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Friday, 29th May 2009 (1163 views)

Chinese and US scientists have used gold in research that could lead to the development of a new type of sensor.

Xuefeng Guo and Dongsheng Xu of Peking University have teamed up with Colin Nuckolls of Columbia University in New York to combine titanium dioxide nanoparticles with carbon nanotubes to create transistors, the Royal Society of Chemistry reports.

Researchers used the precious metal to mount the carbon nanotubes on a silicon-wafer backing, which is then submerged in a solution containing nanoparticles made from titanium oxide.

The new material has the ability to be switched on and off numerous times before degrading and Mr Guo told the news source that the materials may be useful for "switching, sensing and photocatalysis applications", adding that they could be used in the production of logic gates.

Earlier this week, researchers at New York's Cornell University announced they have combined gold nanoparticles with sheets of DNA to create a new material that could be used in the production of electronics.

 

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