Antennas made of carbon nanotube films are just as efficient as copper for wireless applications, according to researchers at Rice University’s Brown School of Engineering. They’re also tougher, more flexible and can essentially be painted onto devices. The Rice lab of chemical and biomolecular engineer Matteo Pasquali tested antennas made of “shear-aligned” nanotube films. The…
Microwaved Nanoribbons May Bolster Oil and Gas Wells
Wellbores drilled to extract oil and gas can be dramatically reinforced with a small amount of modified graphene nanoribbons added to a polymer and microwaved, according to Rice University researchers. The Rice labs of chemist James Tour and civil and environmental engineer Rouzbeh Shahsavari combined the nanoribbons with an oil-based thermoset polymer intended to make wells more…
Battery Components Can Take the Heat
Rice University materials scientists have introduced a combined electrolyte and separator for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that supplies energy at usable voltages and in high temperatures. An essential part of the nonflammable, toothpaste-like composite is hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), the atom-thin compound often called “white graphene.” The Rice team led by materials scientist Pulickel Ajayan said…
Rice Wins $2.4 Million to Study Many-Antenna Wireless
Rice University researchers have won $2.4 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to conduct the most extensive experimental research yet of wireless technology that uses 100 or more antennas per base station to send tightly focused beams of data to each user, even as they move. The research at Rice’s campus in Houston will…
New Shortcut to Solar Cells
Rice University scientists have found a way to simplify the manufacture of solar cells by using the top electrode as the catalyst that turns plain silicon into valuable black silicon. The Rice lab of chemist Andrew Barron disclosed the research in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. Black silicon is silicon with…