Nanotech Briefs Newsletter • 02/20/08

In this edition, sponsored by Keyence:

• National Nanotechnology Initiative Releases 2009 Budget
• Clothing Could Power Electronic Devices Using Fiber Nanogenerators
• Technique Creates 3D Crystalline Organization of Nanoparticles
• Submit a Nano 50® Award Nomination Today!

National Nanotechnology Initiative Releases 2009 Budget

The Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSET) Subcommittee of the National Science and Technology Council's Committee on Technology has released a summary of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) Fiscal Year 2009 Budget. The report is a supplement to the President's Budget for Fiscal Year 2009, providing additional details on the NNI budget request.

The report details programs and activities taking place across all 25 of the Federal agencies participating in the NNI. The 2009 budget request provides $1.5 billion for the NNI, reflecting steady growth in the NNI investment. This sustained major investment in nanotechnology R&D across the Federal Government over the past nine fiscal years of the NNI reflects the broad support of the Administration and of Congress for this program.

Key points from the report include: The 2009 NNI budget provides increased support for research on fundamental nanoscale phenomena and processes, from $481 million in 2007 to $551 million in 2009; It reflects substantial ongoing growth in funding for instrumentation research, metrology, and standards (from $53 million in 2007 to $82 million in 2009) and in nanomanufacturing research (from $48 million in 2007 to $62 million in 2009); and Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) R&D funding in 2009 ($76 million) is more than double the level of actual funding in 2005 ($35 million) - the first year this data was collected.

Click here for the full report.

Clothing Could Power Electronic Devices Using Fiber Nanogenerators

Schematic shows how pairs of fibers would generate electrical current.

Nanotechnology researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are developing a shirt that harvests energy from the wearer's physical motion and converts it into electricity for powering small electronic devices worn by soldiers in the field, hikers, and other users.

The research details how pairs of textile fibers covered with zinc oxide nanowires generate electricity in response to applied mechanical stress. Known as "the piezoelectric effect," the resulting current flow from many fiber pairs woven into a shirt or jacket could allow the wearer's body movement to power a range of portable electronic devices. The fibers could also be woven into curtains, tents, or other structures to capture energy from wind motion, sound vibration or other mechanical energy.

"The two fibers scrub together just like two bottle brushes with their bristles touching, and the piezoelectric-semiconductor process converts the mechanical motion into electrical energy," said Zhong Lin Wang, a Regents professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "Many of these devices could be put together to produce higher power output."

Click here to read the full story.

Technique Creates 3D Crystalline Organization of Nanoparticles

BNL researchers Matthew Maye, Niels van der Lelie, Oleg Gang, and Dmytro Nykypanchuk.

Researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory have for the first time used DNA to guide the creation of three-dimensional, ordered, crystalline structures of nanoparticles. The ability to engineer such 3D structures is essential to producing functional materials that take advantage of the unique properties that may exist at the nanoscale.

Using the new assembly method, the scientists attach to nanoparticles hair-like extensions of DNA with specific "recognition sequences" of complementary bases. Then they mix the DNA-covered particles in solution. When the recognition sequences find one another in solution, they bind together to link the nanoparticles. This first binding is necessary, but not sufficient, to produce the organized structures the scientists are seeking. To achieve ordered crystals, the scientists alter the properties of DNA and borrow some techniques known for traditional crystals.

Results from a variety of analysis techniques indicate that the scientists found that "sweet spot" to create 3D nanoparticle assemblies with long-range crystalline order using DNA. The crystals are remarkably open, with the nanoparticles themselves occupying only five percent of the crystal lattice volume, and DNA occupying another five percent. Furthermore, once the crystal structure is set, it remains stable through repeated heating and cooling cycles, a feature important to many potential applications.

Click here to learn more.

Submit a Nano 50 Award Nomination Today!

Nanotech Briefs® has announced a "Call for Nominations" for its fourth annual Nano 50 awards competition, which launched on January 7. The Nano 50 recognizes the top 50 technologies, innovators, and products with the greatest potential to advance the commercialization of nanotechnology.

There is no cost to submit a nomination. All nominations must be submitted by March 21, 2008. Entries will be judged by an independent, expert panel, and awards will be presented at a special Nano 50 awards dinner, to be held in November 2008 at NASA Tech Briefs National Nano Engineering Conference in Boston.

Click here for complete rules and to submit a nomination.

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