Molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) is a crystalline compound that if pure enough can be used as a transistor. Its molecular structure is an atomic sandwich made up of one molybdenum atom for every two tellurium atoms[HY1]. It was first made in the 1960’s via several different fabrication methods, but until last year it had never been made in a pure enough form to be suitable for electronics.

There are no magic bullets for global energy needs. But fuel cells in which electrical energy is harnessed directly from live, self-sustaining chemical reactions promise cheaper alternatives to fossil fuels.

Chemists have discovered an unexpected way to use plasmonic metal, harvesting the high energy electrons excited by light in plasmon and then using this energy to do chemistry. Plasmon is a collective motion of free electrons in a metal that strongly absorbs and scatters light.

Easily manufactured, low cost, lightweight, flexible dielectric polymers that can operate at high temperatures may be the solution to energy storage and power conversion in electric vehicles and other high temperature applications, according to a team of engineers.

An international team of physicists has used carbon nanotubes to enhance the efficiency of laser-driven particle acceleration. This significant advance brings compact sources of ionizing radiation for medical purposes closer to reality.

Researchers show that magnetic nanoparticles encased in oily liquid shells can bind together in water, much like sand particles mixed with the right amount of water can form sandcastles.

One big problem faced by electrodes in rechargeable batteries, as they go through repeated cycles of charging and discharging, is that they must expand and shrink during each cycle — sometimes doubling in volume, and then shrinking back. This can lead to repeated shedding and reformation of its “skin” layer that consumes lithium irreversibly, degrading the battery’s performance over time. Now researchers have found a novel way around that problem: creating an electrode made of nanoparticles with a solid shell, and a “yolk” inside that can change size again and again without affecting the shell.

Researchers have succeeded in clearly identifying why droplets on soft, squishy surfaces react differently than on hard surfaces. A water droplet, for example, moves very differently over jelly than over glass, but the science of how this works has never been investigated. Better understanding of this phenomenon is of importance for a variety of applications where droplets come into contact with extremely soft, deformable materials, as is the case in 3D printing, soft contact lenses or sauces such as mayonnaise.

Imagine being able to test your food in your very own kitchen to quickly determine if it carried any deadly microbes. New research may make that possible.

A DNA-loaded nanoparticle has been designed that can pass through the mucus barrier covering conducting airways of lung tissue. Nanotechnology could one day provide an inhaled vehicle to deliver targeted therapeutic genes for those suffering from life-threatening lung disorders, the investigators say.