Nanoflower

A nanoflower, in chemistry, refers to a compound of certain elements that results in formations which in microscopic view resemble flowers or, in some cases, trees that are called nanobouquets or nanotrees.[1] These formations are nanometers long and thick so they can only be observed using electron microscopy.[2]

Catalytic nanomaterial with a flower-shaped structure

Production

Several ways to produce nanoflowers are known:

Nanomeadow

In supercapacitors, energy is stored because the electrodes are coated with a porous material that soaks up ions like a sponge, usually activated carbon. Nanomeadow supercapacitors store ions in manganese oxide (MnO), a material with a much greater capacity for ions than activated carbon.[4]

Scientists at Research Institute of Chemical Defence (Beijing, China) and Peking University created a nanomeadow of microscopic structures, fuzzy flowers of MnO each about 100 nanometres across on a field of messy carbon nanotube grass grown on a tantalum metal foil. Nanomeadows perform 10 times better than MnO alone and can store twice as much charge as the carbon-based electrodes in existing ultracapacitors.[4]

See also

Footnotes
  1. "Silicon carbide nanoflowers bloom - nanotechweb.org". nanotechweb.org. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  2. Kalaugher, Liz. "Nanoflowers: Science Videos - Science News - ScienCentral". www.sciencentral.com. Archived from the original on 2008-08-03. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  3. Kalaugher, Liz. "Nanoflowers blossom in place of nanotubes - nanotechweb.org". nanotechweb.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  4. Colin Barras (17 September 2008). "Can nanoscopic meadows drive electric cars forward?". New Scientist.

References
  • Summary of the 2nd E.E.F. (Enosi Ellinon Fysikon, Hellenic Science Society) Conference in Texnopolis Athens, Greece


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