Since its discovery 15 years ago, lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) has become one of the most promising materials for rechargeable batteries because of its stability, durability, safety and ability to deliver a lot of power at once. It has been the focus of major research projects around the world, and a leading technology used in everything from power tools to electric vehicles. But despite this widespread interest, the reasons for lithium iron phosphate’s unusual charging and discharging characteristics have remained unclear.

Often the sum is greater than its parts. Using an atomic force microscope as a “crane”, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich researchers have succeeded in bringing two biomolecules together to form an active complex – with nanometer precision and built-in quality control.

To modify a metal surface at the scale of atoms and molecules — for instance to refine the wiring in computer chips or the reflective silver in optical components — manufacturers shower it with ions. While the process may seem high-tech and precise, the technique has been limited by the ...

A new study led by University of Kentucky researchers shows a new way to precisely detect a single chemical at extremely low concentrations and high contamination.

A new study shows that the availability of hydrogen plays a significant role in determining the chemical and structural makeup of graphene oxide, a material that has potential uses in nano-electronics, nano-electromechanical systems, sensing, composites, optics, catalysis and energy storage.

Rapid DNA sequencing may soon become a routine part of each individual’s medical record, providing enormous information previously sequestered in the human genome’s 3 billion nucleotide bases. This week’s NEWSFOCUS section of the journal Science describes recent advances in sequencing technology.

(Phys.org) -- By taking advantage of graphene’s favorable electrical and optical properties, and then adding an organic dopant, researchers have achieved the highest power conversion efficiency yet for a graphene-based solar cell. The 1.9% power conversion efficiency of the undoped devices increases by more than four times to 8.6% after ...

A pioneering study to gauge the toxicity of quantum dots in primates has found the tiny crystals to be safe over a one-year period, a hopeful outcome for doctors and scientists seeking new ways to battle diseases like cancer through nanomedicine.