12-04 :: April/May 2012

nanotimes News in Brief

David J. Burton, Zhongyi Liu, Xingcheng Xiao, Suntha- rampillai Thevuthasan, and Donald R. Baer: In situ TEM investigation of congruent phase transition and structural evolution of nanostructured silicon/carbon anode for lithi- um ion batteries, In: Nano Letters, Vol. 12, Issue 3, March 14, 2012, Pages 1624-1632, DOI: 10.1021/nl204559u: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/nl204559u

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Creators of a nanotech-based system that captures carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere within a submarine, while providing a more environmen- tally friendly removal process, have won the Federal Laboratory Consortium Interagency Partnership Award for 2012. The technology – Self Assembled Monolayers on Mesoporous Supports, or SAMMS – is destined for incorporation into future subma- rines to improve air quality for sailors who serve on them.

The SAMMS technology is based on a new class of hybrid nanoporous materials that can rapidly capture contaminants such as carbon dioxide, mercury or arsenic directly from the atmosphere or liquid environments. For air rejuvenation systems, SAMMS can provide a controlled release of the carbon dioxide using a gentle application of heat or vacuum.

http://samms.pnnl.gov/index.stm

SAMMS (Self-Assembled Monolayers on Mesoporous Supports) material, originally designed to remove che- mical and nuclear contaminants from liquid solutions, has now been tailored to absorb carbon dioxide from breathing air in submarines. © Pacific Northwest Natio- nal Laboratory