Carbon materials

MIT engineers have developed a way to deliver genes to the chloroplasts of plant cells. In these images, mesophyll cells (right) and epidermal cells (left) in an arugula leaf have been engineered to express a yellow fluorescent protein in their chloroplasts. Cell walls are stained red and chloroplasts are stained blue.

An easier way to engineer plants

MIT-led team uses nanoparticles to deliver genes into plant chloroplasts.

February 25, 2019

Introducing a small amount of strain into crystalline materials, such as diamond or silicon, can produce significant changes in their properties, researchers have found. The mechanical strain is represented here as a deformation in the diamond's shape.

Using artificial intelligence to engineer materials’ properties

New system of “strain engineering” can change a material’s optical, electrical, and thermal properties.

February 11, 2019

This illustration shows the 12 different forms that six-atom vacancy defects in graphene can have, as determined by the researchers. The pie chart shows the relative abundances that are predicted for each of these different forms.

Researchers catalog defects that give 2-D materials amazing properties

Theoretical analysis distinguishes observed “holes” from the huge list of hypothetically possible ones.

January 14, 2019

Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have recorded the “temporal coherence” of a graphene qubit — how long it maintains a special state that lets it represent two logical states simultaneously — marking a critical step forward for practical quantum computing.

Physicists record “lifetime” of graphene qubits

First measurement of its kind could provide stepping stone to practical quantum computing.

December 31, 2018

Pablo Jarillo-Herrero (right), an associate professor of physics at MIT, was honored with Physics World's Breakthrough of the Year for his group's discovery of “magic-angle” graphene, a “promising technique for adjusting the electronic properties of graphene.” Graduate student Yuan Cao (left) was a lead researcher in the work.

MIT research honored with Physics World “Breakthrough of the Year” awards

"Magic-angle" graphene named 2018 Breakthrough of the Year; first ionic plane and earliest evidence of hydrogen gas named to top 10 breakthroughs.

December 27, 2018

What says "Happy Halloween" better than colorized carbon nanotubes?

Scene at MIT: Happy Nanoween

A grad student's research project unexpectedly yields a spooky message made from millions of carbon nanotubes.

October 31, 2018

This photo shows circles on a graphene sheet where the sheet is draped over an array of round posts, creating stresses that will cause these discs to separate from the sheet. The gray bar across the sheet is liquid being used to lift the discs from the surface.

How to mass produce cell-sized robots

Technique from MIT could lead to tiny, self-powered devices for environmental, industrial, or medical monitoring.

October 23, 2018

Researchers in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering have developed a technique to harvest 2-inch diameter wafers of 2-D material within just a few minutes.

Researchers quickly harvest 2-D materials, bringing them closer to commercialization

Efficient method for making single-atom-thick, wafer-scale materials opens up opportunities in flexible electronics.

October 11, 2018

Diagrams illustrate the self-healing properties of the new material. At top, a crack is created in the material, which is composed of a hydrogel (dark green) with plant-derived chloroplasts (light green) embedded in it. At bottom, in the presence of light, the material reacts with carbon dioxide in the air to expand and fill the gap, repairing the damage.

Self-healing material can build itself from carbon in the air

Taking a page from green plants, new polymer “grows” through a chemical reaction with carbon dioxide.

October 11, 2018

MIT researchers have developed a technique to fabricate large squares of graphemes that can filter out small molecules and salts.

Stamp-sized graphene sheets riddled with holes could be boon for molecular separation

Fabrication technique could be integrated into manufacturing to make large-scale membranes.

October 9, 2018

MIT researchers have devised a way to grow a single crystalline compound semiconductor on its substrate through two-dimensional materials. The compound semiconductor thin film is then exfoliated by a flexible substrate, showing the rainbow color that comes from thin film interference.

Study opens route to flexible electronics made from exotic materials

Cost-effective method produces semiconducting films from materials that outperform silicon.

October 8, 2018

Schematic illustration of the experimental setup

A better device for measuring electromagnetic radiation

New bolometer is faster, simpler, and covers more wavelengths.

June 11, 2018

This scanning electron microscope image shows ultrafine diamond needles (cone shapes rising from bottom) being pushed on by a diamond tip (dark shape at top). These images reveal that the diamond needles can bend as much as 9 percent and still return to their original shape.

How to bend and stretch a diamond

The brittle material can turn flexible when made into ultrafine needles, researchers find.

April 19, 2018

A new manufacturing process produces strips of graphene, at large scale, for use in membrane technologies and other applications.

A graphene roll-out

Scalable manufacturing process spools out strips of graphene for use in ultrathin membranes.

April 17, 2018

Physicists at MIT and Harvard University have found that graphene, a lacy, honeycomb-like sheet of carbon atoms, can behave at two electrical extremes: as an insulator, in which electrons are completely blocked from flowing; and as a superconductor, in which electrical current can stream through without resistance.

Insulator or superconductor? Physicists find graphene is both

When rotated at a "magic angle," graphene sheets can form an insulator or a superconductor.

March 5, 2018

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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