Nanotechnology Now

• About Us
  
  • Advertising
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Comments
  • Friends
  • Contact
• Nanotechnology
• News
  
  • Current News
  • Press Releases
  • Submit Press
  • Press kit
  • Interviews
• Columns
• Products
  
  • Our Products
  • Books
  • Featured Books
• Directories
  
  • Companies/Academic
  • Events
  • Glossary
  • Best Of
• Career Center
• Nano-Social Network
• Nano Consulting
• My Account

Home > News > From nano to macro - moldable metals shape things from the bottom up

April 24th, 2007

From nano to macro - moldable metals shape things from the bottom up

Abstract:
The promise of revolutionary bottom-up nanotechnology is based on a vision of molecular assembly technologies where nanoscale materials and structures self-assemble to microscale structures and finally to macroscopic devices and products. We are a long way from realizing this vision but researchers are busily laying the foundation for the things to come. Assembling nanoscopic components into macroscopic materials has been an appealing goal but one of the enormous difficulties lies in bridging approximately six orders of magnitude that separate the nanoscale from the macroscopic world. New research at Northwestern University in the U.S. helps to overcomes this difficulty by dividing the assembly process into two manageable sub-steps. First, nanoparticles are assembled into larger, 100 nm-size, spherical building blocks, which are both deformable and "sticky" towards one another. Once assembled, these components "glue" together like pieces of clay to give millimeter or even centimeter-sized structures. The novelty of this technique is both the hierarchical assembly approach (i.e., atoms to nanoparticles to supraspheres to macroscopic materials) and the resulting "soft" structures, which contrast with previously reported hard and brittle nanoparticles assemblies/crystals. This research takes a further step in making nanoscale discoveries relevant to our everyday - macroscopic - world.

Source:
nanowerk.com

Bookmark:

Related News Press

Molecular Nanotechnology

Graphene joins the race to redefine the ampere May 12th, 2013

Conceptual Nanomedical Lipofuscin Removal Strategy April 29th, 2013

A giant step toward miniaturization: Nanotechnology transforms molecular beams into functional nano-devices with controlled atomic architectures April 3rd, 2013

ASU Biodesign Institute scientists develop innovative twists to DNA nanotechnology March 21st, 2013

Self Assembly

Beautiful "flowers" self-assemble in a beaker: Elaborate nanostructures blossom from a chemical reaction perfected at Harvard May 17th, 2013

DNA-Guided Assembly Yields Novel Ribbon-Like Nanostructures: Approach could be useful in fabricating new kinds of materials with engineered properties May 16th, 2013

Production of Sensitive Hydrogen Peroxide Biosensor Using Silver Nanoparticles April 26th, 2013

Scientists see nanoparticles form larger structures in real time April 22nd, 2013

Discoveries

Beautiful "flowers" self-assemble in a beaker: Elaborate nanostructures blossom from a chemical reaction perfected at Harvard May 17th, 2013

Artificial Forest for Solar Water-Splitting: Berkeley Lab Researchers Report First Fully Integrated Artificial Photosynthesis Nanosystem May 17th, 2013

Moth-Inspired Nanostructures Take the Color Out of Thin Films May 17th, 2013

Scientists capture first direct proof of Hofstadter butterfly effect May 17th, 2013

Materials

Advancements and developments of solid-state nanopores sensors May 16th, 2013

Physicists discover a new kind of friction: Friction in the nano-world May 16th, 2013

Squishy hydrogels may be the ticket for studying biological effects of nanoparticles May 15th, 2013

Pitt Chemists Demonstrate Nanoscale Alloys So Bright They Could Have Potential Medical Applications: “Think about a particle that will not only help researchers detect cancer sooner but be used to treat the tumor, too.” May 15th, 2013

Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals

Moth-Inspired Nanostructures Take the Color Out of Thin Films May 17th, 2013

Add boron for better batteries: Rice University theorists say graphene-boron mix shows promise for lithium-ion batteries May 17th, 2013

DNA-Guided Assembly Yields Novel Ribbon-Like Nanostructures: Approach could be useful in fabricating new kinds of materials with engineered properties May 16th, 2013

Advancements and developments of solid-state nanopores sensors May 16th, 2013