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Categories: Chemistry: General, Energy: Technology
Published Using idle trucks to power the grid with clean energy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers are tapping into idled electric vehicles to act as mobile generators and help power overworked and aging electricity grids. After analyzing energy demand on Alberta's power grid during rush hour, the research proposes an innovative way to replenish electrical grids with power generated from fuel cells in trucks.
Published Core-shell 'chemical looping' boosts efficiency of greener approach to ethylene production
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) is now one step closer to leaving the lab and entering the real world. Researchers have developed an OCM catalyst that exceeds 30 percent when it comes to the production of ethylene.
Published New catalytic technique creates key component of incontinence drug in less time
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a unique catalyst that promises to revolutionize drug synthesis. It overcomes a common problem associated with the production of drugs from ketones. Using their catalyst, the researchers synthesized a key component of the commonly used incontinence drug oxybutynin. Their results underscore the potential of the catalyst to improve drug discovery and development.
Published Scientists use heat to create transformations between skyrmions and antiskyrmions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In an experiment that could help the development of new spintronics devices with low energy consumption, researchers have used heat and magnetic fields to create transformations between spin textures -- magnetic vortices and antivortices known as skyrmions and antiskyrmions -- in a single crystal thin plate device. Importantly, they achieved this at room temperature.
Published Capturing greenhouse gases with the help of light
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers use light-reactive molecules to influence the acidity of a liquid and thereby capture of carbon dioxide. They have developed a special mixture of different solvents to ensure that the light-reactive molecules remain stable over a long period of time. Conventional carbon capture technologies are driven by temperature or pressure differences and require a lot of energy. This is no longer necessary with the new light-based process.
Published Spying on a shape-shifting protein
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers are using crystallography to gain a better understanding of how proteins shapeshift. The knowledge can provide valuable insight into stopping and treating diseases.
Published Bulky additives could make cheaper solar cells last longer
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An insight into preventing perovskite semiconductors from degrading quickly could help enable solar cells estimated to be two to four times cheaper than today's thin-film solar panels.
Published Molecularly designing polymer networks to control sound damping
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The world is filled with a myriad of sounds and vibrations -- the gentle tones of a piano drifting down the hall, the relaxing purr of a cat laying on your chest, the annoying hum of the office lights. Imagine being able to selectively tune out noises of a certain frequency. Researchers have now synthesized polymer networks with two distinct architectures and crosslink points capable of dynamically exchanging polymer strands to understand how the network connectivity and bond exchange mechanisms govern the overall damping behavior of the network. The incorporation of dynamic bonds into the polymer network demonstrates excellent damping of sound and vibrations at well-defined frequencies.
Published Towards realizing eco-friendly and high-performance thermoelectric materials
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In a new study, environmentally benign inverse-perovskites with high energy conversion efficiency have been reported by scientists with potential for practical application as thermoelectric materials (TEMs). Addressing the limitations typically faced with TEMs, such as insufficient energy conversion efficiency and environmental toxicity due to heavy elements, the new TEMs provide a suitable alternative to TEMs based on toxic elements with better thermoelectric properties than conventional eco-friendly TEMs.
Published Highly durable, nonnoble metal electrodes for hydrogen production from seawater
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The water electrolysis method, a promising avenue for hydrogen production, relies on substantial freshwater consumption, thereby limiting the regions available with water resources required for water electrolysis . Researchers have developed highly durable electrodes without precious metals to enable direct hydrogen production from seawater.
Published Catalytic combo converts CO2 to solid carbon nanofibers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have developed a way to convert carbon dioxide (CO2), a potent greenhouse gas, into carbon nanofibers, materials with a wide range of unique properties and many potential long-term uses. Their strategy uses tandem electrochemical and thermochemical reactions run at relatively low temperatures and ambient pressure and could successfully lock carbon away to offset or even achieve negative carbon emissions.
Published Potential solvents identified for building on moon and Mars
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have taken the first steps toward finding liquid solvents that may someday help extract critical building materials from lunar and Martian-rock dust, an important piece in making long-term space travel possible. Using machine learning and computational modeling, researchers have found about half a dozen good candidates for solvents that can extract materials on the moon and Mars usable in 3D printing. The powerful solvents, called ionic liquids, are salts that are in a liquid state.
Published Generating stable qubits at room temperature
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Quantum bits, or qubits, can revolutionize computing and sensing systems. However, cryogenic temperatures are required to ensure the stability of qubits. In a groundbreaking study, researchers observed stable molecular qubits of four electron spins at room temperature for the first time by suppressing the mobility of a dye molecule within a metal-organic framework. Their innovative molecular design opens doors to materials that could drive the development of quantum technologies capable of functioning in real-world conditions.
Published Is there a common link between the physical and social worlds? Two brothers think so
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A Rutgers biophysical chemist and his brother, a political scientist on the West Coast, have joined intellectual forces, realizing a long-standing dream of co-authoring an article that bridges their disciplines involving cells and society. In their paper, they have proposed that powerful parallels exist between the microscopic, natural world of cells and molecules and the human-forged realm of organizations and political systems.
Published Making an important industrial synthesis more environmentally friendly
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have resolved a problem that has limited the environmental sustainability of peracid synthesis. By judicious choice of the solvent and light input, approximately room-temperature autoxidation of aldehydes proceeds in a manner that results in industrially useful peracids or carboxylic acids. This work is an important advance in green chemistry that will help minimize the carbon footprint of the chemical industry.
Published Researchers step closer to mimicking nature's mastery of chemistry
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In nature, organic molecules are either left- or right-handed, but synthesizing molecules with a specific 'handedness' in a lab is hard to do. Make a drug or enzyme with the wrong 'handedness,' and it just won't work. Now chemists are getting closer to mimicking nature's chemical efficiency through computational modeling and physical experimentation.
Published Dry-cleaning fluid becomes a synthetic chemist's treasure
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The widely used dry-cleaning and degreasing solvent perc can be converted to useful chemicals by a new clean, safe and inexpensive procedure. The discovery using on-demand UV activation may open the path to upcycling perc and thus contribute to a more sustainable society.
Published New findings regarding the high efficiency of perovskite solar cells
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Free charge carriers in perovskite solar cells likely have a special form of protection from recombination, researchers have discovered. This may be key to the high efficiency of this cell type, which has been increased to over 25 % within a decade.
Published The reaction mechanism for catalytic ammonia production experimentally determined
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have now been able to study the surface of iron and ruthenium catalysts when ammonia is formed from nitrogen and hydrogen. A better knowledge of the catalytic process and the possibility of finding even more efficient materials opens the door for a green transition in the currently very CO2-intensive chemical industry.
Published Epic of a molecular ion: With eyes of electrons
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have achieved real-time capture of the ionization process and subsequent structural changes in gas-phase molecules through an enhanced mega-electronvolt ultrafast electron diffraction (MeV-UED) technique, enabling observation of faster and finer movements of ions.