Subjecting single-walled carbon nanotubes to a flash of light causes the material to ignite, producing a photo-acoustic effect. A simple camera flash demonstrates how heat confinement in nanostructures can lead to drastic structural effects and induce ignition under exposure to conditions where no reaction would be expected for macro scale materials. This technology could have multiple applications such as optoelectronic sensors and light triggered remote detonators.

Ceramics are used in applications requiring strength, hardness, light weight, and resistance to abrasion, erosion, and corrosion, at both ambient and elevated temperatures. However, traditional ceramic materials are characteristically brittle, and this brittleness limits their use. While reduction of brittleness has been obtained with fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix composites, there continues to be a need for materials that combine the desirable properties of ceramics with improved fracture toughness.

This technology relates to sound absorption material. Reduction of noise in the environment is important for avoiding hearing loss and for improving psychological health in humans. This technology provides sound absorbing composition that includes particles embedded in a network of nanofibers. The composition contains pores ranging in size from less than 10 nm to more than one micron in diameter and exhibits acoustic transmission loss ranging from 20 to 60 dBcm thickness of the composition.

This technology relates to a process for creating electrodes in which high-surface area nanostructures are fabricated in situ by electrochemically etching a sacrificial scaffold material. Removing a material after it has been built into the cell opens up pores within the electrode whose size and density can be controlled, resulting in higher efficiency and Pt utilization.

Semiconductor nanoparticles (also called quantum dots or nanocrystals) are generally used a lasing medium in a laser, as fluorescent tags in biological testing methods, and as electronics devices. However, these nanoparticles traditionally have high production costs and the methods used for synthesis are extremely toxic at high temperatures, posing safety risks during mass production. Additionally, it has been difficult to form nanoparticles of uniform size. This invention is directed to semiconductor nanoparticles having an elementally passivated surface.

Data communication over wireless channels has become increasingly common, but wireless channels may be lossy such that data is often lost during transmission. This invention is directed to devices and methods for transmitting or receiving data packets in a data block in a communication network with a transport protocol. A loss toleranct TCP protocol is used in which a maximum segment size is adapted to a minimum granularity of a congestion window, and proactive forward error correction (FEC) packets are added to a window of the data block.

Isolating individual components of nanoscale architectures comprised of thin films or nanostructures, without significantly impacting their functionalities, is a critical challenge in micro- and nano-scale device fabrication. One example that illustrates this challenge is seen in Cu interconnect structures for nanometer devices. These devices use interfacial barrier nanolayers to isolate copper layers from dielectric layers.

The unique properties of carbon nanotubes (CNT), more specifically, single walled carbone nanotubes (SWNT), have made them excellent candidates for applications in bio-sensing, fuel cells, and nanofabrication. Considerable research effort has been devoted to development of methods to achieve stable suspensions of highly dispersed CNTs. However, progress has been impeded by two major hurdles. FIrst, their poor solubility in both aqueous and organic solvents makes them difficult to manipulate and functionalize.

Many proteins lose enzymatic activity in harsh environments, such as non-optimal pH or temperature, or exposure to organic solvents. This invention is based on the discovery that by attaching certain proteins to single-walled carbon nanotubes ("SWNT"), protein function under such harsh conditions can be dramatically improved. Two enzymes which were stabilized in this manner, subtilisin carlsberg and soybean peroxidase, were found to be orders of magnitude more active than the native state enzyme when exposed to severe environments. Additionally, the enzymes attached to the SWNTs w