a blog by the NSF Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology
Yes, it's late October and that means National Chemistry Week! It's the 30th anniversary of NCW, and this year's theme is "Chemistry Rocks!" It may not seem like this theme has a lot to do with sustainable nanotechnology, but we've had a number of blog posts in the past that relate to soil, minerals, and …
Continue reading "It’s National Chemistry Week!"
Everything is made of atoms. Usually these atoms are strongly connected to one another, in an amazing variety of configurations. But atoms are so tiny, how can we possibly understand the structure of matter at the atomic level? You probably have seen pictures of molecules or materials, zoomed in to the atomic level, which show …
Continue reading "The Atomic Difference Between Diamonds and Graphite"
Half a century ago, a Soviet scientist was tucked away in a top-secret facility. The results of his experiments are critical to our work here the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology. Find it hard to believe? Read on!Why We Use NanodiamondsOne of the materials that we are using in our research is nano-sized diamond. We also …
Continue reading "Nuclear Proliferation & Sustainability: the History of Nanodiamonds"
āHey do you guys want to see some fluorescent nanodiamond water?!ā I eagerly yelled out as two little boys walked by. Honestly, they probably had no idea what I was talking about, but they still excitedly wandered over. I handed them an ultraviolet flashlight and encouraged them to take a look underneath the black drape …
Continue reading "Kids Learn About Nanodiamonds and I Learn About Kids"
Nanodiamonds are far too small to be seen by the naked eye, but everything changes if you make them glow! We at the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology have developed a new way to make nanodiamonds absorb and then release lightāa property known as fluorescence (see this explainer post). I just made these fluorescent nanodiamonds and …
Continue reading "Fluorescent Nanodiamonds – the movie!"
Sustainable Nano 