Graphene ribbons that are only a few atoms wide, so-called graphene nanoribbons, have special electrical properties that make them promising candidates for the nanoelectronics of the future: While graphene – a one atom thin, honeycomb-shaped carbon layer – is a conductive material, it can become a semiconductor in the form of nanoribbons. This means that it has a sufficiently large energy or band gap in which no electron states can exist: it can be turned on and off – and thus may become a key component of nanotransistors.

Using a pierced gold sheet coated in graphene, scientists have created thin lenses that can be used to manipulate the intensity and polarity of light. Scientists in South Korea and the United Kingdom have developed optical devices made of graphene and gold which can control the intensity and polarity of light. They published their findings in Advanced Optical Materials.

Lower production costs are boosting the use of nanomaterials in packaging and textiles. Nanominerals can improve food conservation while nanocoatings block microbial contamination of textiles. Exploiting the full potential of nanotechnology, however, remains a key challenge.

Researchers at the University of Washington have published a paper on 3D printed wireless sensors capable of operating not only without batteries but without electronics of any kind, yet still capable of providing useful data to nearby Wi-Fi-based receivers.

Experimentalists of the ICN2 Physics and Engineering of Nanodevices Group, led by ICREA Prof. Sergio O. Valenzuela, have found evidence that the spin-orbit coupling induced in graphene by proximity to transition metal dichalcogenides affects electron spins differently depending on their orientation. Published in Nature Physics, this work suggests new approaches to controlling the transport of spin and valley information in future spintronics devices.