Nanomaterials

A team of scientists at Florida State University's High-Performance Materials Institute is using advanced nanomaterials to produce lightweight heat shields that can stand up to the impact of hypersonic speeds.

One-fifth the weight of steel but five times the strength, plant-based cellulose nanofiber (CNF) offers carmakers the opportunity to build strong, lightweight cars while sustainably removing as much as 2,000 kg of carbon from the car's life cycle.

A tiny artificial tongue which can identify individual whiskies by taste has been invented by a team of Scottish engineers . The device could mean big things for drink makers wanting to ensure a consistent product, and protect their precious brands from counterfeiters at the same time.

​Wood is an established and versatile construction material, used to build everything from high-rises and airports to apartment buildings. It also, however, is not immune to catching fire. A new coating could help keep that from happening, and it's actually made from wood.

A team of researchers from the University of Melbourne has developed a new way to turn plants into nanomaterial factories, which could allow them to act as chemical sensors or even allow them to survive in harsh environments, such as in space or on Mars.

A new technique has been used to turn ordinary metals into "metallic wood" with a greatly improved strength-to-weight ratio. By manipulating materials at the atomic scale, scientists claim to have created a sheet of nickel that is as strong as titanium​, but up to five times lighter.

Diamond is a useful material, but its relative rarity on Earth makes it difficult to get. Now, researchers at NCSU have demonstrated a new way to convert carbon nanofibers and nanotubes into diamond fibers that can be performed in a lab more easily than existing techniques.

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have found a way to use viruses to build gold nanobeads, which can then be used to purify water and could eventually help cut the cost and time required to produce electronic components.

Spider silk has long held the title of strongest natural biomaterial. Now, researchers at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology have developed a new biomaterial out of wood nanofibers that steals the strength record.

A team from Texas A&M University has created a novel injectable bandage that blends a commonly used food thickening agent with nanoparticles. The result is an injectable hydrogel than can rapidly stop bleeding and potentially promote wound healing.

Zapping hydrogen out of water through electrolysis is the cleanest way to produce the fuel, but that requires rare-Earth metal catalysts. Researchers have now developed a quick and inexpensive alternative, making a “nanofoam” catalyst out of nickel and iron that performs better than usual.

​The field of nanotechnology is still in its nascent stages but recent innovations are increasingly making this sci-fi world a reality. New research has demonstrated a robot made of a single strand of DNA explore a molecular surface, pick up targeted molecules, and move them to another location.