Rice research among most popular in ACS Nano

Papers by two Rice University professors ranked among the top 10 most read in the American Chemical Society’s journal, ACS Nano.

Naomi Halas

James Tour

“Improved Synthesis of Graphene Oxide” by Professor James Tour, lead author and alumna Daniela Marcano ’11 and their colleagues was the most-read paper of 2013. The paper published in 2010 detailed an environmentally friendly way to manufacture bulk quantities of graphene oxide, an insulating version of single-atom-thick graphene.

“Solar Vapor Generation Enabled by Nanoparticles” by Professor Naomi Halas, lead author and research scientist Oara Neumann and colleagues was the journal’s fourth most-read paper. The 2012 paper detailed a method to convert ice-cold water into steam using nanoparticles. The technology is initially targeted toward sanitation and water purification in developing countries.

Tour is the T.T. and W.F. Chao Chair in Chemistry as well as a professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and of computer science. Halas is the Stanley C. Moore Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a professor of biomedical engineering, chemistry, and physics and astronomy. She also is the founding director of Rice’s Laboratory for Nanophotonics and director of the Rice Quantum Institute.