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Categories: Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry, Chemistry: Thermodynamics
Published Advanced electrode to help remediation of stubborn new 'forever chemicals'


As new environmental regulations are rolling out to mitigate the industry-retired long-chain chemicals known as PFAS in drinking water, there are concerns regarding a new breed of 'forever chemicals' called short-chain PFAS. Research is now helping shift the focus to include mitigation of the chemicals -- which researchers say are just as persistent as, more mobile and harder to remove from the environment than their long-chain counterparts.
Published Nanophysics: The right twist


Stacked layers of ultrathin semiconductor materials feature phenomena that can be exploited for novel applications. Physicists have studied effects that emerge by giving two layers a slight twist.
Published What do the elements sound like?


In chemistry, we have He, Fe and Ca -- but what about do, re and mi? Using a technique called data sonification, a recent college graduate has converted the visible light given off by each of the elements into soundwaves. The notes produced for each element are unique, complex mixtures and are the first step toward an interactive, musical periodic table.
Published Colorful films could help buildings, cars keep their cool


The cold blast of an air conditioner can be a relief as temperatures soar, but 'A/C' units require large amounts of energy and can leak greenhouse gases. Today, scientists report an eco-friendly alternative -- a plant-based film that cools when exposed to sunlight and comes in many textures and bright, iridescent colors. The material could someday keep buildings, cars and other structures cool without requiring power.
Published Looking from different perspectives! Proper electronic structure of near-infrared absorbing functional dyes discovered


A research group has discovered that near-infrared absorbing dyes, which had previously been considered to have closed-shell electronic structures, have an intermediate electronic structure, between closed- and open-shell structures. They also found that as the wavelength of near-infrared light that can be absorbed becomes longer the contribution of open-shell forms increases within the dye. These newly discovered characteristics are expected to be utilized to develop new near-infrared absorbing dyes that can absorb longer wavelength near-infrared light.
Published Surprise effect: Methane cools even as it heats


Most climate models do not yet account for a recent discovery: methane traps a great deal of heat in Earth's atmosphere, but also creates cooling clouds that offset 30% of the heat.
Published Photosynthesis: Varying roads lead to the reaction center


Chemists use high-precision quantum chemistry to study key elements of super-efficient energy transfer in an important element of photosynthesis.
Published Scientists discover easy way to make atomically-thin metal layers for new technology


A new breakthrough shows how to make MXenes far more quickly and easily, with fewer toxic byproducts.
Published What really matters in multi-story building design?


The impact of multi-story building design considerations on embodied carbon emissions, cost, and operational energy has been revealed.
Published Closed loop for circular economy: New polymer recycling strategy ensures both high stability and complete recyclability


Large amounts of plastic waste are incinerated or deposited in landfills. This degrades the environment and depletes valuable resources. In this light, recycling plastics such as polymers is promising. However, recycling diminishes their quality. Recently, researchers have proposed a 'closed-loop' recycling process based on polymer microparticles. It produces fully recyclable polymer films with high mechanical stability and fracture energy, which they retain upon recycling.
Published AI finds the first stars were not alone


Machine learning and state-of-the-art supernova nucleosynthesis has helped researchers find that the majority of observed second-generation stars in the universe were enriched by multiple supernovae.
Published Robot caterpillar demonstrates new approach to locomotion for soft robotics


Researchers have demonstrated a caterpillar-like soft robot that can move forward, backward and dip under narrow spaces. The caterpillar-bot's movement is driven by a novel pattern of silver nanowires that use heat to control the way the robot bends, allowing users to steer the robot in either direction.
Published Photosynthesis 'hack' could lead to new ways of generating renewable energy


Researchers have 'hacked' the earliest stages of photosynthesis, the natural machine that powers the vast majority of life on Earth, and discovered new ways to extract energy from the process, a finding that could lead to new ways of generating clean fuel and renewable energy.
Published Semiconductor lattice marries electrons and magnetic moments


A model system created by stacking a pair of monolayer semiconductors is giving physicists a simpler way to study confounding quantum behavior, from heavy fermions to exotic quantum phase transitions.
Published New simulation reveals secrets of exotic form of electrons called polarons


Conditions mapped for the first time of polaron characteristics in 2D materials. TACC's Frontera supercomputer generated quantum mechanical calculations on hexagonal boron nitride system of 30,000 atoms.
Published Synthesis gas and battery power from sunlight energy


Plants use photosynthesis to harvest energy from sunlight. Now researchers have applied this principle as the basis for developing new sustainable processes which in the future may produce syngas (synthetic gas) for the large-scale chemical industry and be able to charge batteries.
Published Visualization of electron dynamics on liquid helium


An international team has discovered how electrons can slither rapidly to-and-fro across a quantum surface when driven by external forces. The research has enabled the visualization of the motion of electrons on liquid helium.
Published 'Y-ball' compound yields quantum secrets


Scientists investigating a compound called 'Y-ball' -- which belongs to a mysterious class of 'strange metals' viewed as centrally important to next-generation quantum materials -- have found new ways to probe and understand its behavior.
Published Batteries: Passivation layer mystery solved


In our daily lives, lithium-ion batteries have become indispensable. They function only because of a passivation layer that forms during their initial cycle. As researchers found out via simulations, this solid electrolyte interphase develops not directly at the electrode but aggregates in the solution. Their findings allow the optimization of the performance and lifetime of future batteries.
Published Surprise in the quantum world: Disorder leads to ferromagnetic topological insulator


Magnetic topological insulators are an exotic class of materials that conduct electrons without any resistance at all and so are regarded as a promising breakthrough in materials science. Researchers have achieved a significant milestone in the pursuit of energy-efficient quantum technologies by designing the ferromagnetic topological insulator MnBi6Te10 from the manganese bismuth telluride family. The amazing thing about this quantum material is that its ferromagnetic properties only occur when some atoms swap places, introducing antisite disorder.