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A new magneto-optical material consisting of a nanostructured gold film on top of a ferromagnetic dielectric demonstrated significantly enhanced Faraday and Kerr effects.
The cellular uptake of gold nanoparticles is sensitive to the way cells are positioned and the effects of nanoparticle sedimentation on uptake should be considered in future in vitro studies of large and/or heavy nanoparticles.
Composites composed of single-walled carbon nanotubes and titania nanocrystals can be synthesized using a genetically engineered M13 virus as a template, and used to create highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cells.
Single-electron transistors are written at the heterointerface of two oxides using an atomic force microscope tip, and the electrons in the device can be controlled by gating and the ferroelectric state of the heterostructure.
Silver nanoparticles with thin palladium shells are active and selective catalysts for the production of hydrogen from formic acid at room temperature.
Giant magnetoresistive nanosensors are used to quantify the binding kinetics of proteins at the surface of the sensor array, thus offering a sensitive assay for applications in antibody and drug development, and clinical diagnostics.
Colloidal dispersions of carbon nanotubes in polymers can be used to make electrically conductive composites with percolation thresholds that can be tailored by adding latex particles.
The temperatures of the graphene–metal contacts in working transistors have been measured with a resolution of ∼10 nm, revealing the presence of both heating and cooling effects.
Ultrathin large-area solid-oxide membranes can be fabricated using lithographically patterned metallic grids and used to make fuel cells that operate at relatively low temperatures.
Pregnant mice treated with silica and titanium dioxide nanoparticles show abnormalities in the placenta and have smaller uterine and fetuses than untreated control mice and those receiving larger particles.
Thin films of single-wall carbon nanotube have been used to create stretchable devices that can be incorporated into clothes and used to detect human motions.
Self-assembled nanostructured cathodes allow lithium-ion and nickel-metal hydride batteries to charge and discharge at very high rates without significant loss of capacity.
Insulating thin films with a random structure can undergo a nanoscale metal–insulator transition by making the film thickness size less than or more than the electron diffusion distance.
Nitrogen-vacancy-centre spin coherence can be used to detect two or more distant nuclear spins if they are strongly bonded to each other and to measure nuclear magnetic resonances of single molecules.
Hybrid structures made of nanoporous gold and nanocrystalline manganese dioxide offer high specific capacitances and high charge–discharge rates, which makes them promising candidates for the electrode materials in electrochemical supercapacitors.