Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a chief component of smokestack emissions, and is considered to be the most vital greenhouse gas involved in climate change. Recently ACS Central Science featured a report highlighting how the pollutant can be converted into a useful material, increasingly used in high-tech batteries that store "green" energy like solar power, while simultaneously controlling the environmental impact of existing power plants.
Organic photovoltaics bear great potential for large-scale, cost-effective solar power generation. One challenge to be surmounted is the poor ordering of the thin layers on top of the electrodes.
Nuclear reactors tend to have a limited working life span. One reason for this is that metals subjected to the powerful radiation environment close to the core of the reactor become brittle and porous, resulting in cracking and failure. A team of researchers from MIT and other organizations has discovered that in a few reactors the introduction of a small quantity of carbon nanotubes to the metal can drastically slow down this breakdown process.
A research team from the Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics of the Russian Academy of Sciences have synthesized the material that is perfect for protection of respiratory organs, analytical research and other practical purposes. An almost weightless fabric made of nylon nanofibers with a diameter less than 15 nm beats any other similar materials in terms of filtering and optical properties.
Among the first experiments at the National Synchrotron Light Source II—NSLS-II, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility located at DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory—were studies of irradiated steels similar to those used in nuclear reactor pressure vessels (RPVs). The purpose of these experiments was to determine the structural properties of nanoscale features that lead to embrittlement in RPVs, and the findings will help regulatory agencies determine safe operating lifetimes for the nation’s existing fleet of nuclear reactors.
Could a cheap molecule used to disinfect swimming pools provide the key to creating a new form of DNA nanomaterials?
According to statistics, the majority of accidents occur at dusk or at night – poor visibility is often the trigger. Intelligent headlights adapt to the current traffic situation, and can be a remedy. In collaboration with industry partners, Fraunhofer researchers have developed a high-resolution illumination system with more than 1,000 LED pixels: It offers considerably more options for precise light distribution than previous solutions have and is also energy efficient.
EPFL researchers have developed conductive tracks that can be bent and stretched up to four times their original length. They could be used in artificial skin, connected clothing and on-body sensors.
A new one atom-thick flat material that could upstage the wonder material graphene and advance digital technology has been discovered by a physicist at the University of Kentucky working in collaboration with scientists from Daimler in Germany and the Institute for Electronic Structure and Laser (IESL) in Greece.
Platinum is one of the costly metals used as catalysts in new technologies employed for industrial chemical processes, renewable energy sources, pollution control and many other purposes. In particular, it is used for fuel cells, devices that turn chemical energy directly into electrical energy, without combustion.
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