News from the NNI Community - Research Advances Funded by Agencies Participating in the NNI

Engineers at Rice University and Texas A&M University have identified a 2D perovskite-derivative material that could make computers faster and more energy-efficient. Their material has the ability to enable the valleytronics phenomenon. In valleytronics, electrons have degrees of freedom in the multiple momentum states — or valleys — they occupy. These states can be read as bits, creating a possible platform for information processing and storage.

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have discovered a way to control the growth of twisting, microscopic spirals of materials just one atom thick. The standard practice for making twisting two-dimensional structures has been mechanically stacking two sheets of the thin materials on top of each other and carefully controlling the twist angle between them by hand. But when researchers grow these two-dimensional materials directly, they cannot control the twist angle because the interactions between the layers are very weak. The scientists found out how to control the growth of these twisting nanoscale structures by thinking outside the flat space of Euclidean geometry.

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have discovered a way to control the growth of twisting, microscopic spirals of materials just one atom thick. The standard practice for making twisting two-dimensional structures has been mechanically stacking two sheets of the thin materials on top of each other and carefully controlling the twist angle between them by hand. But when researchers grow these two-dimensional materials directly, they cannot control the twist angle because the interactions between the layers are very weak. The scientists found out how to control the growth of these twisting nanoscale structures by thinking outside the flat space of Euclidean geometry.

Scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Construction Engineering Research Laboratory have demonstrated the ability to reproduce the nanostructures that help cicada wings repel water and prevent bacteria from establishing on the surface. The new technique – which uses commercial nail polish – is economical and straightforward, and the researchers said it will help fabricate future high-tech waterproof materials.

Scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Construction Engineering Research Laboratory have demonstrated the ability to reproduce the nanostructures that help cicada wings repel water and prevent bacteria from establishing on the surface. The new technique – which uses commercial nail polish – is economical and straightforward, and the researchers said it will help fabricate future high-tech waterproof materials.

Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University are spinning liquid crystals into fibers that change color at different temperatures. These "smart fabrics" are made of soft, lightweight and elastic material, such as polymer nanomaterials made of plastics like nylon or polyethylene, and could be used in clothing such as camouflage or for detecting the presence of a pathogen like a virus.

Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University are spinning liquid crystals into fibers that change color at different temperatures. These "smart fabrics" are made of soft, lightweight and elastic material, such as polymer nanomaterials made of plastics like nylon or polyethylene, and could be used in clothing such as camouflage or for detecting the presence of a pathogen like a virus.

Scientists at Washington State University have developed a method to detect biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease that is 10 times more sensitive than current blood testing technology. The researchers created an artificial enzyme using a single-atom architecture that was able to work as efficiently as natural enzymes. Their artificial enzyme, called a nanozyme, is made of single iron atoms embedded in nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes.

Scientists at Washington State University have developed a method to detect biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease that is 10 times more sensitive than current blood testing technology. The researchers created an artificial enzyme using a single-atom architecture that was able to work as efficiently as natural enzymes. Their artificial enzyme, called a nanozyme, is made of single iron atoms embedded in nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes.

Researchers at The University of Alabama in Huntsville have invented a new way to deposit thin layers of atoms as a coating onto a substrate material at near room temperatures. The researchers used an ultrasonic atomization technology to evaporate chemicals used in atomic layer deposition (ALD). ALD is a three-dimensional thin film deposition technique that plays an important role in microelectronics manufacturing.