Research Highlights in 2009

Theoretical studies using high performance computers reveal means of improving TiO₂ catalysts for more efficient production of hydrogen gas.

Compressed carbon dioxide is used to control the self-assembly of surfactants at ambient temperatures without cosurfactants.

Researchers in Singapore and the USA show how to choose the best candidate alloys for making metallic glasses.

Atomic layer deposition enables the fabrication of defect-free zinc oxide transistors for high-performance transparent displays.

Trapping tin oxide between graphene nanosheets produces higher performance lithium ion batteries.

Photonic beads enable label-free multiplex detection of biomolecules.

Researchers prove for the first time that graphene sheets can exist with both closed and open edges.

Room temperature ferromagnetism is observed in sheets of graphene produced by a solution process using graphene oxide.

The energy structure of Fe-based superconductors shows a complexity similar to that of some of the cuprates.

Silicon nanospheres are promising new fluorescent biological probing the properties of cells, proteins and DNA.

Tweaking polymer molecular structure allows memory type to be tuned.

A new family of star-shaped macromolecules enables the realization of efficient blue lasers.

Microclusters of functionalized gold particles enable the synthesis of surfaces whose ability to repel or attract water is controlled externally.

Molecularly engineered dopants yield brighter light-emitting diodes emitting authentic blue light.

Use of nitroxyl radicals allows safe real-time imaging of the movement of drugs in the brain.

Encapsulated fullerenes make tiny linear motors inside carbon nanotubes.

Australian scientists have developed a new approach to produce large quantities of graphene using only ethanol and sodium metal.

High-resolution electron microscopy reveals the stepwise crystallization of lithium iron phosphate, widely used in lithium-ion batteries.

A technique that selectively alters the wetting characteristics of a surface provides a simple but potentially powerful means of patterning organic materials for electronics and other device applications.

A simple new optical trapping experiment demonstrates the complex processes involved in sticking things together.