream pioneered in Israel. Photo courtesy of Bar-Ilan University

Once they reach nano size, the hyaluronic acid molecules are transferred into the formula, which enables them to remain nano-sized throughout the process.

According to a university statement, this is the only technology in the world capable of creating small molecules that remain small even when applied to the skin.

The effect of the micronized hyaluronic acid applied to the skin is identical to the effect achieved when injecting hyaluronic acid into the skin, with the benefits of enhanced skin texture and a younger look.

Prophecy will be available in Israel shortly for 575 (about $160) per 60 grams (2.11 ounces) and will be marketed globally in September.

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Israeli research leads to unique nanotech wrinkle cream - ISRAEL21c

Working together with scientists and medical researchers at University of Miami, Moffitt Cancer Center, University of California, and the University of Notre Dame, Khizroev, and his research team, are using nanotechnology as an option to fight cancer in humans in the near future. The technology has already proved successful in treating certain cancers in mice. Currently, they are applying this nanotechnology to cure brain tumors, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, and others. Heres how it works:

Engineers prepare tiny particles known as magnetoelectric nanoparticles, or MENs, which have an electrical charge that allows them to uniquely locate specific cancer cells in the body. Unlike any other nanoparticles, MENs lets researchers use externally applied magnetic fields to control intrinsic electric fields at the sub-cellular level, and thus provide a way to simultaneously see and treat cancer cells.

Current cancer treatments have limitations. Patients develop multidrug resistance, and chemotherapy may stop working at some point during the course of treatment. These nanoparticles are so tiny that doctors can send them in, non-invasively, as many times as needed with no lasting side effects.

The research has been partially funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Neuroscience Centers of Florida Foundation (NSCFF), Department of Defense, and National Institutes of Health (NIH), with a combined amount of approximately $1 million.

Emmanuel Stimphil, one of the researchers working toward his Ph.D. in electrical engineering, finds inspiration in the possibility of a cure. Cancer is not biased. I have not lost anyone to cancer, but it can strike anyone, and knowing that is what drives me, Stimphil says. Ultimately, this technology may help families that have lost someone to cancer, and I would be doing my part to make the world a better place.

To describe the fundamental physics that underlies the new treatment, this April, Khizroev and Stimphil, along with research colleagues Abhignyan Nagesetti, Rakesh Guduru, Tiffanie Stewart, Alexandra Rodzinski, and Ping Liang published the paper, Physics consideration in targeted anticancer drug delivery by magnetoelectric nanoparticles, in the prestigious journal, Applied Physics Reviews.

Cancer is a disease malfunction that takes place at the most fundamental level, Khizroev says. The treatment also needs to be done at the fundamental level.

The next step for the team is more animal studies, and then preclinical studies. Within a few years, the researchers hope to be offering human clinical trials, and bringing society closer to a cure.

Source: Florida International University

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Nanotech Provides Personalized Cancer Treatment - Controlled Environments Magazine

NanoTech Entertainment Inc (NTEK) shares are moving today onvolatility-3.70% or $-0.002 from the open.TheOTC listed companysaw a recent bid of $0.0520 and207421shares have traded hands in the session.

Deep diving into thetechnical levels forNanoTech Entertainment Inc (NTEK), we note that the equitycurrently has a 14-day Commodity Channel Index (CCI) of 126.74. Active investors may choose to use this technical indicator as a stock evaluation tool. Used as a coincident indicator, the CCI reading above +100 would reflect strong price action which may signal an uptrend. On the flip side, a reading below -100 may signal a downtrend reflecting weak price action. Using the CCI as a leading indicator, technical analysts may use a +100 reading as an overbought signal and a -100 reading as an oversold indicator, suggesting a trend reversal.

NanoTech Entertainment Incs Williams Percent Range or 14 day Williams %R currently sits at -40.00. The Williams %R oscillates in a range from 0 to -100. A reading between 0 and -20 would point to an overbought situation. A reading from -80 to -100 would signal an oversold situation. The Williams %R was developed by Larry Williams. This is a momentum indicator that is the inverse of the Fast Stochastic Oscillator.

Currently, the 14-day ADX for NanoTech Entertainment Inc (NTEK) is sitting at 41.34. Generally speaking, an ADX value from 0-25 would indicate an absent or weak trend. A value of 25-50 would support a strong trend. A value of 50-75 would identify a very strong trend, and a value of 75-100 would lead to an extremely strong trend. ADX is used to gauge trend strength but not trend direction. Traders often add the Plus Directional Indicator (+DI) and Minus Directional Indicator (-DI) to identify the direction of a trend.

The RSI, or Relative Strength Index, is a widely used technical momentum indicator that compares price movement over time. The RSI was created by J. Welles Wilder who was striving to measure whether or not a stock was overbought or oversold. The RSI may be useful for spotting abnormal price activity and volatility. The RSI oscillates on a scale from 0 to 100. The normal reading of a stock will fall in the range of 30 to 70. A reading over 70 would indicate that the stock is overbought, and possibly overvalued. A reading under 30 may indicate that the stock is oversold, and possibly undervalued. After a recent check, the 14-day RSIforNanoTech Entertainment Inc (NTEK) is currently at 62.62, the 7-day stands at 66.17, and the 3-day is sitting at 68.61.

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NanoTech Entertainment Inc (NTEK) Moving -3.70% in Session - Lenox Ledger

StoreDot is primarily known for its promise to deliver a smartphone battery that charges in only five minutes. However, this isnt the only superpower of the company. The Israelinanotechnology materials pioneer also developed a car battery that charges just as ultra-fast as the FlashBattery does. A car battery that can fully charge in only five minutes would certainly be a game changer on the electric car market. Especially because the five-minutecharge of the StoreDot battery is able to ensure a 300-miles range. That is more than enough for a normal commute. It is even great for taking trips. The new technology was first shown off at theCUBE Tech Fair in Berlin.

Charging electric cars batteries usually takes at least 25-30 minutes. Some electric cars even need to charge for several hours. If this amount of time can be reduced to only five minutes, there is a possibility that more people will consider driving these environment-friendly vehicles. Five minutes is basically the same amount of time needed to fuel up your car at the gas station. How exactly did StoreDot manage to reduce the charging time so much? It seems they reached these results by combining neworganic compounds with certain nanomaterials. The electric car battery is most likely based on the same technology as the smartphone battery.

The electric car battery is most likely based on the same technology as the smartphone battery. The materials used by StoreDot allow for non-traditional reactions. Thanks to these, ions transfer ultra-fast from an anode to a cathode. This way, they charge the battery a lot faster than usual. According to the company, StoreDot doesnt use graphite in its FlashBatteries. It replaced this element with an unnamed organic compound. This is the element that truly changes everything. StoreDots proprietary chemical compound has a higher temperature of combustion and it is not flammable. Thanks to these features, it is able to sustain fast charging powers. It is also safer than graphite-using batteries because the resistance of the battery cell is dramatically reduced.

StoreDot surely seems to have addressed one problem of the electric cars: the charging time. Even though this is a welcome step, the majority of electric car makers and battery developers mainly focus on expanding the range the car can travel on a single charge. Of course, its great to be able to fully charge a car battery in only five minutes. Unfortunately, the problem usually consists of getting to a place where you can do that. Thankfully, StoreDots electric car battery is able to ensure a 300-miles range. This is a great result. It would be even greater if we saw the Israeli company come up with a way to deliver batteries that ensure an even higher range of motion.

At this point, StoreDots FlashBatteries are in advanced stages of development, according to the company. We know that the smartphone batteries will fo into mass production as soon as 2018. However, we will have to wait a little longer for the ultra-fast-charging electric car batteries. Even so, StoreDot thinks that we will see these batteries integrated into electric vehicles that will become available in the next three years. This definitely means that the ultra-fast charging electric car battery based on nanotechnology is really close to completion. This battery will probably go into mass production within the next year or so. We cant wait to see what StoreDot will do next with its great technology.

Source: StoreDot

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StoreDot nanotech breakthrough almost instant electric car battery recharge - GameSinners (press release) (blog)

A sheet of the ferroelectret nanogenerator (FENG) that can act as a microphone or loudspeaker.

Michigan State University

The world is about to get much more interesting for audiophiles, thanks to the development of a paper-thin, flexible device able to turn anything from newspapers to clothing into microphones and loudspeakers.

The device, known as a ferroelectret nanogenerator, or FENG, can convert mechanical energy into electrical energy and vice versa. It was constructed using nanotechnology by Nelson Sepulveda and his colleagues at Michigan State University in the US.

First showcased in 2016, the FENG was initially used to power a keyboard, LED lights and an LCD touch-screen with the mechanical energy provided by a finger swipe or light pressing motion.

Now the FENG can do even more.

Sepulveda and his team have harnessed the FENGs ability to receive and transmit sound a form of mechanical energy in the same way as a microphone and loudspeaker.

To demonstrate these functions, Sepulveda and colleagues embedded the FENG material into a flag and made it operate like a loudspeaker, piping music into it with an iPad connected to an amplifier.

The FENG technology is created through a process in which a silicon wafer is formed from multiple layers of eco-friendly materials including silver, polyimide and polypropylene ferroelectret.

Ions are also inserted into each of these layers so there are charged particles throughout the device. When the FENG is compressed by human motion or mechanical energy, electrical energy is created.

Sepulveda says that while many scientists are preoccupied with the visual and tangible properties of nanotechnology, FENG proves that the speaking and listening aspects of this technology could lead to equally amazing innovations in the future.

Imagine a newspaper where the sheets are microphones and loudspeakers. You could essentially have a voice-activated newspaper that talks back to you, he says.

The research is published in Nature Communications.

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Paper-thin loudspeakers harness nanotech power - Cosmos

MIT News

Matteo Bucci: Using nanotech to produce more megawatts MIT News The output boost would be accomplished by using microtechnology and nanotechnology to re-engineer the outer surface of reactor fuel rods to prevent bubbles in cooling water from coalescing on the rods' surface, where they form dry patches that lead to ...

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Matteo Bucci: Using nanotech to produce more megawatts - MIT News

To demonstrate the working principle of resonant laser printing, the researchers printed several macroscopic images in various color tones. Here are examples of several famous paintings laser printed at 500 dots per inch.

Laser printers that "sculpt" images at miniscule scales could one day make color photos that don't fade over time the way ink does, according to a new study.

Researchers at the Technical University of Denmark made a sheet of polymer and semiconductor metal that reflects colors that never fade, using tiny structures that diffract, absorb and reflect light of different wavelengths. A coating made of the material would never need repainting, and the resulting image would retain its vibrancy over time, the scientists said.

This printing process also allows people to choose more specific colors, because exact wavelengths can be selected, meaning there's less guesswork involved with mixing pigments and comparing color charts, the researchers said. The same technique could be applied to making watermarks or even encryption and data storage, the researchers said. [The 10 Weirdest Things Created by 3D Printing]

In this technique, the images are printed with a laser, which is fired at a sheet made of plastic on one layer and germanium on top of that. The sheets are made by depositing nanometer-thin layers of polymer and germanium into shapes, small cylinders and blocks, none measuring more than 100 nanometers across. (For comparison, an average strand of human hair is about 100,000nanometerswide.)

"We generate a nano-imprint," study lead author Xiaolong Zhu, a nanotechnology researcher at the Technical University of Denmark, told Live Science.

Similar to what a laser printer does, the laser reshapes the tiny structures by melting them. Varying the intensity of the laser at tiny scales melts the structures differently, so they take on different geometries.

This is why the image resolution can be so fine, the researchers said. An image from an inkjet printer or laser printer typically consists of 300 to 2,400 dots per inch. A nanometer-size pixel is thousands of times smaller, meaning a resolution of 100,000 dots per inch, the researchers said. In fact, the whole collection of pixels resembles a miniature city of skyscrapers, domes and towers.

These are examples of laser-printed color patterns featuring 127,000 dots per inch.

When white light hits the various shapes, it can reflect, be bent or diffract, the researchers said. Since the shapes are so small, some won't reflect certain wavelengths, while others will scatter or bounce the light. The result is that a person sees a color, depending on the specific pattern of shapes, according to the study.

Butterfly wings and bird feathers work in a similar way, Zhu said. Tiny structures cover butterfly's wing or a bird's feather, scattering light in specific ways, making the colors that people see. Butterfly wings, though, transmit some of the light, creating iridescence, the researchers said. Zhu and his colleagues got more specific than that the combination of germanium and polymer means they can control which wavelengths of light are reflected from a given spot or not, so they don't produce the iridescent effect. This means vibrant, single colors where they want them, the researchers said.

Since the colors are built into the very structure of the sheets, they won't fade the way pigments do when exposed to light, the study said. Ordinary paint, for example, fades when sunlight hits it, because the ultraviolet light breaks down the chemicals that make up the pigment. On top of that, paint or ink can oxidize or come off when exposed to solvents, such as heavy-duty detergents. (Just drip water on an inkjet image, and you can watch the ink become dilute and run.) On old masterpieces, there's even a phenomenon called "metal soaps" based on the complex chemistry that occurs as paints age, according to Chemical & Engineering News.

Using their technique, Zhu and his colleagues made small pictures of the Mona Lisa and a portrait of Danish physicist Niels Bohr, as well as a simple photograph of a woman and a bridge, each measuring about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) across.

To mass produce this kind of printer, researchers would need to make laser technology smaller and might need a different material for the layers of sheets, the researchers said. That material would need to have a high refractive index, meaning it bends light a lot and absorbs light at the wavelength chosen for the laser, they added. In their experiments, the scientists chose green light for the wavelength and experimented with silicon for the material, which Zhu said doesn't absorb green laser light as efficiently.

Even germanium, though, is a possibility, because it isn't too expensive. "A few kilograms can cover a football [soccer] field," he said, noting that the germanium and polymer layers are only up to 50 nanometers thick. Germanium, though, isn't necessarily the best option, because it doesn't produce green colors well, Zhu said.

The new study appears in the May 3 issue of the journal Science Advances.

Original article on Live Science.

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Laser-Printed Nanotech Makes Colors That Never Fade - Live Science