Supported single metal atoms have attracted broad interest for their demonstrated high efficiency in single metal catalysis. The preparation of such catalysts, however, remains challenging as the neutral metal atoms have a strong tendency to agglomerate to metal particles in typical preparations. Researchers at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy…
Researchers Create Revolutionary Catalyst That Can Convert CO2 into Useable Chemicals
New Process Turns Desalination Byproduct into Beneficial Chemicals
Nitrogen Key to One-Step Chemical Synthesis Method
Researchers may have found a way to use nitrogen to boost a family of useful molecules called alpha-aminoketones. A research group from Rice University has developed a one-step technique that adds nitrogen to compounds to simplify the synthesis of valuable precursors for a number of products, including drugs, pesticides and fertilizers. Ketones, which represent important…
New Device Simplifies Measurement of Fluoride Contamination in Water
Adding fluoride to water has been common practice in a number of countries, including the US, Australia, Brazil, Malaysia, India and Vietnam. In low concentrations (below 1.5 mg/L) can help prevent tooth decay and even strengthen bones, but going above that can have the opposite effect, causing serious dental and bone disease, especially in children…
Chemical Conversion Process Could Turn the Ocean’s Plastic Waste Into Clean Fuels
One research team is trying to tackle the growing problem of plastic waste ending up in the ocean. Purdue University researchers have created a new chemical conversion technique that could turn 90 percent of polyolefin waste, a common form of plastic, into more beneficial products like clean fuels, pure polymers, naphtha and monomers. “Our strategy…
Researchers Discover More Sustainable Chemical Manufacturing Technique
Researchers from RMIT University in Australia have found a new technique to harness sunlight and drive chemical reactions, which could yield more sustainable chemical manufacturing processes. The new method involves using nano-enhanced palladium to capture approximately 99 percent of light and convert it to power chemical reactions, reducing both the energy required and the environmental…
R&D Efforts to Make Plastic More Sustainable
A few large facilities make plastic, dispersed through converters and suppliers, which ultimately ends up in the hands of consumers. Tens of production sites feed hundreds of converters supplying thousands of stores shopped by millions of consumers. Virtually everyone in a modern society touches plastic almost every minute of every day. We now recognize that…
Using Body Heat to Power Wearable Tech
Many wearable biosensors, data transmitters and similar tech advances for personalized health monitoring have now been “creatively miniaturized,” says materials chemist Trisha Andrew at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, but they require a lot of energy, and power sources can be bulky and heavy. Now she and her Ph.D. student Linden Allison report that they…
Researchers Move Particles Through Fluid Using Ultraviolet Light
2D Magnetism Reaches a New Milestone
Researchers at the Center for Correlated Electron Systems, within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) in South Korea, in collaboration with Sogang University and Seoul National University, reported the first experimental observation of a XY-type antiferromagnetic material, whose magnetic order becomes unstable when it is reduced to one-atom thickness. Published in Nature Communications, these findings…
Nanoparticle Catalyst Efficiently Converts Methane to Formaldehyde
A new high performance catalyst could help more efficiently convert methane to formaldehyde, a beneficial resource used as a raw material for bactericides, preservatives and functional polymers. Researchers from the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) have developed a methane oxidase catalyst that consists of nanomaterials that enable a stable structure and high…
Chemists Gain New Insight into Harnessing Hydrogen from Water
Green Catalysts with Earth-Abundant Metals Accelerate Production of Bio-Based Plastic
Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) have developed and analyzed a novel catalyst for the oxidation of 5-hydroxymethyl furfural, which is crucial for generating new raw materials that replace the classic non-renewable ones used for making many plastics. It should be no surprise to most readers that finding an alternative to non-renewable natural…
Laser Diode Combats Counterfeit Oil
Researchers at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) and the Scintillon Institute in the USA have designed a sensor that can detect counterfeit olive oil labelled as extra virgin or protected designation of origin. The tool, a report on which has been published in Talanta, can distinguish between apparently similar oils that present notable differences…
Data Storage Using Individual Molecules
Researchers from the University of Basel have reported a new method that allows the physical state of just a few atoms or molecules within a network to be controlled. It is based on the spontaneous self-organization of molecules into extensive networks with pores about one nanometer in size. In the journal Small, the physicists reported…
Researchers Pioneer Machine Learning to Speed Chemical Discoveries, Reduce Waste
Machine learning algorithms can predict stock market fluctuations, control complex manufacturing processes, enable navigation for robots and driverless vehicles, and much more. Now, researchers at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering are tapping a new set of capabilities in this field of artificial intelligence, combining artificial neural networks with infrared thermal imaging to control and…
Researchers Produce Hydrogen in pH Neutral Conditions
Using Water Molecules to Unlock Neurons’ Secrets
Using Machine Learning to Design Peptides
Researchers Take an Inside Look at Hydrogen Bonds
Researchers have developed a new way to probe hydrogen bonds that could yield better catalysts for a number of applications in chemistry and biology. A Carnegie Mellon University research team has found a way to probe hydrogen bonds that modulate the chemical reactivity of enzymes, catalysts and biomimetic complexes using nuclear resonance vibrational spectroscopy (NRVS).…
Engineers Demonstrate Mechanics of Making Foam With Bubbles in Distinct Sizes
It’s easy to make bubbles, but try making hundreds of thousands of them a minute – all the same size. Rice University engineers can do that and much more. Rice chemical and biomolecular engineer Sibani Lisa Biswal and lead author and graduate student Daniel Vecchiolla have created a microfluidic device that pumps out more than…
Light Triggers Gold in Unexpected Way
Rice University researchers have discovered a fundamentally different form of light-matter interaction in their experiments with gold nanoparticles. They weren’t looking for it, but students in the lab of Rice chemist Stephan Link found that exciting the microscopic particles just right produced a near-perfect modulation of the light they scatter. The discovery may become useful…
Racing Electrons Under Control
How to Convert Climate-Changing Carbon Dioxide Into Plastics and Other Products
Rutgers scientists have developed catalysts that can convert carbon dioxide – the main cause of global warming – into plastics, fabrics, resins and other products. The electrocatalysts are the first materials, aside from enzymes, that can turn carbon dioxide and water into carbon building blocks containing one, two, three or four carbon atoms with more…