Researchers Develop New 3D Nano-material

Nanopaper to Withstand 700 Degrees Celsius

by Yaroslav Lyssenko

[ 08/26/2006 | 11:44 PM ]

Nanotechnology is one of the fastest growing types of science nowadays. While two-dimensional freestanding membranes of nanowires have been available for some time now, the scientists only struggled to develop a 3D rendering of thermally stable nanomaterial.

<%BANNER[article_nw]%>

Cnet News.com reports that University of Arkansas chemists announced on Tuesday that they have made nanomaterials accessible as three-dimensional forms by making paper out of titanium oxide nanowires.

The nanopaper can be used as a filter and can withstand heat up to 700 degrees Celsius. It can also be folded by hand, cut with scissors and formed into 3D objects.

“The ability to cast the nanopaper into 3D forms will allow the nanomaterial to be used in protective masks and armor, flame-retardant fabric, drug release capsules and regenerating tissue. The nanopaper could eventually be used to filter bacteria and prevent the spread of pathogens. The application would be similar to the nanowire bar code system for detecting anthrax,” the researchers said.

“The nanopaper, while obviously more sophisticated in chemical nature, is actually made from pulp, as is wood-based paper. The scientists figured out a way to make the nanomaterial less brittle and more pliable by playing with “the ratio of water to nanowires in the pulp and the time for drying the nanowire pulp,” according to their research paper. The pulp they refer to is made of long nanowires created out of titanium oxide using a hydrothermal heating process,” explains Cnet News.com.

• Cnet News.com: Researchers Develop New 3D Nanomaterial.