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Nano-Sandwich Technique Slims Down Solar Cells, Improves Efficiency

By Guest PostJune 29, 2012Scienceamorphous silicon, Berkeley, cadmium telluride, chemical fuel, efficiency, electricity, linyou cao, nano-sandwich, nanometer, nanostructures, nm, organic materials, paul alivisatos, solar cells, solar energy, substrate, technique, Technology, university of california, vivian ferry

Researchers from North Carolina State University have found a way to create much slimmer thin-film solar cells without sacrificing the cells’ ability to absorb solar energy. Making the cells thinner should significantly decrease manufacturing costs for the technology.

“We were able to create solar cells using a ‘nanoscale sandwich’ design with an ultra-thin ‘active’ layer,” says Dr. Linyou Cao, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the research. “For example, we created a solar cell with an active layer of amorphous silicon that is only 70 nanometers (nm) thick. This is a significant improvement, because typical thin-film solar cells currently on the market that also use amorphous silicon have active layers between 300 and 500 nm thick.” The “active” layer in thin-film solar cells is the layer of material that actually absorbs solar energy for conversion into electricity or chemical fuel. (more…)

Curcumin Shows Promise in Attacking Parkinson’s Disease

By Guest PostApril 1, 2012Healthalpha synuclein protein, amino acid, basir ahmad, body temperature, clumping, curcumin, disease, folding, lisa lapidus, parkinson's, protein, spice, technique, turmeric

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Curcumin, a compound found in the spice turmeric, is proving effective at preventing clumping of a protein involved in Parkinson’s disease, says a Michigan State University researcher.

A team of researchers led by Basir Ahmad, an MSU postdoctoral researcher, demonstrated earlier this year that slow-wriggling alpha-synuclein proteins are the cause of clumping, or aggregation, which is the first step of diseases such as Parkinson’s. A new study led by Ahmad, which appears in the current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, shows that curcumin can help prevent clumping. (more…)

Yale Research Offers New Way To See Inside Solids

By Guest PostMarch 20, 2012Science3d mris, animal bone, array, artifact, assess, biological sample, bone quality, cow bone, gas bearing rock, hydrogen atom, joseph a madri, joshua n vanhouten, karl l insogna, magnetic resonance imaging, material, merideth a frey, michael michaud, mouse liver, mri, oil, phosphorus content, quadratic echo mri, quantum computing, radio wave, sean barrett, solid object, technique, tissue, yale university

Researchers at Yale University have developed a new way of seeing inside solid objects, including animal bones and tissues, potentially opening a vast array of dense materials to a new type of detailed internal inspection.

The technique, a novel kind of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), creates three-dimensional images of hard and soft solids based on signals emitted by their phosphorus content. (more…)

Freezing Technique Exposes Molecule-to-Molecule Attachments

By Guest PostFebruary 5, 2012Sciencealignment, atomic attachment, complex molecule, cryogenic infared spectroscopy, drug, etienne garand, freezing, large molecules, mark johnson, mechanics, michael z kamrath, molecular structure, nmr, non covalent interaction, non covalently bonded molecules, nuclear magnetic resonance, reactive system, standard analytical technique, supramolecular association, technique, yale university

Researchers at Yale University have developed a new way of exposing the atomic attachments that keep complex molecules in precise alignment. The new method could provide insight into the mechanics of a variety of molecular structures, potentially aiding efforts to manipulate them for drug discovery and other purposes.

“The method appears likely to become a central tool for the characterization of processes that depend on supramolecular associations,” said Mark Johnson, a Yale chemistry professor and the principal investigator of the technique, which is described in a paper published this month in the journal Science. Supramolecular associations are interactions taking place between molecules, rather than within them. (more…)

Researchers Devise New Means For Creating Elastic Conductors

By Guest PostJanuary 25, 2012Sciencebuckle nanotube, carbon nanotube, conductive material, elastic conductor, elastic electronic device, elastic substrate, electric signal, feng xu, nanotubes buckle, north carolina state university, ribbons, stretchable electronics, technique, yong zhu

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new method for creating elastic conductors made of carbon nanotubes, which will contribute to large-scale production of the material for use in a new generation of elastic electronic devices.

“We’re optimistic that this new approach could lead to large-scale production of stretchable conductors, which would then expedite research and development of elastic electronic devices,” says Dr. Yong Zhu, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at NC State, and lead author of a paper describing the new technique. (more…)

Study Improves Understanding of Method for Creating Multi-Metal Nanoparticles

By Guest PostDecember 18, 2010Sciencealloy nanoparticles, atoms, chemical reactions, core, digestive ripening, electric field of light, environmental applications, gold, gold core, gold silver alloy, industrial, joe tracy, multi component metal nanoparticles, nanoparticles, optical properties, security technology, shell nanoparticles, silver, silver shell, single metal nanoparticles, synthesis, technique, tunable properties, two metals

A new study from researchers at North Carolina State University sheds light on how a technique that is commonly used for making single-metal nanoparticles can be extended to create nanoparticles consisting of two metals – and that have tunable properties. The study also provides insight into the optical properties of some of these nanoparticles.

Tuning the optical properties of nanoparticles is of interest for applications such as security technology, and for use in making chemical reactions more efficient – which has multiple industrial and environmental applications. (more…)

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