• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Saturday, August 2, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Science

Squeezed nanocrystals: A new model predicts their shape when blanketed under graphene

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
April 5, 2019
in Science
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

IMAGE

Credit: US Department of Energy, Ames Laboratory

In a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory and Northeastern University, scientists have developed a model for predicting the shape of metal nanocrystals or “islands” sandwiched between or below two-dimensional (2D) materials such as graphene. The advance moves 2D quantum materials a step closer to applications in electronics.

Ames Laboratory scientist are experts in 2D materials, and recently discovered a first-of-its-kind copper and graphite combination, produced by depositing copper on ion-bombarded graphite at high temperature and in an ultra-high vacuum environment. This produced a distribution of copper islands, embedded under an ultra-thin “blanket” consisting of a few layers of graphene.

“Because these metal islands can potentially serve as electrical contacts or heat sinks in electronic applications, their shape and how they reach that shape are important pieces of information in controlling the design and synthesis of these materials,” said Pat Thiel, an Ames Laboratory scientist and Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering at Iowa State University.

Ames Laboratory scientists used scanning tunneling microscopy to painstakingly measure the shapes of more than a hundred nanometer-scale copper islands. This provided the experimental basis for a theoretical model developed jointly by researchers at Northeastern University’s Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and at Ames Laboratory. The model served to explain the data extremely well. The one exception, concerning copper islands less than 10 nm tall, will be the basis for further research.

“We love to see our physics applied, and this was a beautiful way to apply it,” said Scott E. Julien, Ph.D. candidate, at Northeastern. “We were able to model the elastic response of the graphene as it drapes over the copper islands, and use it to predict the shapes of the islands.”

The work showed that the top layer of graphene resists the upward pressure exerted by the growing metal island. In effect, the graphene layer squeezes downward and flattens the copper islands. Accounting for these effects as well as other key energetics leads to the unanticipated prediction of a universal, or size-independent, shape of the islands, at least for sufficiently-large islands of a given metal.

“This principle should work with other metals and other layered materials as well,” said Research Assistant, Ann Lii-Rosales. “Experimentally we want to see if we can use the same recipe to synthesize metals under other types of layered materials with predictable results.”

###

The research is further discussed in the paper, “Squeezed Nanocrystals: Equilibrium Configuration of Metal Clusters Embedded Beneath the Surface of a Layered Material,” authored by Scott E. Julien, Ann Lii-Rosales, Kai-Tak Wan, Yong Han, Michael C. Tringides, James W. Evans, and Patricia A. Thiel; and published in Nanoscale.

The research was a collaboration between Ames Laboratory and Northeastern University.

Work at Northeastern University was supported by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a national facility operated under the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Work at Ames Laboratory was supported primarily by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. This work was also supported in part by a grant of computer time at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Centre (NERSC), a DOE Office of Science User Facility.

Ames Laboratory is a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science national laboratory operated by Iowa State University. Ames Laboratory creates innovative materials, technologies and energy solutions. We use our expertise, unique capabilities and interdisciplinary collaborations to solve global problems.

DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.

Media Contact
Laura Millsaps
[email protected]

Original Source

https://www.ameslab.gov/news/news-releases/squeezed-nanocrystals-new-model-predicts-their-shape-when-blanketed-under

Tags: Chemistry/Physics/Materials SciencesMaterialsNanotechnology/MicromachinesSuperconductors/Semiconductors
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Five or more hours of smartphone usage per day may increase obesity

July 25, 2019
IMAGE

NASA’s terra satellite finds tropical storm 07W’s strength on the side

July 25, 2019

NASA finds one burst of energy in weakening Depression Dalila

July 25, 2019

Researcher’s innovative flood mapping helps water and emergency management officials

July 25, 2019
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Blind to the Burn

    Overlooked Dangers: Debunking Common Myths About Skin Cancer Risk in the U.S.

    60 shares
    Share 24 Tweet 15
  • Dr. Miriam Merad Honored with French Knighthood for Groundbreaking Contributions to Science and Medicine

    46 shares
    Share 18 Tweet 12
  • Study Reveals Beta-HPV Directly Causes Skin Cancer in Immunocompromised Individuals

    38 shares
    Share 15 Tweet 10
  • Neuropsychiatric Risks Linked to COVID-19 Revealed

    36 shares
    Share 14 Tweet 9

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Gut γδ T17 Cells Drive Brain Inflammation via STING

Agent-Based Framework for Assessing Environmental Exposures

MARCO Drives Myeloid Suppressor Cell Differentiation, Immunity

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.