A nanoscale antibody first found in camels combined with a protein-degrading molecule is an effective new platform to control protein levels in cells, according to Rice University scientists. The technique could aid fundamental research into cellular dynamics as well as the design of synthetic gene circuits. Rice chemical and biomolecular engineer Laura Segatori, former graduate…
Nanotube Fiber Antennas Just as Good as Copper
Fibers made of carbon nanotubes configured as wireless antennas can be as good as copper antennas but 20 times lighter, according to Rice University researchers. The antennas may offer practical advantages for aerospace applications and wearable electronics where weight and flexibility are factors. The research appears in Applied Physics Letters. The discovery offers more potential…
Strong Fibers Come from Long Nanotubes
To make continuous, strong and conductive carbon nanotube fibers, it’s best to start with long nanotubes, according to scientists at Rice University. The Rice lab of chemist and chemical engineer Matteo Pasquali, which demonstrated its pioneering method to spin carbon nanotube into fibers in 2013, has advanced the art of making nanotube-based materials with two…
Ultraflat Magnets Present a Surprise
Substituting atoms in the process of making two-dimensional alloys not only allows them to be customized for applications but also can make them magnetic, according to Rice University scientists and their collaborators. A new paper in Advanced Materials outlines how researchers at Rice, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of Southern California (USC), and Kumamoto…
Batteries Charge Faster Thanks to Asphalt
A touch of asphalt may be the secret to high-capacity lithium metal batteries that charge 10 to 20 times faster than commercial lithium-ion batteries, according to Rice University scientists. The Rice lab of chemist James Tour developed anodes comprising porous carbon made from asphalt that showed exceptional stability after more than 500 charge-discharge cycles. A…
New Filter Cleans Up Fracking Water
A new filter produced by Rice University scientists has proven able to remove more than 90 percent of hydrocarbons, bacteria and particulates from contaminated water produced by hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations at shale oil and gas wells. The work by Rice chemist Andrew Barron and his colleagues turns a ceramic membrane with microscale pores into…
Graphene Becomes Enemy of Bacteria
Scientists at Rice University and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) have discovered that laser-induced graphene (LIG) is a highly effective anti-fouling material and, when electrified, bacteria zapper. LIG is a spongy version of graphene, the single-atom layer of carbon atoms. The Rice lab of chemist James Tour developed it three years ago by burning…
Graphene-Nanotube Hybrid Aids Lithium Metal Batteries
Rice University scientists have created a rechargeable lithium metal battery with three times the capacity of commercial lithium-ion batteries by resolving something that has long stumped researchers: the dendrite problem. The Rice battery stores lithium in a unique anode, a seamless hybrid of graphene and carbon nanotubes. The material first created at Rice in 2012…
Semiconductors and Artificial Photosynthesis Team Up
Rice University scientists have created an efficient, simple-to-manufacture oxygen-evolution catalyst that pairs well with semiconductors for solar water splitting, the conversion of solar energy to chemical energy in the form of hydrogen and oxygen. The lab of Kenton Whitmire, a Rice professor of chemistry, teamed up with researchers at the University of Houston and discovered…
Refined Filters Provide Greener Natural Gas
Natural gas producers want to draw all the methane they can from a well while sequestering as much carbon dioxide as possible, and could use filters that optimize either carbon capture or methane flow. No single filter will do both, but thanks to Rice University scientists, they now know how to fine-tune sorbents for their…
Don’t Eat This Sandwich!
Rice University researchers have modeled a nanoscale sandwich, the first in what they hope will become a molecular deli for materials scientists. Their recipe puts two slices of atom-thick graphene around nanoclusters of magnesium oxide that give the super-strong, conductive material expanded optoelectronic properties. Rice materials scientist Rouzbeh Shahsavari and his colleagues built computer simulations…
Graphene Foam Gets in Shape
A chunk of conductive graphene foam reinforced by carbon nanotubes can support more than 3,000 times its own weight and easily bounce back to its original height, according to Rice University scientists. Better yet, it can be made in just about any shape and size, they report, demonstrating a screw-shaped piece of the highly conductive…
Carbon Nanotubes Give Cell-Tracking Agents a Boost
Rice University researchers have synthesized a new and greatly improved generation of contrast agents for tagging and real-time tracking of stem cells in the body. The agent combines ultrashort carbon nanotubes and bismuth clusters that show up on X-rays taken with computed tomography (CT) scanners. The stable compound performs more than eight times better than…
Stretching Gives Boron Atoms Special Powers
Hold on, there, graphene. You might think you’re the most interesting new nanomaterial of the century, but boron might already have you beat, according to scientists at Rice University. A Rice team that simulated one-dimensional forms of boron — both two-atom-wide ribbons and single-atom chains — found they possess unique properties. The new findings appear…
Graphene Particles Act as Life-Saving Antioxidants
Treated particles of graphene derived from carbon nanotubes have demonstrated remarkable potential as life-saving antioxidants, but as small as they are, something even smaller had to be created to figure out why they work so well. Researchers at Rice University, the McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth),…
Circuits Cooled by Nano-Chimneys
A few nanoscale adjustments may be all that is required to make graphene-nanotube junctions excel at transferring heat, according to Rice University scientists. The Rice lab of theoretical physicist Boris Yakobson found that putting a cone-like “chimney” between the graphene and nanotube all but eliminates a barrier that blocks heat from escaping. The research appears…
Doped Graphene Dots Reduce CO2 to Fuel
Graphene quantum dots may offer a simple way to recycle waste carbon dioxide into valuable fuel rather than release it into the atmosphere or bury it underground, according to Rice University scientists. Nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (NGQDs) are an efficient electrocatalyst to make complex hydrocarbons from carbon dioxide, according to the research team led by…
Graphene, Together with Bumpy Surfaces, Beats the Heat
Bumpy surfaces with graphene between would help dissipate heat in next-generation microelectronic devices, according to Rice University scientists. Their theoretical studies show that enhancing the interface between gallium nitride semiconductors and diamond heat sinks would allow phonons — quasiparticles of sound that also carry heat — to disperse more efficiently. Heat sinks are used to…
Faster Cameras Thanks to Molecular Imaging Hack
A new Rice University technique grabs images of chemical processes that happen faster than most laboratory cameras are able to capture them. The technique, super temporal resolution microscopy (STReM), allows researchers to view and gather useful information about fluorescing molecules at a frame rate 20 times faster than typical lab cameras normally allow. The work…
A Brittle Surprise from a 2D Material
Scientists at Rice University have discovered that an atom-thick material being eyed for flexible electronics and next-generation optical devices is more brittle than they expected. The Rice team led by materials scientist Jun Lou tested the tensile strength of two-dimensional, semiconducting molybdenum diselenide and discovered that flaws as small as one missing atom can initiate…
Single-Molecule Nanoroadsters Driven by Light
Scientists at Rice University and at the University of Graz, Austria, are driving three-wheeled, single-molecule “nanoroadsters” with light and, for the first time, seeing how they move. The Rice lab of nanocar inventor and chemist James Tour synthesized light-driven nanocars six years ago, but with the aid of experimental physicists in Austria, they’re now able…
Graphene Hybrid Eyed for Next-Gen Green Cars
Layers of graphene separated by nanotube pillars of boron nitride may be a suitable material to store hydrogen fuel in cars, according to Rice University scientists. The Department of Energy has set benchmarks for storage materials that would make hydrogen a practical fuel for light-duty vehicles. The Rice lab of materials scientist Rouzbeh Shahsavari determined…
Toughen Up, Metallic Cubes!
Scientists at Rice University are smashing metallic micro-cubes to make them ultrastrong and tough by rearranging their nanostructures upon impact. The Rice team reported in Science this week that firing a tiny, nearly perfect cube of silver onto a hard target turns its single-crystal microstructure into a gradient-nano-grained (GNG) structure. The purpose of the experiment…
Fixing Graphene’s Weaknesses
Carbon fiber, a pillar of strength in materials manufacturing for decades, isn’t as good as it could be, but there are ways to improve it, according to Rice University scientists. They found the polymer chains that make up a common carbon fiber are prone to misalign during manufacture, a defect the researchers compared with a…
Wavy Borophene May Be Superior to Graphene
Though they’re touted as ideal for electronics, two-dimensional materials like graphene may be too flat and hard to stretch to serve in flexible, wearable devices. “Wavy” borophene might be better, according to Rice University scientists. The Rice lab of theoretical physicist Boris Yakobson and experimental collaborators observed examples of naturally undulating, metallic borophene, an atom-thick…