News & Comment

Polymer scaffolds reinforced with carbon nanotubes can improve the growth of bone tissue in rabbits.

Superheating of gold nanoparticles by laser irradiation can be used to create nanoscale holes in organic polymer films

Is nanotechnology an example of a new approach to science and technology, or have commercial considerations always played a major role in decisions about funding research? Richard Jones looks at both sides of the argument.

Its economy might be dominated by agriculture and tourism, but Thailand is investing heavily in nanotechnology, although a shortage of scientists and engineers remains a problem, as Adarsh Sandhu reports.

From nanomechanical mass sensors to superconducting nanobolometers for astrophysics, the links between physics and nanoscience and technology are deep and varied.

New experimental evidence proves that ice can form at room temperature if it is confined in a very thin layer

The formation of perfect arrays of germanium quantum dots is limited by competition between sites in the template

The strength of graphene has been measured using an atomic force microscope

A new technology will only be successful if those promoting it can show that it is safe, but history is littered with examples of promising technologies that never fulfilled their true potential and/or caused untold damage because early warnings about safety problems were ignored. The nanotechnology community stands to benefit by learning lessons from this history.

Atoms as small as hydrogen can be observed by using a graphene sheet as a microscope slide

Thermal annealing or electron beam irradiation can be used to change the band structure of graphene oxide layers for field-effect device applications

Nanoparticles of nickel oxide supported on alumina are good catalysts for removing tar during the conversion of biomass to bioenergy

Nanoscale formulations of selenium and silver can capture mercury vapours from broken compact fluorescent lamps more efficiently than their microscale counterparts

Carbon nanotubes can be selectively organized into effective thin-film transistors with the help of surface chemistry

Fullerenes inserted inside carbon nanotubes have been fused together to form chains that exhibit interesting rotational and translational motion

Titanate nanofibres are effective in the removal of radioactive ions from contaminated water

Hot iron nanoparticles could be used to carve electronic circuits out of graphene sheets

Silver thin films with nanoscale holes could prove useful as optically transparent electrodes for organic solar cells

Nanoparticles can improve the spatial resolution of mass spectrometry imaging of mammalian tissues.