Forging a new periodic table using nanostructures: Artificial atoms and bonds provide a new set of building blocks for future materials
Monday, February 18, 2013 - 09:30
in Physics & Chemistry
Scientists have developed a new set of building blocks based on nanoparticles and DNA. Using these tools, scientists will be able to build -- from the bottom up, just as nature does -- new and useful structures. The research team has already built more than 200 different crystal structures with 17 different particle arrangements. Some of the lattice types can be found in nature, but many are new structures that have no naturally occurring mineral counterpart.