Researchers from the Nanooptics Group at CIC nanoGUNE demonstrate that nanoscale infrared imaging – which is established as a surface-sensitive technique – can be employed for chemical nanoidentification of materials that are located up to 100 nm below the surface. The results further show that the infrared signatures of thin surface layers differ from that of subsurface layers of the same material, which can be exploited to distinguish the two cases. The findings, recently published in Nature Communications, push the technique one important step further to quantitative chemometrics at the nanoscale in three dimensions.

CIC nanoGUNE, the Nanoscience Cooperative Research Center, and CIKATEK, the R&D&i unit of CIKAUTXO, are working together to obtain rubber with high added-value by applying nanotechnology.

GraphenePioneer has won the first Global Graphene Call which aims to drive forward business projects relating to graphene. GraphenePioneer sets out to impact on society with the production of as yet unknown graphene-based materials.

CIC nanoGUNE is coordinating the SPEAR project, which seeks to explore new materials for the next generation of computer memories and processors; five European academic institutions (CEA-France, ETH Zürich-Switzerland, IMEC-Belgium, U. Hamburg-Germany, Martin Luther University Halle–Germany) and three European companies (ANTAIOS-France, QZabre-Switzerland, NanOsc-Sweden) are also involved in the project.

The publication entitled ‘Resurrection of efficient Precambrian endoglucanases for lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysis’ has been featured in a themed collection put together by Communications Chemistry that showcases a selection of the Structural Biology, Biocatalysis, and Bioconjugation Research published in the journal.

Graphene is a diamagnetic material, this is, unable of becoming magnetic. However, a triangular piece of graphene is predicted to be magnetic. This apparent contradiction is a consequence of “magic” shapes in the structure of graphene flakes, which force electrons to “spin” easier in one direction. Triangulene is a triangular graphene flake, which possesses a net magnetic moment: it is a graphene nanometer-size magnet. This magnetic state opens fascinating perspectives on the use of these pure-carbon magnets in technology.

An international team led by researchers from the University of Oviedo and the Centre for Research in Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology (CINN-CSIC), together with scientist from the Basque research centers CIC nanoGUNE, Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), Materials Physics Center (CSIC-UPV/EHU), and international collaborators from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Case Western Reserve University (USA), Austrian Institute of Technology, Paris Materials Centre, and University of Tokyo has discovered an effective method for controlling the frequency of confined light at the nanoscale in the form of phonon polaritons (light coupled to vibrations in the crystal). The results have now been published in Nature Materials.

The Nanooptics Group of CIC nanoGUNE is involved in the Work Package 8: Photonics and Optoelectronics in the Graphene Flagship Core 3 project, the fourth funding cycle of the €1 Billion research initiative funded by the European Commission. The mission of Work Package Photonics and Optoelectronics is to develop GRM-based components for photonic and optoelectronic applications and to integrate them into photonic circuits, imaging arrays and optical sensors. NanoGUNE works on infrared sensing and is involved in infrared and terahertz detectors.

The nanomaterials group in nanoGUNE, led by Mato Knez, has developed a new technology called SCIP that allows an improvement of the mechanical properties of polymers. The technology can be directly applied to functionalize textile, opening new perspectives in product development in the sports/fashion or personal protection sector.

A team of researchers from Université Grenoble Alpes - CNRS - Spintec, Unité Mixte de Physique CNRS-Thales, and Université d'Evry, and also including Dr. Diogo. C Vaz, currently at CIC nanoGUNE, reports on an alternative strategy to achieve low-power spin detection in a non-magnetic system. The results have now been published in Nature.