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

Scientists at the University of South Florida have reached a milestone in the development of two-dimensional supramolecules – large molecular structures that are made up of individual molecules. The scientists were able to build a 20-nm-wide metallo-supramolecular hexagonal grid by combining intra- and intermolecular self-assembly processes. This work will advance further understanding of the design principles governing these molecular formations and could one day lead to the development of new materials with yet-to-be-discovered functions and properties.

A research team led by Northwestern University has designed and synthesized new materials with ultrahigh porosity and surface area for the storage of hydrogen and methane for fuel cell-powered vehicles. These gases are attractive clean energy alternatives to fossil fuels. Thanks to its nanoscopic pores, a one-gram sample of the Northwestern material, a type of a metal-organic framework, has a surface area that would cover 1.3 football fields.

A research team led by Northwestern University has designed and synthesized new materials with ultrahigh porosity and surface area for the storage of hydrogen and methane for fuel cell-powered vehicles. These gases are attractive clean energy alternatives to fossil fuels. Thanks to its nanoscopic pores, a one-gram sample of the Northwestern material, a type of a metal-organic framework, has a surface area that would cover 1.3 football fields.

A UCLA-led team of researchers has described how a nanomachine produced by a common bacterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, recognizes and kills other bacteria, and has imaged the nanomachine at atomic resolution. The nanomachine is a protein complex, called a pyocin, released by P. aeruginosa as a way of sabotaging microbes that compete with it for resources. When a pyocin identifies a rival bacterium, it kills it by punching a hole in its cell membrane. The scientists also engineered their own versions of the nanomachine, which could eventually lead to new types of antibiotics that would home in on specific species of microbes.

A UCLA-led team of researchers has described how a nanomachine produced by a common bacterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, recognizes and kills other bacteria, and has imaged the nanomachine at atomic resolution. The nanomachine is a protein complex, called a pyocin, released by P. aeruginosa as a way of sabotaging microbes that compete with it for resources. When a pyocin identifies a rival bacterium, it kills it by punching a hole in its cell membrane. The scientists also engineered their own versions of the nanomachine, which could eventually lead to new types of antibiotics that would home in on specific species of microbes.

MIT engineers have developed a way to closely track how plants respond to stresses – such as injury, infection, and light damage – using sensors made of carbon nanotubes. These sensors can be embedded in plant leaves, where they report on hydrogen peroxide signaling waves. Plants use hydrogen peroxide to communicate within their leaves, sending out a distress signal that stimulates leaf cells to produce compounds that help them repair damage or fend off insects.

MIT engineers have developed a way to closely track how plants respond to stresses – such as injury, infection, and light damage – using sensors made of carbon nanotubes. These sensors can be embedded in plant leaves, where they report on hydrogen peroxide signaling waves. Plants use hydrogen peroxide to communicate within their leaves, sending out a distress signal that stimulates leaf cells to produce compounds that help them repair damage or fend off insects.

A collaboration of scientists from the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)—a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility at DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory—Yale University, and Arizona State University has designed and tested a new two-dimensional catalyst that can be used to improve water purification using hydrogen peroxide. So far, scientists have struggled to improve the efficiency of the process through catalysis because each part of the reaction needs its own catalyst—called a co-catalyst—and the co-catalysts can’t be next to each other. The team presented the design for the new two-dimensional catalyst, in which two co-catalysts are in two different locations on a thin nanosheet. One of the co-catalysts—a single cobalt atom—sits in the center of the sheet, whereas the other one, a molecule called anthraquinone, is placed around the edges.

A collaboration of scientists from the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)—a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility at DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory—Yale University, and Arizona State University has designed and tested a new two-dimensional catalyst that can be used to improve water purification using hydrogen peroxide. So far, scientists have struggled to improve the efficiency of the process through catalysis because each part of the reaction needs its own catalyst—called a co-catalyst—and the co-catalysts can’t be next to each other. The team presented the design for the new two-dimensional catalyst, in which two co-catalysts are in two different locations on a thin nanosheet. One of the co-catalysts—a single cobalt atom—sits in the center of the sheet, whereas the other one, a molecule called anthraquinone, is placed around the edges.

Researchers have shown that polymers filled with carbon nanotubes could potentially improve how unmanned vehicles dissipate energy.