Home > Press > New 'frozen smoke' may improve robotic surgery, energy storage
UCF associate professor Lei Zhai worked with fellow professors Saiful Khondaker, Sudipta Seal and Quanfang Chen.
Credit: Jason Greene |
Abstract:
A spongy substance that could be mistaken for packing material has the nanotechnology world buzzing.
University of Central Florida Associate Professor Lei Zhai and postdoctoral associate Jianhua Zou have engineered the world's lightest carbon material in such a way that it could be used to detect pollutants and toxic substances, improve robotic surgery techniques and store energy more efficiently.
The new material belongs to the family of the lightest solid, also known by its technical name of aerogel or its common nickname of "frozen smoke."
Zhai's team worked with UCF professors Saiful Khondaker, Sudipta Seal and Quanfang Chen to create multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) aerogel. Carbon nanotubes are so small that thousands fit on a single strand of human hair. And using the nanotubes instead of silica (major material in sand), the foundation for traditional aerogel, increases the materials' practical use.
For the first time, even the tiniest pressure change can be detected and tracked. Strips of MWCNT aerogel could be used in robotic fingers and hands to make them super sensitive and give them the ability to distinguish between holding a power saw or a scalpel - a distinction necessary for use in surgery.
Because the nanotubes have a large surface area , great amounts of energy could be stored in the aerogel, increasing the capacity of lithium batteries or supercapacitors used to store energy generated from renewable resources such as wind and the sun.
Combining the larger surface area and improved electrical conductivity is also important in developing sensors that can detect toxins capable of invading the food or water supply. And the same technique can be used to develop equipment capable of detecting even trace amounts of explosives.
"This has many potential applications and could really open up new areas to explore that we haven't even imagined yet," Zhai said.
A report detailing Zhai's work appears in the journal ACS Nano.
Zhai joined UCF in 2005 after he completed his post-doctoral work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has a master's degree in Chemistry from East Tennessee State University and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University. Zhai has written dozens of peer-reviewed articles, has obtained six patents and is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences. He is the recipient of National Science Foundation CAREER Award.
####
About University of Central Florida
UCF Stands For Opportunity --The University of Central Florida is a metropolitan research university that ranks as the second largest in the nation with more than 56,000 students. UCF's first classes were offered in 1968. The university offers impressive academic and research environments that power the region's economic development. UCF's culture of opportunity is driven by our diversity, Orlando environment, history of entrepreneurship and our youth, relevance and energy.
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala
UCF News & Information
407-823-6120
Copyright © University of Central Florida
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Related News Press |
News and information
Simulating magnetization in a Heisenberg quantum spin chain April 5th, 2024
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Nanotubes/Buckyballs/Fullerenes/Nanorods/Nanostrings
Tests find no free-standing nanotubes released from tire tread wear September 8th, 2023
Detection of bacteria and viruses with fluorescent nanotubes July 21st, 2023
Nanomedicine
New micromaterial releases nanoparticles that selectively destroy cancer cells April 5th, 2024
Good as gold - improving infectious disease testing with gold nanoparticles April 5th, 2024
Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024
Discoveries
Chemical reactions can scramble quantum information as well as black holes April 5th, 2024
New micromaterial releases nanoparticles that selectively destroy cancer cells April 5th, 2024
Utilizing palladium for addressing contact issues of buried oxide thin film transistors April 5th, 2024
Announcements
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
Premium Products | ||
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||