Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

Seawater split to produce 'green' hydrogen      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have successfully split seawater without pre-treatment to produce green hydrogen.

Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Soil tainted by air pollution expels carbon      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research suggests nitrogen released by gas-powered machines causes dry soil to let go of carbon and release it back into the atmosphere, where it can contribute to climate change.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Geoscience: Environmental Issues Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Thin, lightweight layer provides radiation barrier for perovskites in space, protection from elements on Earth      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An ultrathin protective coating proves sufficient to protect a perovskite solar cell from the harmful effects of space and harden it against environmental factors on Earth, according to newly published research.

Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

'Snapshots' of translation could help us investigate cellular proteins      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Nascent polypeptide chains or polypeptidyl-tRNAs (pep-tRNAs) occur transiently during protein synthesis. The potential to study these intermediates and better understand their role in processes like gene regulation has been greatly enhanced by the development of a process termed PETEOS -- short for peptidyl-tRNA enrichment using organic extraction and silica adsorption. This method allows for the large-scale harvesting, processing, and identification of pep-tRNA polypeptide moieties.

Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

Catching the wrongdoers in the act: Chemists develop a novel tool to decipher bacterial infections in real time      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has developed a novel chemical tool to reveal how bacteria adapt to the host environment and control host cells. This tool can be used to investigate bacterial interactions with the host in real-time during an infection, which cannot be easily achieved by other methods.

Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

Stability of perovskite solar cells reaches next milestone      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Perovskite semiconductors promise highly efficient and low-cost solar cells. However, the semi-organic material is very sensitive to temperature differences, which can quickly lead to fatigue damage in normal outdoor use. Adding a dipolar polymer compound to the precursor perovskite solution helps to counteract this. The solar cells produced in this way achieve efficiencies of well above 24 %, which hardly drop under rapid temperature fluctuations between -60 and +80 Celsius over one hundred cycles. That corresponds to about one year of outdoor use.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Geoscience: Geology Space: Astronomy Space: The Solar System
Published

Meteorites reveal likely origin of Earth's volatile chemicals      (via sciencedaily.com) 

By analyzing meteorites, researchers have uncovered the likely far-flung origin of Earth's volatile chemicals, some of which form the building blocks of life.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Batteries Energy: Fossil Fuels Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

How plants are inspiring new ways to extract value from wastewater      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists are drawing inspiration from plants to develop new techniques to separate and extract valuable minerals, metals and nutrients from resource-rich wastewater.

Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

Harnessing solar energy: New method improves readings of double-sided panels      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A laboratory in photonics and renewable energy has developed a new method for measuring the solar energy produced by bifacial solar panels, the double-sided solar technology which is expected to meet increased global energy demands moving forward.

Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

Hydrogen's place in an increasingly connected energy web shows need for regulatory change      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Capturing the potential profits and jobs offered by a growing hydrogen industry may need as much innovation in regulatory agencies as it does in the research laboratories, according to new research.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Engineering: Nanotechnology Space: Astrophysics Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

The world in grains of interstellar dust      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Understanding how dust grains form in interstellar gas could offer significant insights to astronomers and help materials scientists develop useful nanoparticles.

Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

Interfacial interactions of the lead-free perovskite for efficient hydrogen production      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The conversion of solar energy into hydrogen energy represents a promising and green technique for addressing the energy shortage and reducing fossil fuel emissions. A research team recently developed a lead-free perovskite photocatalyst that delivers highly efficient solar energy-to-hydrogen conversion.

Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

Theoretical computations identify a solid-state hydrogen storage material's key bottleneck      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Magnesium hydride has long been touted for its potential to store large amounts of hydrogen, something essential if hydrogen is to play a role in powering a sustainable future. Yet, sluggish dehydrogenation kinetics and the high temperature required to decompose and produce hydrogen from the material have stymied its use. Now, researchers have identified why this is so, paving the way for future design guidelines and widespread commercial use.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

Improving perovskite solar cell resistance to degradation      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Despite their huge potential, the way perovskite solar cells respond to external stimuli -- such as heat or moisture -- has a considerable impact on their stability. Researchers have identified the cause of degradation and developed a technique to improve stability, bringing us closer to widespread adoption of these cost-effective and efficient solar cells.

Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

A new tool helps map out where to develop clean energy infrastructure      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An update to the Energy Zones Mapping Tool, the Geospatial Energy Mapper is an online tool with an extensive catalog of mapping data for energy planning. It can help identify areas that are suitable for clean energy infrastructure projects.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Solar-powered system converts plastic and greenhouse gases into sustainable fuels      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed a system that can transform plastic waste and greenhouse gases into sustainable fuels and other valuable products -- using just the energy from the Sun.

Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

More links aren't necessarily better for hybrid nanomaterials      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Chemists have discovered more isn't always better when it comes to packing charge-acceptor molecules on the surface of semiconducting nanocrystals.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Fossil Fuels
Published

Cheap, sustainable hydrogen through solar power      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new kind of solar panel has achieved 9% efficiency in converting water into hydrogen and oxygen--mimicking a crucial step in natural photosynthesis. Outdoors, it represents a major leap in the technology, nearly 10 times more efficient than solar water-splitting experiments of its kind.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Fossil Fuels
Published

A step towards solar fuels out of thin air      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Chemical engineers have invented a solar-powered artificial leaf, built on a novel electrode which is transparent and porous, capable of harvesting water from the air for conversion into hydrogen fuel. The semiconductor-based technology is scalable and easy to prepare.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Space: Exploration
Published

Space solar power technology demo launched into orbit      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The launch represents the first in-situ test of the technology to harvest solar energy in space and transmit it to Earth.