Today's Nanotech Pulse
Bioinspired Aerogel Pulls Contaminated Water from Deep Soil
Researchers at Zhejiang University have engineered a bioinspired chitosan‑carbon aerogel that mimics plant transpiration to extract contaminated water from soil depths of up to 1.5 meters. The ice‑templated structure creates vertically aligned channels that double water‑wicking speed and boost copper ion transport eightfold, while one‑sun illumination drives solar‑evaporation of the extracted water.
Also developing:
By the numbers: InPHRED raises $4M seed round
Nanodevice Produces Continuous Electricity From Evaporation
Researchers at EPFL’s Laboratory of Nanoscience for Energy Technology have unveiled a silicon‑nanopillar device that generates continuous electricity from evaporating saltwater. By deliberately coupling heat and sunlight, the system drives ion migration and electron excitation, producing a stable 1 V output with a power density of 0.25 W m⁻². The three‑layer architecture separates evaporation, ion transport, and charge collection, allowing precise tuning and long‑term durability thanks to an oxide coating. Published in Nature Communications, the work positions hydrovoltaic technology as a viable source for autonomous power.
Researchers Develop Graphene-Engineered MXene for PFAS Capture
Researchers from multiple institutions have created a graphene‑enhanced MXene electroadsorbent (MXene@rGO‑LDH, MGL) that dramatically improves PFAS removal from water. The composite achieves a maximum PFOA adsorption capacity of 119.5 mg g⁻¹—almost twice that of pristine MXene—and reaches 98.45% removal at pH 4 under...
Oral Nanozyme Treats Colitis-Linked Mental Disorders via Gut-Brain Axis
Researchers at Yangzhou and Nanjing Universities have created an oral polysaccharide‑engineered nanozyme—fucoidan‑cerium nanocomplexes (FucCeNCs)—to treat colitis‑associated anxiety and depression. The nanocomplex combines cerium’s superoxide dismutase‑like activity with fucoidan’s prebiotic properties, enabling simultaneous reactive oxygen/nitrogen species scavenging and gut microbiota modulation....
Quantum 'Ghost Imaging' Paves Way for Nanoscale Images at Lower X-Ray Dose
Researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory’s NSLS‑II have demonstrated quantum‑inspired ghost imaging using entangled X‑ray photon pairs. By correlating a photon that passes through a sample with its untouched partner, they produced high‑resolution images of a tungsten cat and a cardamom...
Antioxidant Nanoparticles May Protect Male Fertility During Chemotherapy
A preclinical study published in Reproductive and Developmental Medicine found that combining melatonin with zinc oxide nanoparticles mitigates cyclophosphamide‑induced reproductive toxicity in male rats. The antioxidant duo restored testosterone and luteinizing hormone levels, lowered oxidative stress markers, and preserved spermatogenic...
A Liquid Ge(IV) Precursor for Low Temperature Plasma Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition of Germanium Oxide Thin Films
Researchers have introduced a liquid germanium(IV) precursor, Ge(DMP)4, featuring the 3-(N,N-dimethylamino)propyl ligand. The compound combines high volatility, exceptional thermal stability, and non‑pyrophoric handling, enabling plasma‑enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) of germanium oxide from 40 °C to 240 °C. Across this wide temperature...
Intermingled Coordination Environments Enable Defect‐Engineered Metal–Polyphenol/G‐Quadruplex Hydrogel for Enhanced N2‐to‐NH3 Photoconversion
The researchers confined a Bi3+–caffeic acid complex inside a guanosine monophosphate‑based G‑quadruplex hydrogel, generating intermingled metal‑catechol and metal‑phosphate coordination sites that produce defect‑rich heterojunctions. This biomimetic matrix mimics ion‑channel pathways, boosting charge transport and nitrogen diffusion. Under visible‑light irradiation the...
Liquid‐Processed 2D Aromatic Amorphous Carbon: Defect Engineering and Universal Transport Scaling
Researchers have introduced a deterministic method to convert liquid‑processed graphene oxide into a quasi‑amorphous 2D carbon, termed quenched reduced graphene oxide (qRGO), by applying rapid thermal quenching. The kinetic control of oxygen removal creates a distorted sp2 aromatic network with...
Gold@MnFe‐Prussian Blue Analog Yolk@Shell Nanoparticles for Light‐Triggered and pH‐Sensitive Drug Release
Researchers have engineered Au@MnFe‑Prussian Blue Analog yolk‑shell nanoparticles that combine a hollow cavity with a functional shell for biomedical use. The synthesis creates a ~75 nm interior, achieving roughly 50% loading efficiency for the chemotherapeutic doxorubicin. Partial etching and redeposition of...
Achieving High‐Efficiency Type I Multimodal Photosensitizers via a Synergistic Rigidity‐Flexibility Strategy for Hypoxia‐Resistant Tumor Therapy
Researchers introduced a donor‑acceptor (D‑A) molecular design that couples a rigid coplanar backbone with flexible side chains, dramatically raising near‑infrared molar extinction and fluorescence brightness. The resulting phenothiazine‑based photosensitizer, EL‑TPO2F, also exhibits strong type‑I reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and...
Controlled Preparation of Vanadium Pentoxide Films and Their Multicolor Electrochromic Properties
Researchers fabricated vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) films on indium tin oxide substrates using a simple electrophoretic deposition (EPD) process, precisely tuning voltage and deposition time. Optimal conditions—5 minutes at the identified voltage—yielded uniform films that display four distinct electrochromic colors: yellow, yellow‑green,...
Thermal Performance Analysis of Magnetohydrodynamics with Carbon Nanotubes on a Stretching/Shrinking Porous Sheet
The study analytically examines magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow of carbon‑nanotube (CNT) nanofluids over a stretching or shrinking porous sheet, incorporating slip, radiation, and heat source/sink effects. Using similarity transformations, the governing equations are reduced to nonlinear ordinary differential equations and solved...
Shape‑conformal 3D Frameworks Enable Full‑surface Neural Organoid Electrophysiology
If you’re interested in organoid biology and/or 3D bioelectronics, then check out our paper published today in Nature Biomedical Engineering, titled ‘Shape-conformal porous frameworks for full coverage of neural organoids and high-resolution electrophysiology,’ at https://t.co/Y7MzvRQKTm. This work introduces a technology...
New Sodium Ion Battery Stores Twice the Energy and Desalinates Seawater
University of Surrey researchers discovered that retaining water in sodium vanadium oxide dramatically boosts sodium‑ion battery performance. The hydrated nanostructured sodium vanadate (NVOH) stores nearly twice the energy of conventional cathodes, charges faster, and remains stable for over 400 cycles....
Scientists Develop the World’s Tiniest Wireless Brain Implant
Scientists at Cornell University have created a wireless brain implant so small it can sit on a grain of salt, yet still record and transmit neural activity. The device uses light‑based optics for power and data, eliminating bulky wires and...
Pulse Biosciences Inc (PLSE) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Pulse Biosciences reported its first commercial revenue of $86,000 from limited market release of the nPulse platform and Vibrance disposables. The company completed over 200 procedures across pilot programs and advanced multiple clinical studies, including FDA IDE clearance for the...
Mass Production Technology Developed for Ultra-High Color Purity Perovskite Emitters
Professor Tae‑Woo Lee’s team has unveiled a cold‑injection synthesis that mass‑produces perovskite nanocrystals with ultra‑high color purity at ambient temperature, eliminating the need for high‑temperature, vacuum or specialized gas facilities. The process achieves near‑100 % photoluminescence quantum yield and an external...
When Electronics Become Flexible: Atom-Thin Materials for Future Devices
IISER Pune researchers have demonstrated large‑area bismuth oxyselenide (Bi₂O₂Se) nanosheets only a few atomic layers thick, grown by fine‑tuning temperature, gas flow and precursor ratios. The nanosheets were integrated onto a Kapton substrate to create microscopic flexible electronic devices. Even after...
Chemistry-Powered 'Breathing' Membrane Opens and Closes Tiny Pores on Its Own
Researchers at Osaka University have engineered a chemistry‑driven solid‑state membrane that autonomously opens and closes subnanometer pores by reversing the polarity of an applied voltage. The process relies on electrochemical precipitation to block the pore and dissolution to reopen it,...
Ultrasound-Jiggled Nanobubbles Can Crack Cancer's Collagen 'Fortress'
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have shown that ultrasound‑activated nanobubbles can mechanically disrupt the dense collagen matrix surrounding solid tumors, creating a temporary “softening” effect that lasts several days. In a breast‑cancer model, the approach enabled deeper penetration of...
Single‐Particle Kinetics Unravel Aperture‐Size Dominance in Hot‐Carrier Transfer and Product Desorption for Photocatalytic Reactions in Plasmonic Nanocavities
Researchers tuned gold nanocup cavity apertures from 35 to 67 nm to study plasmonic photocatalysis. The medium‑size aperture (~58 nm) delivered the highest turnover rate of 0.59 s⁻¹, outperforming smaller and larger apertures by 2.8‑8.4×. Single‑particle kinetic imaging showed that this optimum arises...
Recycled Thermocol Nanofibers Based Smart Triboelectric Nanogenerators for AI‐Assisted Switching
Researchers transformed waste expanded polystyrene (EPS) into electrospun nanofibers and used them as the tribonegative layer in a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG). The nanofibrous architecture delivers an open‑circuit voltage of about 159 V, a short‑circuit current of 22 µA, and a peak power...
Light‐Controlled Exposure/Blockage of Permanent Cavities in Metal‐Organic Cages‐Based Type II Porous Liquids
Researchers have created the first type II porous liquid whose permanent cavities can be exposed or blocked with light. By attaching azobenzene ligands to a charged metal‑organic cage (MSA) and dissolving it in the bulky ionic liquid P6,6,6,14Cl, they achieved a...
Study on the Plasma‐Induced Synthesis of P‐Ru‐Co(OH)2@PCC for the Electrochemical Reduction of Nitrate
A plasma‑assisted micro‑modulation technique restructures Ru‑doped Co(OH)₂ nanosheets, creating oxygen vacancies and lowering metal oxidation states. These changes boost hydrogen adsorption and nitrate binding, dramatically improving nitrate‑to‑ammonia electrocatalysis under neutral pH. The resulting P‑Ru‑Co(OH)₂@PCC catalyst achieves a record ammonia yield...
An Oral Mucosa‐Inspired Wet‐Adhesion Janus Hydrogel With Asymmetric Bifunctionalities of Antifouling/Antioxidant for Treating Oral Ulcer in Diabetes
Researchers have engineered a wet‑adhesion Janus hydrogel (WAJH) that mimics oral mucosa to treat diabetic oral ulcers. The hydrogel features an antifouling agar/polyacrylamide layer and a tannic‑acid‑rich adhesive layer, delivering adhesion energies of 15 J m⁻² and 316 J m⁻² respectively. Its antioxidant tannic...
Microscopic Mirrors for Future Quantum Networks: A New Way to Make High-Performance Optical Resonators
Harvard SEAS researchers have introduced a micro‑fabrication technique that creates some of the smallest, smoothest mirrors ever made for photon control. By thermally oxidizing silicon, stripping the oxide, and applying a stress‑engineered dielectric stack, the film buckles into a precisely...
Silicon Oxide Memory Moves From Lab to Industry
Silicon Oxide Memory Breakthrough | Lecture 12: From Lab to Industry #science #graphene #pchardware https://t.co/78xHMIA1EU
Graphene-Info Announces a New Edition of Its Graphene-Enhanced Construction Materials Market Report
Graphene‑Info released the February 2026 edition of its Graphene Construction Materials Market Report. The guide expands coverage with new tracked companies, ongoing projects, and research activities as adoption accelerates. It includes datasheets, brochures, analysis of carbon‑reduction benefits, and a focus on...
Nanoparticle-Based Gene Editing Could Expand Treatment Options for Cystic Fibrosis
UCLA researchers have engineered lipid nanoparticles to co‑deliver CRISPR/Cas9 components and a full‑length CFTR gene, achieving precise, mutation‑agnostic insertion in human airway cells. The non‑viral system corrected 3‑4% of cells yet restored up to 100% of normal chloride channel function,...
Injectable Nanocomposite Hemostat Speeds Blood Clotting for Trauma Care
Researchers at Texas A&M have created injectable nanocomposite hemostats that cut blood clotting time from six‑seven minutes to one‑two minutes, slashing bleeding duration by up to 70% in internal hemorrhage models. The devices combine clay‑derived nanosilicates with a shape‑memory foam...
Could Graphene Memristors Tackle AI's Energy Use?
A new review in Nanoenergy Advances argues that graphene‑family memristors and photomemristors can dramatically lower AI’s energy footprint by merging sensing, memory, and computation in a single nanoscale device. The paper shows sub‑volt switching, power consumption as low as 200 nW,...
World's Smallest QR Code Is Tinier than Most Bacteria, Etched Into Ceramic Film
Researchers at TU Wien and Cerabyte have etched the world’s smallest QR code—just 1.98 square µm, smaller than most bacteria—into a ceramic thin film. The 49 nm pixels are invisible to the naked eye and can only be read with an electron microscope....
Twelve-Inch Electrically Anisotropic Boridene for Optoelectronic Computing
Researchers have demonstrated a 12‑inch wafer‑scale synthesis of electrically anisotropic boridene, a two‑dimensional Mo4/3B2‑x material with ordered metal vacancies. The study reports carrier mobilities exceeding 2,000 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ along the high‑conductivity axis and a five‑fold anisotropy ratio, enabling directional charge transport for...
Nanoengineering of Non-Aqueous Liquid Electrolyte Solutions for Future Lithium Metal Batteries
Researchers are applying nanoengineering principles to design non‑aqueous liquid electrolytes that reshape solvation structures for lithium‑metal batteries. By manipulating solvent‑salt interactions and creating localized high‑concentration environments, the new formulations achieve Coulombic efficiencies above 99.9% and enable fast‑charging at high voltages....
COF Scaffold Membrane with Gate‑lane Nanostructure for Efficient Li+/Mg2+ Separation
Researchers from Tianjin University, NUS and Sichuan University unveiled a covalent‑organic‑framework (COF) scaffold membrane featuring a gate‑lane nanostructure that simultaneously achieves record‑high Li⁺/Mg²⁺ selectivity (231.9) and high Li⁺ flux (11.5 L m⁻² h⁻¹ bar⁻¹). The membrane’s positively charged gating layer rejects Mg²⁺ while an...
MXene Nanomaterials Enter a New Dimension Multilayer Nanomaterial: MXene Flakes Created at Drexel University Show New Promise as 1D Scrolls
Researchers at Drexel University have developed a scalable method to roll two‑dimensional MXene flakes into one‑dimensional nanoscrolls, creating tubular structures up to ten thousand times thinner than a water pipe. The technique reliably produces 10 grams of scrolls across six MXene...
Decoding Hydrogen‑bond Network of Electrolyte for Cryogenic Durable Aqueous Zinc‑ion Batteries
Researchers at Southern University of Science and Technology and partners introduced a dual‑additive electrolyte—glycerol and methylsulfonamide—that reconfigures the hydrogen‑bond network of aqueous zinc‑ion batteries. The reformulated solvation shell suppresses dendrite formation, hydrogen‑evolution corrosion, and freezes the electrolyte down to –45 °C....
Beyond Silicon: Electronics at the Scale of a Single Molecule
Researchers report that molecular electronics is moving from proof‑of‑concept to practical architectures as single‑molecule switches, diodes and transistors become more stable and reproducible. Advances in nanogap fabrication, self‑assembled layers and carbon‑based electrodes have reduced variability that long hindered the field....
From Sensors to Smart Systems: The Rise of AI-Driven Photonic Noses
The 2025 review in *Microsystems & Nanoengineering* details how photonic noses combine optical sensing with AI to create highly selective, drift‑free chemical detectors. By leveraging colorimetric, refractive‑index, absorption and spectroscopy techniques, these devices generate rich spectral fingerprints that machine‑learning models...
Metasurfaces Smooth Light to Boost Magnetic Sensing Precision
Researchers at Beihang and Westlake Universities have demonstrated a silicon‑based metasurface that converts a Gaussian laser beam into a spatially uniform pumping field by encoding intensity into polarization. The planar device eliminates the need for bulky beam‑shaping optics and works...
Projecting Light to Dispense Liquids: A New Route to Ultra-Precise Microdroplets
Researchers at Southern University of Science and Technology have unveiled an optoelectrowetting platform that uses programmable light patterns to dispense nanoliter droplets with unprecedented precision. By projecting dynamic illumination onto a microfluidic chip, the system creates virtual electrodes that guide...
Key Obstacle to Integrated Bioelectronic Implants Removed with Use of Solid-State Hydrogel
Swedish researchers have created a photo‑patternable solid‑state hydrogel electrolyte using i‑carrageenan and PEGDA, achieving ionic conductivity above 10 mS cm⁻¹ and feature sizes down to 15 µm. The material replaces liquid electrolytes in organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs), enabling fast, dense, and flexible circuits...
Invisible Battery Parts Finally Seen with Pioneering Technique
Oxford researchers unveiled a patent‑pending staining method that tags lithium‑ion battery polymer binders with silver and bromine, making them visible under electron microscopy. The technique captures nanoscale binder layers and clusters in graphite, silicon and SiOx anodes, revealing distribution patterns...
How Magnetic Interactions Between Neighboring Nanoparticles Influence MRI Contrast
Researchers at the Institute of Nanoscience and Materials (INL) demonstrated that precisely controlling the distance between iron‑oxide nanoparticles using silica shells dramatically alters their magnetic dipolar interactions, boosting T2 MRI contrast. The study shows a rapid increase in contrast as...
Grapheal Secures EIC Support
Grapheal has been awarded European Innovation Council (EIC) support for its PFAST project, which develops fast, field‑deployable graphene sensors for ultra‑trace, real‑time PFAS detection. The award is part of a broader EIC funding round that selected 61 start‑ups and SMEs...
Engineered Disorder in Graphene Unlocks Localization-Enhanced Thermoelectricity
Researchers at Clemson University used argon‑ion irradiation to create controlled defects in single‑layer graphene and discovered a sharp disorder threshold at an interdefect distance of about 20 nm (Raman I_D/I_G ≈ 0.4) where Anderson localization sets in. At this point electron transport switches...
A 'Smart Fluid' You Can Reconfigure with Temperature
Researchers at Hiroshima University and CU Boulder have engineered a temperature‑tunable smart fluid by dispersing porous, perfluorocarbon‑coated silica microrods in a nematic liquid crystal. The surface treatment dramatically reduces anchoring, preventing the strong distortions that cause irreversible particle clumping. By adjusting...
Nanoengineers Realize an On-Chip Excitonic Hyperlens
Nanoengineers have demonstrated the first on‑chip excitonic hyperlens, a compact device that uses exciton‑polariton resonances to achieve negative refraction and sub‑diffraction imaging. The hyperlens is fabricated on a silicon photonic platform and operates at visible wavelengths, delivering resolution up to...
AI Reads Heat: Turning Infrared Images Into Instant Thermal Conductivity Measurements
Researchers at Clemson University have created a physics‑informed machine‑learning model that predicts thermal conductivity of polymer‑composite thermal interface materials directly from infrared images. By converting over 200 IR thermographs into structured temperature fields and training a Random Forest regressor, the...
Sequential Optimization of Multivariate Metal–Organic Framework Based Biocatalysis
The study introduces a sequential Latin hypercube sampling‑coupled Bayesian optimization (LHS‑BO) workflow that simultaneously designs multivariate zirconium‑based enzyme‑@‑MOF (E‑MOF) biocomposites and tunes the downstream glucose oxidase–horseradish peroxidase (GOx‑HRP) cascade. Optimized E‑MOFs ZG67 and ZH16 deliver encapsulation efficiencies above 90%, retain...