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Categories: Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry, Geoscience: Geology

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Cellulose, abundantly available from plant biomass, can be converted into molecules used to make a new class of recyclable polymers, to sustainably replace some plastics.

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The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was focused on quantum dots -- objects so tiny, they're controlled by the strange rules of quantum physics. Quantum dots used in electronics are often toxic, but their nontoxic counterparts are being explored for uses in medicine and in the environment, including water decontamination. One team of researchers has specially designed carbon- and sulfur-based dots for these environmental applications.

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Scientists have demonstrated the selective conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) into methanol using a cascade reaction strategy. The two-part process is powered by sunlight, occurs at room temperature and at ambient pressure, and employs a recyclable organic reagent that's similar to a catalyst found in natural photosynthesis.

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Though vapes have been heralded as a 'safer' way to consume either nicotine or cannabis, they present their own suite of risks that are being revealed through increasing regulation. Now, scientists have discovered that nano-sized toxic metal particles can be present in cannabis vaping liquids even before any heating occurs, and the effect is worse in illicit products.

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At first glance, Rabih Al-Kaysi's molecular motors look like the microscopic worms you'd see in a drop of pond water. But these wriggling ribbons are not alive; they're made from crystallized molecules that perform coordinated movements when exposed to light. With continued development, these tiny machines could be used as drug-delivery robots or engineered into arrays that direct the flow of water around submarines.

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Oceans are subject to continuous change, mostly over extremely vast periods of time running into millions of years. Researchers have now used computer simulations to demonstrate that a subduction zone originating in the Western Mediterranean will propagate into the Atlantic under the Strait of Gibraltar. According to their model, this will create a new Atlantic subduction zone 50 million years into the future, which will then move down into the Earth's mantle. The new geodynamic model explains the evolution of the Gibraltar subduction zone and its likely development, which will contribute to the renewal of the Atlantic Ocean floor.

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Water pollution from dyes used in textile, food, cosmetic and other manufacturing is a major ecological concern with industry and scientists seeking biocompatible and more sustainable alternatives to protect the environment. A new study has discovered a novel way to degrade and potentially remove toxic organic chemicals including azo dyes from wastewater, using a chemical photocatalysis process powered by ultraviolet light.

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A new report uncovers how hydrogen gas, the energy of the future, provided energy in the past, at the origin of life 4 billion years ago. Hydrogen gas is clean fuel. It burns with oxygen in the air to provide energy with no CO2. Hydrogen is a key to sustainable energy for the future. Though humans are just now coming to realize the benefits of hydrogen gas (H2 in chemical shorthand), microbes have known that H2 is good fuel for as long as there has been life on Earth. Hydrogen is ancient energy.

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Anyone who wants to produce medication, plastics or fertilizer using conventional methods needs heat for chemical reactions -- but not so with photochemistry, where light provides the energy. The process to achieve the desired product also often takes fewer intermediate steps. Researchers are now going one step further and are demonstrating how the energy efficiency of photochemical reactions can be increased tenfold. More sustainable and cost-effective applications are now tantalizingly close.

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Engineers propose a new quantitative framework to account for and predict the impact of temperature on the curing speed of platinum-catalyzed silicone elastomers. The findings could maximize throughput and minimize waste in the manufacturing of components for soft robotics and wearables.

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Scientists propose a groundbreaking theory for predicting melting points. The theory offers a universal description of melting lines across various material types. This discovery has significant implications for materials science and related fields.

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Everything is everywhere -- under certain conditions microbial communities can grow and thrive, even in places that are seemingly uninhabitable. This is the case at inactive hydrothermal vents on the sea floor. An international team is presently working to accurately quantify how much inorganic carbon can be bound in these environments.

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Researchers have discovered a new class of plasma oscillations -- the back-and-forth, wave-like movement of electrons and ions. The research paves the way for improved particle accelerators and commercial fusion energy.

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Researchers have theoretically linked ignition and deflagration in a combustion system, unlocking new configurations for stable, efficient combustion engines due to the possible existence of any number of steady-state solutions.

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Materials that are incredibly thin, only a few atoms thick, exhibit unique properties that make them appealing for energy storage, catalysis and water purification. Researchers have now developed a method that enables the synthesis of hundreds of new 2D materials.

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The period that liquid water was present on the surface of Mars may have been shorter than previously thought. Channel landforms called gullies, previously thought to be formed exclusively by liquid water, can also be formed by the action of evaporating CO2 ice, according to a new study.

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Which process is best suited for mass production of perovskite solar cells? While solvent-based manufacturing processes are used in laboratories around the world, vacuum vapor-phase deposition processes are still the standard for the production of thin films for photovoltaics or organic light-emitting diodes. A new study that reveals major differences in the scientific discussion of these production processes.

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To combine two low-energy photons into one high-energy photon efficiently, the energy must be able to hop freely, but not too quickly, between randomly oriented molecules of a solid. The discovery provides a much-needed design guideline for developing materials for more efficient PV cells, displays, or even anti-cancer therapies.

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A new study shines a spotlight on sulfur, a chemical element that, while all familiar, has proved surprisingly resistant to scientific efforts in probing its role in the origin of life.

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A new process for microscale 3D printing creates particles of nearly any shape for applications in medicine, manufacturing, research and more -- at the pace of up to 1 million particles a day.