Showing 20 articles starting at article 141

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Chemistry: Organic Chemistry, Energy: Alternative Fuels

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Perovskite hydrides are promising materials for various emerging energy technologies, but measuring their intrinsic hydride-ion conductivity is difficult. In a recent study, researchers address this issue using a novel laser deposition technique in an H-radical atmosphere. Using this approach, they grew thin-film single crystals of two different perovskite hydrides and characterized their hydride-ion conductivity. These efforts will bolster research on hydrogen-related materials.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Vanilla, the most widely used flavoring compound in confectionaries and cosmetics, gets its sweet flavor and aroma from the chemical compound -- 'vanillin'. However, the large-scale production of natural vanillin is impeded by the lack of microbial processes and enzymes which can commercially generate vanillin. Now, researchers have genetically engineered a novel enzyme which can convert ferulic acid from plant waste into vanillin in a one-step sustainable process.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The optimal design of a novel zeolite catalyst enables tandem reaction that turns greenhouse gases into value-added chemicals, report scientists. By tuning the separation between different active sites on the catalyst, they achieved the stepwise conversion of methane into methanol and then to hydrocarbons at mild conditions. These findings will help reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions across various industrial fields.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Semiconductors are the foundation of all modern electronics. Now, researchers have developed a new method where organic semiconductors can become more conductive with the help of air as a dopant. The study is a significant step towards future cheap and sustainable organic semiconductors.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers who contributed to the development of record-breaking solar cells a few years ago, expanded their invention. The self-assembled monolayers can now be applied not only in inverted but also in regular structure perovskite solar cells.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Instead of burning fossil fuels to smelt steel and cook cement, researchers in Switzerland want to use heat from the sun. The proof-of-concept study uses synthetic quartz to trap solar energy at temperatures over 1,000 C (1,832 F), demonstrating the method's potential role in providing clean energy for carbon-intensive industries.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A battery made from zinc and lignin that can be used over 8000 times. This has been developed with a vision to provide a cheap and sustainable battery solution for countries where access to electricity is limited.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Polystyrene is made from styrene building blocks and is the most widely used plastic in terms of volume, for example in packaging. Unlike PET, which can now be produced and recycled using biotechnological methods, the production of polystyrene has so far been a purely chemical process. The plastic can't be broken down by biotechnological means, either. Researchers are looking for ways to rectify this: An international team decoded a bacterial enzyme that plays a key role in styrene degradation. This paves the way for biotechnological application.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A method has been discovered to treat water heavily contaminated with unhealthful forever chemicals, known by chemists as PFAS or poly- and per-fluoroalkyl substances. It involves treating heavily contaminated water with ultraviolet (UV) light, sulfite, and a process called electrochemical oxidation. It breaks up strong fluorine-to-carbon bonds in the PFAS compounds and other concentrated organic compounds in heavily polluted water. The reaction also occurs at room temperature without a need for additional heat or high pressure. This method is expected to be useful in cleanups of PFAS pollution from decades of fire suppressant foam use at military facilities.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers report a new method that reduces the amount of iridium needed to produce hydrogen from water by 95%, without altering the rate of hydrogen production. This breakthrough could revolutionize our ability to produce ecologically friendly hydrogen and help usher in a carbon-neutral hydrogen economy.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Perovskites are among the most researched topics in materials science. Recently, a research team has solved an age-old challenge to synthesize all-organic two-dimensional perovskites, extending the field into the exciting realm of 2D materials. This breakthrough opens up a new field of 2D all-organic perovskites, which holds promise for both fundamental science and potential applications.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The global chemical industry is a major fossil fuel consumer and climate change contributor; however, new research has identified how the sector could clean up its green credentials by getting dirty.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A recent study led to the development of a powerful epigenetic editing technology. The system unlocks the ability to precisely program chromatin modifications at any specific position in the genome, to understand their causal role in transcription regulation. This innovative approach will help to investigate the role of chromatin modifications in many biological processes, and to program desired gene activity responses, which may prove useful in disease settings.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Chemists created an enzyme with boronic acid at its reactive center. This approach can produce more selective reactions with boron, and allows the use of directed evolution to improve its catalytic power.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Tracking individual enzymes during the breakdown of cellulose for biofuel production has revealed how several roadblocks slow this process when using plant material that might otherwise go to waste. The research may lead to new ways to improve the breakdown process and make the non-edible parts of plants and other plant waste, such as forestry residue, a more competitive source of biofuels.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Solar energy is a crucial asset in the fight against climate change, and researchers have now devised a smart approach to optimize its effectiveness. Their innovative method includes incorporating artificial ground reflectors, a simple yet powerful enhancement.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Move over, graphene. There's a new, improved two-dimensional material in the lab. Borophene, the atomically thin version of boron first synthesized in 2015, is more conductive, thinner, lighter, stronger and more flexible than graphene, the 2D version of carbon. Now, researchers have made the material potentially more useful by imparting chirality -- or handedness -- on it, which could make for advanced sensors and implantable medical devices.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Finding reliable, eco-friendly power sources is crucial as our world grapples with increasing energy needs and the urgent call to combat climate change. Solar energy offers one solution, with scientists devising ever more efficient materials for capturing sunlight.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers created a catapillar-shaped robot that splits into segments and reassembles, hauls cargo, and crawls through twisting courses.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Why 3,000 bars are needed to take a comprehensive look at a protein: Researchers present a new high-pressure spectroscopy method to unravel the properties of proteins' native structures.