| HOME >> BIOLOGY >> TECHNOLOGY |
MADISON Since scientists first learned to make nanowires, the nano-sized wires just a few millionths of a centimeter thick have taken many forms, including nanobelts, nanocoils and nanoflowers.
But when University of Wisconsin-Madison chemistry professor Song Jin and graduate student Matthew Bierman accidentally made some pine tree shapes one day complete with tall trunks and branches that tapered in length as they spiraled upward they knew theyd stumbled upon something peculiar.
At the beginning we saw just a couple of trees, and we said, What the heck is going on here? recalls Jin. They were so curious.
Writing in the May 1 edition of Science Express, Jin and his team reveal just how curious the nanotrees truly are. In fact, theyre evidence of an entirely different way of growing nanowires, one that promises to give scientists a powerful means to create new and better nanomaterials for all sorts of applications, including high-performance integrated circuits, biosensors, solar cells, LEDs and lasers.
Until now, most nanowires have been made with metal catalysts, which promote the growth of nanomaterials along one dimension to form long rods. While the branches on Jins trees also elongate in this way, growth of the trunks is driven by a screw dislocation, or defect, in their crystal structure. At the top of the trunk, the defect provides a spiral step for atoms to settle on an otherwise perfect crystal face, causing them stack together in a spiral parking ramp-type structure that quickly lengthens the tip.
Dislocations are fundamental to the growth and characteristics of all crystalline materials, but this is the first time theyve been shown to aid the growth of one-dimensional nanostructures. Engineering these defects, says Jin, may not only allow scientists to create more elaborate nanostructures, but also to investigate the fundamental mechanical, thermal and electronic properties of dislocations in materials.'/>"/>
| Contact: Song Jin jin@chem.wisc.edu 608-262-1562 University of Wisconsin-Madison Source:Eurekalert |
Related biology technology :
1. Emisphere Technologies, Inc. Announces Pricing of Registered Direct Offering
2. Roche Extends Tender Offer for Ventana
3. ATS Medical Expands Open Pivot Heart Valve Offerings
4. New 200 mg Vial for Eloxatin(R) (Oxaliplatin Injection) Offers Greater Convenience and Efficiency of Preparation
5. Updated NIH Guidelines Offer Valuable Information on Asthma Diagnosis and Management
6. ARYx Therapeutics, Inc. Files Registration Statement for Initial Public Offering
7. Anacor Files Registration Statement for Initial Public Offering
8. NPS Pharmaceuticals Commences Tender Offer for 3.0% Convertible Notes Due 2008
9. Clinsys Clinical Research, Inc. Announces Key Hires, Rajagopalan Srinivasan, Ph.D, to Strengthen Global Biostatistics Service Offering and Christopher Gregory, Ph.D, to Scientific Affairs
10. Schering-Plough Announces Pricing of Senior Notes Offering
11. Exelixis Announces Closing of Public Offering of Common Stock
| Copyright © 2003-2012 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |