Holding the salt
MIT graduate student David Cohen-Tanugi works to improve water filtration, desalination.
Planes, trains and automobiles: faster, stronger, lighter
New technique advances carbon-fiber composites.
Stacking 2-D materials produces surprising results
New experiments reveal previously unseen effects, could lead to new kinds of electronics and optical devices.
Explained: Nanowires and nanotubes
Tiny filaments and cylinders are studied for possible uses in energy, electronics, optics and other fields.
Patterning graphene with DNA
Folded DNA templates allow researchers to precisely cut out graphene shapes, which could be used in electronic circuits.
Predicted state of atomic collapse seen for first time
Researchers observe a basic quantum-mechanical phenomenon theorized decades ago by pioneers of atomic theory.
Smithsonian recognizes MIT research on water desalination technology
Magazine ranks nanoporous graphene as one of the top five surprising scientific milestones of 2012.
How ‘transparent’ is graphene?
MIT researchers find that adding a coating of graphene has little effect on how a surface interacts with liquids — except in extreme cases.
Making ‘nanospinning’ practical
Nanofibers have a dizzying range of possible applications, but they’ve been prohibitively expensive to make. MIT researchers hope to change that.
Tiny pores in graphene could give rise to membranes
New membranes may filter water or separate biological samples.
Drawing a line, with carbon nanotubes
New low-cost, durable carbon nanotube sensors can be etched with mechanical pencils.
One-molecule-thick material has big advantages
MIT researchers produce complex electronic circuits from molybdenum disulfide, a material that could have many more applications.
Graphene’s behavior depends on where it sits
New findings show that the material beneath the thin carbon sheets determines how they react chemically and electrically.
A new approach to water desalination
Graphene sheets with precisely controlled pores have potential to purify water more efficiently than existing methods.
All-carbon solar cell harnesses infrared light
New type of photovoltaic device harnesses heat radiation that most solar cells ignore.