University of Michigan

University of Michigan has discovered that once stretched to their cutoff points, gold nanoparticles inserted into flexible material self-assemble into semiconducting pathways. The finding has applications for versatile physical science and mild medical devices.

For their experiment, lead researchers Nicholas Kotov and Yoonseob Kim applied gold nanoparticles to a sample of ployurethan. observant the consequences with associate microscope, the team slowly began to stretch the fabric. The nanoparticles well-versed the strain by rearranging themselves into chains.

Kotov and Kim tested 2 versions of the fabric. the primary concerned alternating layers of ployurethan and nanoparticles, which may conduct eleven,000 Siemens per metric linear unit (S/cm) at its original size. When being stretched to quite doubly its length, the fabric still managed to conduct at a pair of,400 S/cm

The second version of the fabric was a filtered answer with a natural electrical phenomenon of one,800 S/cm. At 5.8 times its original length.Capitalizing on this characteristic behavior of nanoparticles to prepare into chains may lead to advancements in versatile shopper physical science, from cell phones to prosthetic limbs.

Kim and Kotov area unit significantly fascinated by the potential application for brain implants. They read their extremely resilient conductors as electrodes. Rigid electrodes at intervals the brain produce connective tissue and harm cells. Kim and Kotov say their discovery would be as pliable because the close tissue, assuaging effects of diseases like depression, Alzheimers and brain disorder.