News

Holey graphene improves battery electrodes
May 25, 2017
Electrodes containing porous graphene and a niobia composite could help improve electrochemical energy storage in batteries. This is the new finding from researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles who say that the nanopores in the carbon material facilitate charge transport in a battery. By fine tuning the size of these pores, they can not only optimize this charge transport but also increase the amount of active material in the device, which is an important step forward towards practical applications.

From nanotechweb.org
2D semiconducting transistor breaks new record
May 25, 2017
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, have succeeded in minimizing both the contact resistance and channel length in transistors made from the 2D semiconductor molybdenum disulphide, so making a device that has a high ON current of 0.83 mA/µm at 300K. This new work shows for the first time that 2D semiconducting transistors can compete with silicon-based ones in terms of performance – as defined by the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS).

From nanotechweb.org
Infrared amplifier reaches the nanoscale
Jul 22, 2015
Researchers in China and the US have unveiled the first nanoscale amplifier for light at the technologically important telecommunications wavelength of 1.55 µm (or the near-infrared). The new device, which is 20 times more powerful than previous such amplifiers that measured microns across, is small enough to fit on an integrated circuit. This means that it could help make for the next generation of faster, more efficient, nanophotonics components. [via nanotechweb and APS]
From graphene hydrogels to high-performance anodes
Mar 18, 2015
How can the electrodes of batteries be made more efficient? In the journal Angewandte Chemie, American scientists describe a powerful approach that uses solvated graphene frameworks as the anode material. Assembled in a lithium coin cell, the as-made electrode excelled with capacities surpassing the values of typically used graphite. [via nanowerk.com]
Transistor developed at UCLA significantly outperforms existing models
Oct 23, 2014
Researchers have fabricated field effect transistors made from molybdenum sulfide that demonstrated the best performance to date in a transistor of this type. In the near future, their invention could mean vastly more powerful and sensitive fitness and health trackers, smartphones, computer-interface eyewear and other wearable applications. [via newsroom.ucla]
Growing 2D semiconductors the easy way
Oct 6, 2014
A new way to grow 2D-layered semiconductor heterostructures whose composition can be controlled by modulating the constituent vapour-phase reactants during growth has been developed, producing single crystals and might be used to make a host of electronics devices, ranging from complementary logic circuits, photovoltaics and photodetectors, to light-emitting diodes and laser diodes. [via nanotechweb.org]
New graphene framework bridges gap between traditional capacitors, batteries
Aug 8, 2014
Researchers at the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) at UCLA have set the stage for a watershed in mobile energy storage by using a special graphene material to significantly boost the energy density of electrochemical capacitors, putting them on a par with lead acid batteries. [via newsroom.ucla]
Catalytic Duo Combats Blood Clots
Feb 17, 2014
A pair of natural catalysts attached to graphene work in tandem to make nitroxyl, which could prevent blood clots from forming on medical implants [via acs.org]
Prof. Duan Featured in The Daily Bruin
Jun 24, 2013
In a recent news article in UCLA's campus news paper the Daily Bruin, Ashley Verhines documents Dr. Duan's accomplishments at UCLA. [via dailybruin.com]
Professor Duan awarded 2013 Beilby Medal and Prize
May 6, 2013
The Beilby Medal and Prize is awarded annually to a scientist or engineer to recogise substantial work of exceptional practical significance in applied materials science, chemical engineering, energy efficiency or a related field. [via chem.ucla]
New Duan Lab website design
Apr 4, 2013
Welcome to the new Duan lab website. Check out all the pages and updated profiles.
Xiangfeng Duan wins IUMRS - MRS Singapore Young Researcher Award
Oct 13, 2012
Inaugural International Union of Materials Research Societies (IUMRS) and the Materials Research Society (MRS) “IUMRS - MRS Singapore Young Researcher Award”. [via chem.ucla]
Xiangfeng Duan wins the 2012 JMC Lectureship
Oct 3, 2012
This Lectureship is an annual award that honors a younger scientist who has made a significant contribution to the field. [via chem.ucla]
Xiangfeng Duan receives an Early Career Research Program Award from the Department of Energy
May 15, 2012
The Department of Energy's Office of Science with an Early Career Research Program Award for the proposal entitled "Rational Design and Nanoscale Integration of Multi-Heterostructures as Highly Efficient Photocatalysts". [via chem.ucla]
New graphene 'nanomesh' could change the future of electronics
Feb 25, 2010
A new graphene nanostructure called graphene nanomesm (GNM) is able to open up a band gap in a large sheet of graphene to create a highly uniform, continuous semiconducting thin film that may be processed using standard planar semiconductor processing methods. [via newsroom.ucla]