Latest Nanorod Stories
The eye of the peacock mantis shrimp has led an international team of researchers to develop a two-part waveplate that could improve CD, DVD, blu-ray and holographic technology, creating even higher definition and larger storage density.Peacock mantis shrimp are one of only a few animal species that can see circularly polarized light -- like the light used to create 3-D movies. Some researchers believe the mantis shrimp's eyes are better over the entire visual spectrum than any man-made...
When semiconductor nanorods are exposed to light, they blink in a seemingly random pattern. By clustering nanorods together, physicists at the University of Pennsylvania have shown that their combined "on" time is increased dramatically providing new insight into this mysterious blinking behavior.The research was conducted by associate professor Marija Drndic's group, including graduate student Siying Wang and postdoctorial fellows Claudia Querner and Tali Dadosh, all of the Department of...
The practical use of visible light and zinc oxide nanorods for destroying bacterial water contamination has been successfully demonstrated by researchers at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT). Nanorods grown on glass substrates and activated by solar energy have been found to be effective in killing both gram positive and gram negative bacteria "“ a finding that has immense possibilities for affordable and environmentally friendly water purification techniques."Most studies so far...
Technology has potential applications in a wide variety of color displaysChemists at the University of California, Riverside have developed tiny, nanoscale-size rods of iron oxide particles in the lab that respond to an external magnetic field in a way that could dramatically improve how visual information is displayed in the future.Previously, Yadong Yin's lab showed that when an external magnetic field is applied to iron oxide particles in solution, the solution changes color in response to...
University of Georgia researchers have developed a technique that can diagnose a common type of pneumonia within minutes, potentially replacing existing tests that can take several days for results.The researchers, whose findings are detailed online in the journal PLoS ONE, detected Mycoplasma pneumoniae, which causes atypical or "walking pneumonia," in true clinical samples with over 97 percent accuracy using a recently-developed nanotechnology-based platform."If you can make a positive...
Amazing nanostructures created by glancing-angle depositionJust as landscape photographs shot in low-angle light dramatically accentuate subtle swales and mounds, depositing metal vapors at glancing angles turns a rough surface into amazing nanostructures with a vast range of potential properties.For decades, vapor deposition has been a standard technique for creating modern microelectronic circuits. But nearly all of industry's efforts have been devoted to making structures as flat and...
Composites are combinations of materials that produce properties inaccessible in any one material. A classic example of a composite is fiberglass "“ plastic fibers woven with glass to add strength to hockey sticks or the hull of a boat. Unlike the well-established techniques for producing fiberglass and other macroscale composites, however, there aren't general schemes available for making nanoscale composites.Now, researchers at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry, in collaboration with...
Photothermal technique provides new way to track nanoparticlesStephan Link wants to understand how nanomaterials align, and his lab's latest work is a step in the right direction.Link's Rice University group has found a way to use gold nanorods as orientation sensors by combining their plasmonic properties with polarization imaging techniques.That may make it possible to see and perhaps track single nanoparticles over long periods. It would give researchers new information about materials,...
A new study answers a key question at the very heart of nanotechnology: Why are nanorods so small?Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have discovered the origins of nanorod diameter, demonstrating that the competition and collaboration among various mechanisms of atomic transport hold the key to nanorod size. The researchers say it is the first study to identify the fundamental reasons why nearly all nanorods have a diameter on the order of 100 nanometers."Scientists have been...
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new technique for growing slimmer copper nanorods, a key step for advancing integrated 3-D chip technology.These thinner copper nanorods fuse together, or anneal, at about 300 degrees Celsius. This relatively low annealing temperature could make the nanorods ideal for use in heat-sensitive nanoelectronics, particularly for "gluing" together the stacked components of 3-D computer chips."When fabricating and assembling 3-D chips,...
