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Latest News: Technologies

Graphene-POSS polymer additives enable lightweighting

MITO Material Solutions (Indianapolis, Ind.; www.mitomaterials.com) has developed a proprietary graphene-functionalization technique that produces unique strength-enhancing additives for a wide variety of polymers and composites. The additives significantly improve mechanical properties (including tensile strength, flexural modulus and others) of the…

Single-atom thin platinum makes a sensitive chemical sensor

Boosting the sensitivity of solid-state gas sensors is often achieved by incorporating nanostructured materials as the sensing element. However, interfacial effects at nanoparticles, grains or contacts can lead to non-linear responses, high electrical resistance or electrical noise. A possible way…

An electrochemical process treats wastewater from biofuels production

Researchers from the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Universiy of Sydney (Sydney, Australia; www.sydney.edu.au), led by Alejandro Montoya, have developed an electrochemical oxidation process to clear up wastewater, which is heavily contaminated with organic and inorganic species…

New fabrication method for fluorine-containing carbon-capture membranes

Recent work by a team of researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL; Oak Ridge, Tenn.; www.ornl.gov) and the University of Tennessee (Knoxville; www.utk.edu) has brought cost-effective, fluorinated carbon molecular-sieve membranes within closer reach. To make the membrane, the researchers…

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A zinc-based catalyst makes syngas by co-electrolysis

Researchers from the University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia; www.unsw.edu.au), led by professor Rose Amal, have shown that by making zinc oxide at very high temperatures using a technique called flame spray pyrolysis (FSP), they can create nanoparticles that…

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Waste-based rubber can be joined or repaired catalytically

A new sustainable rubber that can, with an amine catalyst, be repaired and returned to its original strength in minutes, has been discovered by researchers from Flinders University (Adelaide, Australia; www.flinders.edu.au), the University of Western Australia (Perth), and the University…

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Improved process for treating AMD waste recovers more rare earth elements

By modifying a traditional treatment method for acid mine drainage (AMD), researchers at Penn State University (PSU; State College, Pa.; www.psu.edu) were able to both reduce the amount of chemicals required for treatment and increase the amount of rare earth…

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A new approach makes flexible screw pumps

Leistritz Pumpen GmbH (Nuremberg, Germany; www.leistritz.com) has recently introduced Flexcore, the first screw pump capable of adapting to a wide range of installation situations. “With Flexcore, Leistritz has now created a globally groundbreaking innovation — a pump class that, for…

A steam-stable MOF for high-capacity carbon capture

A recently discovered family of highly porous metal-organic framework (MOF) materials is showing promise in carbon-capture applications. Researchers from University of California, Berkeley (www.berkeley.edu), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL; www.lbl.gov) and ExxonMobil Corp. (Irving, Tex.; www.exxonmobil.com) demonstrated the efficacy of…

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Chementator Briefs – Sept. 2020

Smart Stir Bar Scientists at the University of Warwick (Coventry, U.K.; www.warwick.ac.uk) have developed a magnetic stir bar with an integrated process monitoring system. Described in a recent issue of ACS Sensors, the Smart Stirrer has an integrated microprocessor and…