Research Highlights in 2008

Carbon nanotubes can be selectively organized into effective thin-film transistors with the help of surface chemistry

Fullerenes inserted inside carbon nanotubes have been fused together to form chains that exhibit interesting rotational and translational motion

Titanate nanofibres are effective in the removal of radioactive ions from contaminated water

Hot iron nanoparticles could be used to carve electronic circuits out of graphene sheets

Silver thin films with nanoscale holes could prove useful as optically transparent electrodes for organic solar cells

Nanoparticles can improve the spatial resolution of mass spectrometry imaging of mammalian tissues.

New circuits that control the movement of excitons could directly link devices to photonic signals

Cotton fibres coated with carbon nanotubes show better flame retardancy, improved ultraviolet blocking and enhanced water-repellent properties

Diamond tips with single nitrogen vacancies might enable scanning probe microscopes to detect single spins

Individual nanoparticles attached to a surface can capture particles 100 times their size

Different microscopy and spectroscopy techniques have been combined to probe dye molecules with exquisite detail

It is possible to make an artificial molecule in a carbon nanotube

Gold nanostructures can amplify a laser beam in order to generate extreme ultraviolet radiation

The catalytic capabilities of gold nanoparticles are related to the high number of 'corner atoms' in the nanoparticles

Cherenkov radiation can be used to study the optical properties of silicon nanocomposite materials

Nanopatterning the surface of tiny bubbles can keep them stable for over a year

Graphene can be made water soluble by adding sulphonic acid groups

A molecular rotator can be slowed down by changing the position of a component in a light-driven reaction

Self-assembled nanofibres have been used to promote the growth of neuronal cells in mice after spinal cord injuries.