Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Technology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Physics: General
Published

Don't wait, desalinate: A new approach to water purification      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A water purification system separates out salt and other unnecessary particles with an electrified version of dialysis. Successfully applied to wastewater with planned expansion into rivers and seas, the method saves money and saps 90% less energy than its counterparts.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
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First detection of crucial carbon molecule      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists detect a new carbon compound in space for the first time. Known as methyl cation (pronounced cat-eye-on) (CH3+), the molecule is important because it aids the formation of more complex carbon-based molecules. Methyl cation was detected in a young star system, with a protoplanetary disk, known as d203-506, which is located about 1,350 light-years away in the Orion Nebula.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
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'Toggle switch' can help quantum computers cut through the noise      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

What good is a powerful computer if you can't read its output? Or readily reprogram it to do different jobs? People who design quantum computers face these challenges, and a new device may make them easier to solve.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Batteries Energy: Technology
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Towards efficient lithium--air batteries with solution plasma-based synthesis of perovskite hydroxide catalysts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

CoSn(OH)6 (CSO) is an effective oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalyst, necessary for developing next-generation lithium -- air batteries. However, current methods of synthesizing CSO are complicated and slow. Recently, an international research team synthesized CSO in a single step within 20 minutes using solution plasma to generate CSO nanocrystals with excellent OER catalytic properties. Their findings could boost the manufacturing of high energy density batteries.

Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
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Nanophotonics: Coupling light and matter      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a metasurface that enables strong coupling effects between light and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs).

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry
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Surprise! Weaker bonds can make polymers stronger      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Chemists discovered a new way to make polymers stronger: introduce a few weaker bonds into the material. Working with polyacrylate elastomers, they could increase the materials' resistance to tearing up to tenfold by using a weaker type of crosslinker to join some of the polymer building blocks.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: General
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Stronger tape engineered through the art of cutting      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

What if you could make adhesives both strong and easily removable? This seemingly paradoxical combination of properties could dramatically change applications in robotic grasping, wearables for health monitoring, and manufacturing for assembly and recycling. A team has adapted kirigami, the ancient Japanese art of cutting paper, into a method for increasing the adhesive bond of ordinary tape by 60 times. Developing such adhesives may not by that far off through the latest research conducted by the team of Michael Bartlett, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech, and published in Nature Materials on June 22.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
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Making the most of minuscule metal mandalas      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To unveil the previously elusive behavior and stability of complex metal compounds found in aqueous solutions called 'POMs', researchers have created a speciation atlas. This achievement has the potential to drive new discoveries and advancements in fields like catalysis, medicine, and beyond.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Physicists discover a new switch for superconductivity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study sheds surprising light on how certain superconductors undergo a 'nematic transition' -- unlocking new, superconducting behavior. The results could help identify unconventional superconducting materials.

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Combining twistronics with spintronics could be the next giant leap in quantum electronics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Quantum researchers twist double bilayers of an antiferromagnet to demonstrate tunable moiré magnetism.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Engineers 'strike gold' with innovation that recovers heavy metals from biosolids      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have developed a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to remove heavy metals, including copper and zinc, from biosolids. The team's work advances other methods for heavy-metal removal by recycling the acidic liquid waste that is produced during the recovery phase, instead of throwing it away.

Biology: Cell Biology Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Fossil Fuels Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Clean, sustainable fuels made 'from thin air' and plastic waste      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have demonstrated how carbon dioxide can be captured from industrial processes -- or even directly from the air -- and transformed into clean, sustainable fuels using just the energy from the Sun.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Technology Offbeat: General
Published

Engineers develop a soft, printable, metal-free electrode      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers developed a metal-free, Jelly-like material that is as soft and tough as biological tissue and can conduct electricity similarly to conventional metals. The new material, which is a type of high-performance conducting polymer hydrogel, may one day replace metals in the electrodes of medical devices.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Cleaner air with a cold catalytic converter      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Although passenger vehicle catalytic converters have been mandatory for over 30 years, there is still plenty of room for improvement. For instance, they only work correctly when the engine is sufficiently hot, which is not always the case, especially with hybrid vehicles. Researchers have now developed an improved catalyst that can properly purify exhaust gases even at room temperature.

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A 'spy' in the belly      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To ensure that wounds remain tightly sealed in the abdomen after surgery, researchers have developed a patch with a sensor function. The polymer patch warns before the occurrence of dangerous leaks on sutures in the gastrointestinal tract take hold, while closes the areas on its own. A new material now enables a fast, easy and non-invasive leak diagnosis.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: Optics
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Nanomaterials: 3D printing of glass without sintering      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new process enables printing of nanometer-scale quartz glass structures directly onto semiconductor chips. A hybrid organic-inorganic polymer resin is used as feedstock material for 3D printing of silicon dioxide. Since the process works without sintering, the required temperatures are significantly lower. Simultaneously, increased resolution enables visible-light nanophotonics.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Offbeat: General Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
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For experimental physicists, quantum frustration leads to fundamental discovery      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of physicists recently announced that they have discovered a new phase of matter. Called the 'chiral bose-liquid state,' the discovery opens a new path in the age-old effort to understand the nature of the physical world.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

New technique in error-prone quantum computing makes classical computers sweat      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Today's quantum computers often calculate the wrong answer because of noisy environments that interfere with the quantum entanglement of qubits. IBM Quantum has pioneered a technique that accounts for the noise to achieve reliable results. They tested this error mitigation strategy against supercomputer simulations run by physicists, and for the hardest calculations, the quantum computer bested the supercomputer. This is evidence for the utility of today's noisy quantum computers for performing real-world calculations.