When you read about electrifying art, “electrifying” isn’t usually a verb. But an artist working with a Rice University lab is in fact making artwork that can deliver a jolt. The Rice lab of chemist James Tour introduced laser-induced graphene (LIG) to the world in 2014, and now the researchers are making art with the…
Microbullet Hits Confirm Graphene’s Strength
Graphene’s great strength appears to be determined by how well it stretches before it breaks, according to Rice University scientists who tested the material’s properties by peppering it with microbullets. The two-dimensional carbon honeycomb discovered a decade ago is thought to be much stronger than steel. But the Rice lab of materials scientist Edwin “Ned”…
Phosphorus a Promising Candidate for Nano-Electronic Applications
Defects damage the ideal properties of many two-dimensional materials, like carbon-based graphene. Phosphorus just shrugs. That makes it a promising candidate for nano-electronic applications that require stable properties, according to new research by Rice University theoretical physicist Boris Yakobson and his colleagues. In a paper in the American Chemical Society journal Nano Letters, the Rice…
Tough Foam from Tiny Sheets
Tough, ultralight foam of atom-thick sheets can be made to any size and shape through a chemical process invented at Rice University. In microscopic images, the foam dubbed “GO-0.5BN” looks like a nanoscale building, with floors and walls that reinforce each other. The structure consists of a pair of two-dimensional materials: floors and walls of…
Nanoreporters Tell ‘Sour’ Oil from ‘Sweet’
Rice University’s hydrogen sulfide nanoreporters gather intel on oil before pumping. Houston – Scientists at Rice University have created a nanoscale detector that checks for and reports on the presence of hydrogen sulfide in crude oil and natural gas while they’re still in the ground. The nanoreporter is based on nanometer-sized carbon material developed by…
Rebar Technique Strengthens Case for Graphene
Rice University lab makes hybrid nanotube-graphene material that promises to simplify manufacturing. Houston – Carbon nanotubes are reinforcing bars that make two-dimensional graphene much easier to handle in a new hybrid material grown by researchers at Rice University. View: Hybrid Nanotube-Graphene Material The Rice lab of chemist James Tour set nanotubes into graphene in a…
Graphene Nanoribbons an Ice-Melting Coat for Radar
Ribbons of ultrathin graphene combined with polyurethane paint meant for cars is just right for deicing sensitive military radar domes, according to scientists at Rice University. The Rice lab of chemist James Tour, in collaboration with Lockheed Martin, developed the compound to protect marine and airborne radars with a robust coating that is also transparent…
Morphing Material Has Mighty Potential
Heating a sheet of plastic may not bring it to life – but it sure looks like it does in new experiments at Rice University. The materials created by Rice polymer scientist Rafael Verduzco and his colleagues start as flat slabs, but they morph into shapes that can be controlled by patterns written into their…
Coal Yields Plenty of Graphene Quantum Dots
The prospect of turning coal into fluorescent particles may sound too good to be true, but the possibility exists, thanks to scientists at Rice University. The Rice lab of chemist James Tour found simple methods to reduce three kinds of coal into graphene quantum dots (GQDs), microscopic discs of atom-thick graphene oxide that could be…
‘White Graphene’ Halts Rust in High Temps
Atomically thin sheets of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) have the handy benefit of protecting what’s underneath from oxidizing even at very high temperatures, Rice University researchers have discovered. One or several layers of the material sometimes called “white graphene” keep materials from oxidizing – or rusting — up to 1,100 degrees Celsius (2,012 degrees Fahrenheit),…
Unzipped Nanotubes Unlock Potential for Batteries
Researchers at Rice University have come up with a new way to boost the efficiency of the ubiquitous lithium ion (LI) battery by employing ribbons of graphene that start as carbon nanotubes. Proof-of-concept anodes — the part of the battery that stores lithium ions — built with graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) and tin oxide showed an…
2D Electronics Take a Step Forward
Rice, Oak Ridge labs make semiconducting films for atom-thick circuits. Houston – Scientists at Rice University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have advanced on the goal of two-dimensional electronics with a method to control the growth of uniform atomic layers of molybdenum disulfide (MDS). MDS, a semiconductor, is one of a trilogy of materials…
Add Boron for Better Batteries
Frustration led to revelation when Rice University scientists determined how graphene might be made useful for high-capacity batteries. Calculations by the Rice lab of theoretical physicist Boris Yakobson found a graphene/boron anode should be able to hold a lot of lithium and perform at a proper voltage for use in lithium-ion batteries. The discovery appears…