In case you missed it (ICYMI), here are some of the stories that made headlines in the world of cleanrooms and nanotechnology in the past week:

Researchers have experimentally confirmed strong in-plane anisotropy in thermal conductivity, up to a factor of two, along the zigzag and armchair directions of single-crystal black phosphorous nanoribbons. Black phosphorous acts as a natural semiconductor and has an energy bandgap that allows its electrical conductance to be switched on and off. Theory says that, in contrast to graphene, black phosphorous allows heat to flow more easily along a direction in which electricity flows with more difficultly. This revelation about black phosphorus nanoribbons means that this material could potentially be applied to future to electronic, optoelectronic, and thermoelectric devices.

Next-generation solar cells made of perovskite become stabilized when they’re pressed between a metal oxide “sandwich,” which efficiently converts sunlight to electricity. This advancement can help the development of these solar cells for commercial use, since perovskite is quite delicate — it is a very light, flexible, organic-inorganic hybrid material, so things have stalled in development toward its commercialized use. This new cell construction extends the cell’s effective life in air by more than 10 times.

Finally, The University of Manchester’s National Graphene Institute won the Major Building Project of the Year at the annual British Construction Industry Awards. Graphene was discovered at the university in 2004, and today its researchers and scientists are using the institute to collaborate with other universities and as well as businesses to advance the commercialization of graphene applications. The building also won the BIM (Building Information Modelling) Application Award for the extensive use of modelling software required to map out the NGI’s extensive mechanical and engineering services.