Latest News: Technologies
Small-angle X-ray scattering reveals catalyst degradation routes for CO2RR
The CO2 electrochemical reduction reaction (CO2RR) has intrigued scientists for decades as a way to make fuel and chemicals from the greenhouse gas CO2. Prior research identified copper as a CO2RR catalyst, and has revealed the active sites where electrocatalysis…
Creating microgels for drug delivery by ion exchange
One method used to deliver drugs in a controlled manner is to encapsulate them in an injectable gel. Microgels — hydrogel particles made of synthetic or natural polymers with a high water content that measure about 1 to 100 micrometers…
This single-pot reaction scheme could open the path to recycling used tires
Recycling vehicle tires is complicated because the rubbers used (including butadiene and polyisoprene) are highly cross-linked, and because pyrolysis-based recycling of the rubbers generates environmentally hazardous compounds like benzene and dioxins. Now, researchers at the University of North Carolina at…
Non-fluorinated coatings reach new heights with first oil- and water-repellent textile product
As industries and consumers have shown an increasing preference for water and oil repellents that do not include any fluorinated materials, significant efforts and years of research and testing have gone into developing non-fluorinated alternatives. AGC Chemicals Americas, Inc. (AGCCA;…
Direct cryo-compression of gaseous hydrogen: the “best of both worlds” between liquefaction and compression
Safe and cost-effective storage represents one of the major hurdles in the widespread adoption of “clean” hydrogen in energy applications. A hydrogen-storage approach called cryo-compression is being poised as a bridge between high-density (but expensive) hydrogen liquefaction and cheaper (but…
Molten-salt electrolysis process quickly scales up U.S. cobalt-refining capacity
A proprietary molten-salt electrolysis (MSE) process originally designed for battery manufacturing has now been re-optimized for North America’s first operational cobalt-refining plant. The DirectPlateTM MSE technology developed by Xerion Advanced Battery Corp. (Kettering, Ohio; www.xerionbattery.com; see Direct molten-salt electroplating cuts…
This MOF selectively adsorbs CO2 from biogas and can be regenerated under mild conditions
Biogas — produced from anaerobic digestion of organic matter — contains a mixture of gases, with methane and carbon dioxide as the predominant components. To use biogas as a fuel source, purification of the gas is typically needed to remove…
Direct synthesis of C2 hydrocarbons using photoelectrochemistry
Researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley, Calif. www.lbl.gov), along with a host of collaborators, have made progress on an artificial photosynthesis system that converts CO2 into ethane and ethylene using nanostructured copper and perovskite. In a recent publication…
Conversion of CO2 gas to graphene successfully demonstrated
The ability to economically produce large scales of graphene will help to enable many high-performance applications, from smart packaging materials and medical devices to safer gas storage. A new process demonstrated at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI; San Antonio, Tex.; www.swri.org)…
Short-loop battery recycling uses vegetable-oil nanoemulsion
Efficient and sustainable recycling of lithium-ion batteries is a crucial element in electrifying transportation. Black mass is a mixture of cathode and anode materials remaining after disassembly and shredding of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Many valuable materials, including lithium and…