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

A team of researchers has demonstrated for the first time a single-molecule electret – a device that could be critical to molecular computers. In an electret, all the dipoles – pairs of opposite electric charges – spontaneously line up in the same direction. By applying an electric field, their directions can be reversed. The researchers inserted an atom of gadolinium inside a 32-sided molecule called a buckyball and put this construct in a transistor-type structure. They observed single-electron transport and discovered that an electric field could be used to switch the structure’s energy state from one stable state to another.

A multi-institutional team of scientists led by the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory has developed a first-of-its-kind catalyst that can process polyolefin plastics such as polyethylene and polypropylene, which are widely used in plastic grocery bags, milk jugs, shampoo bottles, toys, and food containers. The unique process relies on nanoparticle technology: The scientists designed a mesoporous silica nanoparticle consisting of a core of platinum with catalytic active sites, surrounded by long silica pores, or channels, through which the long polymer chains in polyolefin plastics thread through to the catalyst.

A multi-institutional team of scientists led by the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory has developed a first-of-its-kind catalyst that can process polyolefin plastics such as polyethylene and polypropylene, which are widely used in plastic grocery bags, milk jugs, shampoo bottles, toys, and food containers. The unique process relies on nanoparticle technology: The scientists designed a mesoporous silica nanoparticle consisting of a core of platinum with catalytic active sites, surrounded by long silica pores, or channels, through which the long polymer chains in polyolefin plastics thread through to the catalyst.

Researchers at Caltech have developed a new way to power wireless wearable sensors by harvesting kinetic energy that is produced by people as they move around. The energy is harvested by a nanogenerator, which contains a thin sandwich of materials (Teflon, copper, and polyimide) that is attached to a person's skin. As the person moves, these sheets of material rub against a sliding layer made of copper and polyimide and generate small amounts of electricity.

Researchers at Caltech have developed a new way to power wireless wearable sensors by harvesting kinetic energy that is produced by people as they move around. The energy is harvested by a nanogenerator, which contains a thin sandwich of materials (Teflon, copper, and polyimide) that is attached to a person's skin. As the person moves, these sheets of material rub against a sliding layer made of copper and polyimide and generate small amounts of electricity.

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and General Motors have increased the conductivity of copper wire by about 5%. Higher conductivity means that less copper is needed for the same efficiency, which can reduce the weight and volume of various components that are expected to power our future electric vehicles. The increase in conductivity was achieved by adding graphene—a highly conductive, nano-thin sheet of carbon atoms – to copper and the produced wire.

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and General Motors have increased the conductivity of copper wire by about 5%. Higher conductivity means that less copper is needed for the same efficiency, which can reduce the weight and volume of various components that are expected to power our future electric vehicles. The increase in conductivity was achieved by adding graphene—a highly conductive, nano-thin sheet of carbon atoms – to copper and the produced wire.

An international team of researchers has printed sensors directly on human skin without the use of heat. The researchers had previously developed flexible printed circuit boards for use in wearable sensors, but printing directly on skin has been hindered by the bonding process for the metallic components in the sensor. Called sintering, this process typically requires temperatures of around 572 degrees Fahrenheit (300 degrees Celsius) to bond the sensor's silver nanoparticles together. But in the presence of a novel layer (made of polyvinyl alcohol paste and calcium carbonate) and by changing the printing material, the nanoparticles can now bond at room temperature, so the sensor can be printed directly on skin.

An international team of researchers has printed sensors directly on human skin without the use of heat. The researchers had previously developed flexible printed circuit boards for use in wearable sensors, but printing directly on skin has been hindered by the bonding process for the metallic components in the sensor. Called sintering, this process typically requires temperatures of around 572 degrees Fahrenheit (300 degrees Celsius) to bond the sensor's silver nanoparticles together. But in the presence of a novel layer (made of polyvinyl alcohol paste and calcium carbonate) and by changing the printing material, the nanoparticles can now bond at room temperature, so the sensor can be printed directly on skin.

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology are in the early stages of a massive undertaking to design and build a fleet of tiny ultra-sensitive thermometers. If they succeed, their system will be the first to make real-time measurements of temperature on the microscopic scale in an opaque 3D volume — which could include medical implants, refrigerators, and even the human body. The project will work by using nanometer-sized objects whose magnetic signals change with temperature.