Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) that have been decorated with nanoparticles are effective biological and chemical sensors, photovoltaics, electronic conformal thermal interface substances, and surfaces for heterogeneous catalysis. The particle structure of the sidewalls of the CNT has an effect on the performance and properties of metal-nanotube hybrids for these types of applications.
Read moreScientists make extensive use of X-ray fluorescence to map elements in materials. However, this technique does not have the needed spatial sensitivity unless the probe is finely focused.
Scientists have now found a way to turn X-ray fluorescence into an ultra-high position-sensitive probe to measure tiny internal structures called nanostructures in thin films (Nature Communications, “Reconstruction of Evolving Nanostructures in Ultrathin Films with X-ray Waveguide Fluorescence Holography”). These thin films can be a hundred times finer than a human hair.
