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Controlling metal oxidation is an age-old problem and the integrity of the metal–oxide interface is key to long-term material stability. A deeper investigation of this buried interface reveals the processes occurring at the atomic scale, and provides tantalizing clues for alloy design.
The extraordinarily high strength and stiffness of single-walled carbon nanotubes promises a myriad of unique applications, but many of these are reliant on the growth of ultralong, continuous nanotubes. A new synthetic procedure takes us a step closer to this goal.
Describing the structure of amorphous materials such as metallic glasses has been a longstanding problem in materials science. A new technique called fluctuation microscopy allows us to see order on length scales that are difficult to study with traditional scattering techniques.
Chemical immobilization of electro-active enzymes on conducting nanocrystalline-diamond thin films is laying the basis for diamond-based electrochemical biosensors and bio-interfaces.
Stethoscopes, loudspeakers, microphones, pressure gauges and many other common devices share a basic mechanism of operation — a pliable membrane deflecting under the influence of an external force. A nanocomposite membrane has now been developed that shows great sensitivity and autorecovery capabilities.