Smalley-Curl Institute

Rice University will roll up for the second international Nanocar Race with a new vehicle. The one-molecule car has a permanent dipole that makes it easier to control. (Credit: Alexis van Venrooy/Rice University)

Rice rolls out next-gen nanocars

October 26, 2020

Rice researchers continue to advance the science of single-molecule machines with a new lineup of nanocars, in anticipation of the next international Nanocar Race in 2022.

A pictorial schematic depicts the structure and action of a nanopatterned plasmonic metasurface that modulates polarized light at terahertz frequencies.

A trillion turns of light nets terahertz polarized bytes

October 19, 2020

Nanophotonics researchers at Rice University, the Polytechnic University of Milan and the Italian Institute of Technology have demonstrated a novel technique for modulating light at terahertz frequencies with plasmonic metasurfaces.

The National Science Foundation renews the Rice-based Nanotechnology Enabled Water Treatment Center for five years. The Engineering Research Center is dedicated to enabling access to clean water around the world.

NSF renews Rice-based NEWT Center for water treatment

October 15, 2020

The National Science Foundation renews the Rice-based Nanotechnology Enabled Water Treatment Center for five years. The Engineering Research Center is dedicated to enabling access to clean water around the world.

Artist's impression of aluminum nanocatalysts of different shapes

Shape matters for light-activated nanocatalysts

September 18, 2020

Points matter when designing nanoparticles that drive important chemical reactions using the power of light, according research from Rice University's Laboratory for Nanophotonics.

Atoms in the crystal lattice of tantalum disulfide arrange themselves into six-pointed stars that can be manipulated by light, according to Rice University researchers. The phenomenon can be used to control the material’s refractive index. It could become useful for 3D displays, virtual reality and in lidar systems for self-driving vehicles. (Credit: Weijian Li/Rice University)

Ambient light alters refraction in 2D material

September 2, 2020

Microscopic crystals in tantalum disulfide have a starring role in what could become a hit for 3D displays, virtual reality and even self-driving vehicles.

The cross-section of a fiber produced at Rice University contains tens of millions of carbon nanotubes. The lab continually improves its method to make fibers, which tests show are now stronger than Kevlar. Courtesy of the Pasquali Research Group

No limit yet for carbon nanotube fibers

August 17, 2020

Rice University researchers report advances in their quest to make the best carbon nanotube fibers for industry.

Naomi Halas is a Rice University engineer and chemist who's spent more than 25 years pioneering the use of light-activated nanomaterials.

Purifying water with a partly coated gold nanoparticle

June 22, 2020

Rice's Naomi Halas has collaborated with Yale University engineers on the creation of a light-activated nanoparticle for clearing water of pollutants. The research is part of an effort by NEWT, the Rice-based Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment.

Figure depicting the action of an aluminum-palladium antenna-reactor nanocatalyst that harnesses light energy to break chemical bonds in fluorocarbons

Fluorocarbon bonds are no match for light-powered nanocatalyst

June 22, 2020

Rice University engineers have created a light-powered catalyst that can break the strong chemical bonds in fluorocarbons, a group of synthetic materials that includes persistent environmental pollutants.

Rice University researchers boosted the stability of their low-energy, copper-ruthenium syngas photocatalysts by shrinking the active sites to single atoms of ruthenium (blue). (Image by John Mark Martirez/UCLA)

Gasification goes green

January 10, 2020

Rice University engineers have created a light-powered nanoparticle that could shrink the carbon footprint of syngas producers.