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Categories: Chemistry: General, Energy: Technology

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The friction on a graphene surface can be dynamically tuned using external electric fields, according to researchers.

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Newly developed ompounds aim to reveal the dual nature of formaldehyde, a chemical that is known to cause cancer but is also believed to play important roles in our biology.

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Chemical engineers have designed a fuel that ignites only with the application of electric current. Since it doesn't react to flames and cannot start accidental fires during storage or transport, it is a 'safe' liquid fuel.

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Humanity continuously emits greenhouse gases and thereby worsens global warming. Increasing research efforts go into developing strategies to convert these gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), into valuable products. CO2 accumulates dramatically over the years and is chemically very stable, thus challenging to transform. Yet, for billions of years, some microbes have actively captured CO2 using highly efficient enzymes. Scientists have now isolated one of these enzymes. When the enzyme was electronically branched on an electrode, they observed the conversion of CO2 to formate with perfect efficiency. This phenomenon will inspire new CO2-fixation systems because of its remarkable directionality and rates.

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Rechargeable battery performance could be improved by a new understanding of how they work at the molecular level. Researchers upend what's known about how rechargeable batteries function.

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Scientists have demonstrated 'multielement ink' -- the first 'high-entropy' semiconductor that can be processed at low-temperature or room temperature. The new material could enable cost-effective and energy-efficient semiconductor manufacturing.

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Scientists mapped out the three-dimensional structure of one of the smallest known CRISPR-Cas13 systems then used that knowledge to modify its structure and improve its accuracy.

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An international research team has taken a decisive step toward a new generation of atomic clocks. The researchers have created a much more precise pulse generator based on the element scandium, which enables an accuracy of one second in 300 billion years -- that is about a thousand times more precise than the current standard atomic clock based on caesium.

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A research team has created a new, heat-resistant membrane that can withstand harsh environments -- high temperatures, high pressure and complex chemical solvents -- associated with industrial separation processes. It could eventually be used as a less energy intensive alternative to distillation and other industrial processes that separate molecules that ultimately serve as ingredients in medicine, chemicals and other products.

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The sun sends enormous amounts of energy to the earth. Nevertheless, some of it is lost in solar cells. This is an obstacle in the use of organic solar cells, especially for those viable in innovative applications. A key factor in increasing their performance: Improved transport of the solar energy stored within the material. Now a research group has shown that certain organic dyes can help build virtual highways for the energy.

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Copper-based catalysts developed by materials scientists help speed up the rate of carbon dioxide-to-methane conversion.

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Boosting virtual screening with machine learning allowed for a 10-fold time reduction in the processing of 1.56 billion drug-like molecules. Researchers teamed up with industry and supercomputers to carry out one of the world's largest virtual drug screens.

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There is a largely untapped energy source along the world's coastlines: the difference in salinity between seawater and freshwater. A new nanodevice can harness this difference to generate power.

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What chemicals are we exposed to on a daily basis? That is the central question of 'non-targeted analysis' or NTA, an emerging field of analytical science that aims to identify all chemicals around us. A daunting task, because how can you be sure to detect everything if you don't know exactly what you're looking for?

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Engineers have devised a new solution to control a major agricultural menace, root-damaging nematodes. Using plant viruses, the researchers created nanoparticles that can deliver pesticide molecules to previously inaccessible depths in the soil. This 'precision farming' approach could potentially minimize environmental toxicity and cut costs for farmers.

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Researchers created a proof of concept of a nanocapsule -- a microscopic container -- capable of delivering a specific 'payload' to a targeted location. While beyond the scope of this study, the discovery could one day impact how drugs, nutrients and other types of chemical compounds are delivered within humans or plants.

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Geothermal heat offers a promising source of renewable energy with almost zero emissions, but it remains a relatively expensive option to generate electricity. A new technique may help prevent 'short-circuits' that can cause geothermal power plants to halt production, potentially improving the efficiency of geothermal power, the researchers said.

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A groundbreaking study has provided new insights into the extensive impact of metal mining contamination on rivers and floodplains across the world, with an estimated 23 million people believed to be affected by potentially dangerous concentrations of toxic waste. The study used a new georeferenced global database of 185,000 metal mines compiled by the team alongside a combination of process-based modelling and empirical testing to predict the dispersal of mine waste in river systems to offer a comprehensive understanding of the environmental and health challenges associated with metal mining activities, examining both historical and active mining operations. With the rapid growth of metal mining crucial to the world making the transition to green energy, the study provides governments, mining companies, environmental regulators, and communities impacted by mining operations with a tool to understand the impacts of environmental impact of mining. Ultimately it is hoped that this will make it easier to mitigate the environmental effects of historical and present mining and help to minimise the impacts of future mining development on communities, while also protecting food and water security.

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Scientists have developed a new desalination method that pumps water through a membrane without using any external pressure.

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Almost 80% of plastic in the waste stream ends up in landfills or accumulates in the environment. Scientists have now developed a technology that converts a conventionally unrecyclable mixture of plastic waste into useful chemicals, presenting a new strategy in the toolkit to combat global plastic waste.