Nanoartography 2020
Image credit: Ricardo Tranquilin, NanoArtography 2020
2020 Award Winners
Click on the images to see them in full size.
FIRST PLACE
Sands of SnO
Fernanda da Costa Romeiro, Diego Luiz Tita, and Marcelo Ornaghi Orlandi,
Silo Paulo State University (UNESP), Araraquara, Brazil
The world seen through a microscope can reveal beauties as impressive as those of the macro world. The image shows SnOmicrostructures prepared via microwave-assisted hydrothermal method. The main idea was to associate the SnO microstructures observed in a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), with the sand structures observed in an optical microscope that present different colors and shapes. The image width is 0.273 mm.
SECOND PLACE (tie three ways)
Microcosmos
Steven Boeynaems, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
An artist’s impression of the cellular microcosmos. Dive into a galaxy of liquid stars and protein nebulas. Protein phase separation constitutes a key process by which life has evolved on Earth. From the origins of Life itself to cellular subcompartmentalization, phase separation of biomolecules has recently been proven essential to our understanding of these processes. In this series, I present an "artist's impression" of phase separation. By using only reagents and chemicals found in the lab, supplemented with proteins from egg white and milk powder, I try to recreate the phenomenal complexity and beauty of this process. We see the formation of liquid droplets, which fuse and mix together creating complex and unanticipated hues and tones. Protein aggregation, notoriously implicated in human disease, is now repurposed to create fantastic nebulas and clouds of precipitated biological matter. Just like our cells, these artworks are dynamic and ever-evolving. Droplets are a few mm in size.
SECOND PLACE (tie three ways)
Cobalt Oxide Neurotransmitters
Kampara Roopa Kishore,
SASTRA Deemed to be University, Thanjavur, Tamilnadu, India
The image shows electrospun biomimetic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) - cobalt oxide (Co3O4) nanofibers as human brain neurotransmitters. PVA and cobalt (II) chloride hexahydrate were used for the synthesize of PVA-Co3O4 nanofibers by electrospinning technique, which resembles human brain neurons.
The interconnection of nanofibers looks like the nucleus of a neuron and the elongated nanofiber morphology replicates the axon of the neuron. PVA-Co3O4 nanofibers with high surface area to volume ratio had many applications in gas sensors, catalysis, fuel cells, and energy storage applications. These PVA-Co3O4 nanofibers had shown good vapor sensing response towards methanol vapor, for the concentration ranging from 21 ppm to 2094 ppm at 350 °C operating temperature. PVA-Co3O4 nanofibers were characterized by a field emission scanning electron microscope. The width of the image is 0.075 mm.
SECOND PLACE (tie three ways)
The Micropastita
Kanit Hantanasirisakul, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
The micropastita is a scanning electron microscope image of a metallic fabric used for wearable electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding application. Typically, a metal foil such as aluminum or copper is used to protect electronic devices against electromagnetic waves to enhance device performance and stability. However, wearing cloth made of aluminum foil won’t be so comfortable (except you need it for your Halloween costume!). Therefore, there is a growing interest in developing fabric with metallicity (high electronic conductivity) for wearable EMI shielding applications. The width of each “micropasta” is 0.01 mm.
THIRD PLACE (tie four ways)
Flower and their ties
Vitor Anibal do Sacramento Mendes, Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), São Carlos, Brazil
Flower and their ties. Micrograph of the flower of the Leucophyllum frutescens plant, popularly known as silver rain in Brazil. The image width is ~ 1.5 mm.
THIRD PLACE (tie four ways)
Purple Rain
Nina Tarnowicz-Staniak, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology Institution, Wroclaw, Poland
Crystallites of nematic liquid crystal doped with semiconductor nanoparticles captured under a polarized light microscope. Crystallites are aligned according to the direction of brushing applied to the surface of the liquid crystal cell. The image width is ~ 1.7 mm.
THIRD PLACE (tie four ways)
Underwater Nano Flower Portrait
Yuxin Wen & Phil Ridley, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
This portrait demonstrates nanoflakes of a layered potassium vanadium oxide bronze (KVO) phase arranged in a unique way, resembling an all-encompassing, magnified flower. The petals of the nano flower are delicate and dynamic, and the luminance on the edges of the petals evokes a supernatural feeling. In effect, the flower is reminiscent of serendipitous creatures submerged deep under the ocean, calling courageous divers for further adventures. The authors of this photograph added the purple-blue color gradient to emphasize the sense of movement and mystery and to draw attention to the unfathomable center of the flower. This unique material morphology is owed to the novel synthesis approach used where transition metal carbide MXene is converted into this layered KVO phase via controlled oxidation. The image width is ~ 0.01 mm.
THIRD PLACE (tie four ways)
Yellowstone in an Ampule
Vlastimil Mazanek, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Czech Republic
Unsuccessful synthesis of layered Janus-like SbSCl in a quartz ampoule. This material belongs to a group of materials with general formula AVBVICVII (A = Sb/Bi; B = O/S/Se; C = Cl/Br/I). This group exhibits interesting photo-conducting, ferroelectric, dielectric or electro-mechanic properties. Although the synthesis was unsuccessful, it created this unusual structure which looks like something from the Yellowstone.
PEOPLE'S CHOICE
A Carbon World
Suela Kellici, Zhen Lu, and Ioan-Alexandru Baragau, London South Bank University, London, UK
Using an eco-friendly, rapid synthetic approach (within fractions of a second) Continuous Hydrothermal Flow Synthesis Nano2D group has synthesized a series of carbon-based materials derived from biomass precursors. The SEM image represents a freeze-dried carbon quantum dots material (thousands of agglomerated CQDs particle). The shape looks like a possible exoplanet planet, able to sustain life.
INDIANA UNIVERSITY-PURDUE UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS (IUPUI) PEOPLE'S CHOICE
Firedrake
Kartik Nemani, Prasanna Rudravajula, Purdue School of Engineering and Technology, IUPUI, Indianapolis, IN, USA
A partially etched MXene flake morphed into the shape of a rising dragon from the smoke. The dragon named “Firedrake” with blue blood bleeding out of its forehead, seeks the moonlight to rejuvenate and regain its strength. This is inspired by our childhood when I was a fiction addict and read Cornelia Funke’s 2004 Adventure Fantasy novel “The Dragon-Rider”. Artificial eye and tongue are added to highlight features of the image. The image width is 0.005 mm.
NanoArtography 2020 Numbers
Total submissions: 143
Finalists: 119
Facebook page statistics during the People's Choice voting:
Post Reach: 247,500
Post Engagement: 52,500
DREXEL PEOPLE'S CHOICE
The Micropastita
Kanit Hantanasirisakul, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
The micropastita is a scanning electron microscope image of a metallic fabric used for wearable electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding application. Typically, a metal foil such as aluminum or copper is used to protect electronic devices against electromagnetic waves to enhance device performance and stability. However, wearing cloth made of aluminum foil won’t be so comfortable (except you need it for your Halloween costume!). Therefore, there is a growing interest in developing fabric with metallicity (high electronic conductivity) for wearable EMI shielding applications. The width of each “micropasta” is 0.01 mm.
HONORABLE MENTION
Girl with a Pearl Earring
Amit Agrawal, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
A millimeter-scale reproduction of the 1665 masterpiece by Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring, under the form of a low-loss dielectric-metasurface composed of millions of 600-nm-tall titanium-dioxide nanopillars of spatially varying dimensions and rotational orientations, which respectively determine the hue and brightness of the structural color at the nanoscale. The meta surface-generated image under white-light illumination and orthogonal polarizer-analyzer orientation, reveals a faithful, high-resolution replica of the painting, displaying its iconic subject wearing a blue turban, gold jacket, bright white collar and glowing pearl earring. The scene is bathed in directional light, with dramatic peripheral shadows merging seamlessly into the black background. The remarkably smooth hue and brightness transitions confer an oil painting-like appearance to the reproduction, beautifully illustrating how nanotechnology meets Vermeer’s masterful rendering of color, light and shadow.
HONORABLE MENTION
Perfect Balance
Ricardo Tranquilin,
Federal University of São Carlos – UFSCar / Center for the Development of Functional Materials CDMF / Interdisciplinary Laboratory for electrochemistry and ceramic – LIEC / Department of Chemistry, São Paulo, Brazil
The general idea of this work is the association of nature with microscopic images, both in their shapes and colors, so it is possible to converge the microscopic world to the common world, where so we can show that this small world works with the same forms of the macro world. Also taking a special look at the images that exhibit abstract forms. The material presented in this image is mixture of manganese oxide with sodium, nickel, magnesium.
HONORABLE MENTION
Zinc Oxide Moon
Allen J A, Aarthy Tagore J, Manoj Prabhakar M, Viswanathan C, DRDO BU Centre for Life Sciences, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Zinc Oxide Moon is synthesized using the hydrothermal method. It is a dense microsphere composed of irregular nanosheets. The diameter of zinc oxide moon is 12 µm. In dark, zinc oxide moon illuminates.
HONORABLE MENTION
The MXene Gladiator
Armin Vahid Mohammadi, A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
The image shows an oxidized V2C MXene particle that resembles a gladiator face from ancient Roman times, with similarities to that of the Gladiator character played by Russel Crowe in 2000
“Gladiator” movie. Fake colors were added using computer software. V2C MXene is a promising material for energy storage applications. The image width is ~0.02 mm.
A complete list of 2020 finalists is available on NanoArtography Facebook page.
Click here to see the 2020 finalists.