Blog @ NanoVic - Nanotechnology Blog

Try to imagine the best way to power nanoscale electronics; for consistency and practicality, a nanoscale battery would be ideal.  To that end, scientists at Harvard University have developed the first self-contained nanoscale solar cell, in the form of a coaxial silicon nanowire.  Constructed from concentric layers of crystalline silicon doped with boron or phosphorus, the nanowire has an approximate diametre of 200 nm.  When struck by sunlight, electrons and positively-charged molecular ‘holes’ move inversely between the layers of the nanowire, creating enough current to power an electric circuit.  While still quite inefficient (the nanowire converts only 3% of sunlight into power, whereas conventional solar cells operate at 20-25% efficiency), the development is exciting in that offers an entirely new geometry for photovoltaic cells.  Improved efficiency should eventually see the nanowire offering reliable and harvestable energy for nanoelectronics.  I wonder if a nanoscale solar battery for my laptop is out of the question…..?  

Remember the 1980s song Video Killed the Radio Star? Hold that thought…a new nano application suggests that radio shouldn’t quite yet be regaled to yesteryear. Peter Burke and Chris Rutherglen of the University of California have constructed a wireless radio detector from carbon nanotubes. The newly developed nano ‘demodulator’ was successfully used to transmit classical AM music wirelessly from an iPod to a speaker several feet away. The music transmitted was audibly indistinguishable from that reaching the human ear directly. This marks the first time that a nano-sized detector has been demonstrated in an actual working radio system, and offers great hope for the eventual construction of a wireless communication system constructed entirely at the nano-scale. Burke and Rutherglen claim their work to be a functioning example of nanotechnology as opposed to nanoscience. The full report has been published by a journal of the American Chemical Society, Nano Letters.

Can you really use an American icon to explain nanotechnology?  Apparently you can.  A new video featuring scientist Andrew Maynard mixes the snack cake with humor to unlock the mysteries of nanotechnology.

According to a promo this video “serves up the complexities of nanoscience in enticing, digestible, bite-size morsels. It is a friendly, funny, 25-minute travel guide to the technology that promises to ignite the next industrial revolution. Maynard shows products that use nanotechnology today and travels into the future to demonstrate how nanotechnology will change virtually everything—in medicine, energy, materials, travel and electronics”.

One of the more challenging aspects here at NanoVic has been the ability to demonstrate nanotechnology to a wide ranging audience due to its size.  We have found animations to be an excellent tool in this regard and currently have ones explaining self cleaning glass, water and drug delivery, just to name a few.

Anyway, this video sounds like a lot of fun and I guess at the end you can always eat the twinkie!

Australia’s social and economic growth and the need to develop alternative water supplies is an urgent issue. One of main challenges in overcoming Australia’s water shortage lies in the development of efficient, low energy processes to recover pure water from industrial, brackish and salt water resources.

The goal of the recently established Advanced Membrane Technologies for Water Treatment Research Cluster , is to investigate new, more efficient water treatment processes. They are investigating the development and use of carbon nanotube membranes in energy efficient water reuse and recycling processes. Carbon nanotubes are sheets of carbon atoms tightly rolled into tubes the diameter of only a few water molecules. The smooth inner walls of these nanotubes allow liquid to flow through, while the ultra-tiny pore size keeps out larger molecules. This reduces pressure requirements and saves energy and costs compared to other processes. This new nanotechnology could dramatically increase the energy efficiency and reduce the financial and environmental costs of producing desalinated and recycled water for Australia.

Interested in nanotechnology and graffiti? Applications are now open for a week-long masterclass presented by the Graffiti Research Lab (NY), from 3-7 March, 2008 at Artspace during the Adelaide Festival. Evan Roth and James Powderly of the Graffiti Research Lab (GRL) are dedicated to outfitting street artists with open source technologies for urban communication. GRL have been touring the globe, demonstrating and teaching new graffiti technologies and DIY skills to diverse public audiences. So why are we interested? Becuase NanoVic and Bridge8 will be providing nanomaterials for this masterclass in the interests of public art and communicating technology.  There are 9 places available for SA participants and 5 places for other national participants.  Download an application form from Carclew Youth Arts. Applications close 16 November 2007.  For further information please contact Annemarie Kohn on 08 8267 5111 or akohn@carclew.org.au.

Being somewhat of a photography enthusiast I cannot help but to blog about Nikon’s new “Nano Crystal Coat” technology, employed in a recently released range of lenses. According to the Nikon lens glossary “Nano Crystal Coat is an antireflective coating that … virtually eliminates internal lens element reflections across a wide range of wavelengths, and is particularly effective in reducing ghost and flare peculiar to ultra-wideangle lenses”. The coating uses multiple layers of a low-refractive index material, which “features ultra-fine crystallized particles of nano size”.

I’m often asked: “Is there nano in the iPod nano, or is it just a marketing ploy?”. I’ve been confident in myself that the circuitry, the memory, and the screen all contained nanostructured materials, but I’d privately wondered if these were important – did they make the device as distinctive and powerful as it is?

The latest issue of Nature has provided the answer. In an article about “The physics prize inside the iPod”, Geoff Brumfiel explains that the key effect is giant magnetoresistance (GMR). The effect has been heralded as one of the first major applications of the fields of nanotechnology and ’spintronics’, opening up a way to build much smaller magnetic heads. Basically the heads consist of multiple layers of magnetic and non-magnetic materials only tens of nanometres thick. When all the layers were aligned in the same direction, electrons with the same alignment passed through the material easily, whereas those with the opposite alignment struggled. But when the layers were organized in an alternating ‘up-down’ alignment, all electrons encountered resistance. The net effect was a rise in resistance that was much bigger than any seen before. This led to devices that are very sensitive to tiny magnetic fields.

I’m delighted. The iPod is one of the most exciting developments of the last decade, and we can now confidently claim it in the nano family!