Most techniques to prevent frost and ice formation on surfaces rely heavily on heating or liquid chemicals that need to be repeatedly reapplied because they easily wash away. Even advanced anti-icing materials have problems functioning under conditions of high humidity and subzero conditions, when frost and ice formation go into overdrive. Now, researchers from the…
Measuring the Temperature of Two-Dimensional Materials at the Atomic Level
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago describe a new technique for precisely measuring the temperature and behavior of new two-dimensional materials that will allow engineers to design smaller and faster microprocessors. Their findings are reported in the journal Physical Review Letters. Newly developed two-dimensional materials, such as graphene — which consists of a…
Bubble-Recoil Could Be Used to Cool Microchips, Even in Space
The bubbles that form on a heated surface create a tiny recoil when they leave it, like the kick from a gun firing blanks. Now researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago, under funding from NASA, have shown how this minuscule force can be harnessed to mix liquid coolant around high-power microelectronics — in…
New Nanomaterial Offers Promise in Bendable, Wearable Electronic Devices
An ultrathin film that is both transparent and highly conductive to electric current has been produced by a cheap and simple method devised by an international team of nanomaterials researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago and Korea University. The film — actually a mat of tangled nanofiber, electroplated to form a “self-junctioned copper…
Magnetic Nanocubes Self-Assemble into Helical Superstructures
Materials made from nanoparticles hold promise for myriad applications, from improved solar energy production to perfect touch screens. The challenge in creating these wonder-materials is organizing the nanoparticles into orderly arrangements. Nanoparticles of magnetite, the most abundant magnetic material on earth, are found in living organisms from bacteria to birds. Nanocrystals of magnetite self-assemble into…