Chemistry News
 | A graphene-boron compound is theoretically capable of storing double the energy of common graphite anodes used in lithium-ion batteries. ...> Full Article |
 | Berkeley Lab researchers have created the first fully integrated artificial photosynthesis nanosystem. While "artificial leaf" is the popular term for such a system, the key to this success was an "artificial forest." ...> Full Article |
 | By simply manipulating chemical gradients in a beaker of fluid, materials scientists at Harvard have found that they can control the growth behavior of crystals to create precisely tailored structures -- such as delicate, micron-scale flowers. ...> Full Article |
 | You know that summer is here when juicy red strawberries start to appear on the shelves. In Germany, this seasonal fruit has never been more popular: on average 3.5 kilos per head were consumed in 2012 -- a full kilogram more than ten years ago. Scientists from the Technische Universität München decided to find out what gives strawberries their characteristic flavor. ...> Full Article |
Northwestern University scientists have struck gold in the laboratory. They have discovered an inexpensive and environmentally benign method that uses simple cornstarch -- instead of cyanide -- to isolate gold from raw materials in a selective manner. This green method extracts gold from crude sources and leaves behind other metals that are often found mixed together with the crude gold.
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An international team of scientists, including a University of York researcher, has carried out ground-breaking experiments to investigate the atomic structure of astatine, the rarest naturally occurring element on Earth.
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Photosynthetic water-oxidation is one of the central processes of life on Earth but remains incompletely understood. Now, a German-American team of scientists has set out to observe the intermediate stages of this complex catalytic reaction using ultrashort snap shots taken at light sources including BESSY II in Berlin and the Linac Coherent Light Source at Stanford. To support their efforts, the Human Frontier Science Program has now pledged funding of approximately 900,000 US dollars for a total three-year period.
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 | Solar panels could become as inexpensive as paint as researchers develop the next generation of photovoltaics. One of the more promising fields of research involves plasmonic-enhanced organic photovoltaic materials. ...> Full Article |
 | Researchers have created a new tool to detect flaws in lithium-ion batteries as they are being manufactured, a step toward reducing defects and inconsistencies in the thickness of electrodes that affect battery life and reliability. ...> Full Article |
Scientists at the University of Liverpool have shown that some atomic nuclei can assume the shape of a pear which contributes to our understanding of nuclear structure and the underlying fundamental interactions.
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In 1998, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research began a search for an environmentally friendly spacecraft propellant to replace hydrazine, which was toxic, corrosive, and highly flammable. Success was found in an ionic liquid monopropellant, to be used by NASA in a 2015 space mission.
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The search for cleaner, low temperature nuclear fuels produces shock result for a team of experts at The University of Nottingham.
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 | Researchers from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology demonstrated high-performance polymer solar cells (PSCs) with power conversion efficiency of 8.92 percent which is the highest values reported to date for plasmonic PSCs using metal nanoparticles. ...> Full Article |
 | University of Utah metallurgists used an old microwave oven to produce a nanocrystal semiconductor rapidly using cheap, abundant and less toxic metals than other semiconductors. They hope it will be used for more efficient photovoltaic solar cells and LED lights, biological sensors and systems to convert waste heat to electricity. ...> Full Article |
Thermoelectric materials can be used to turn waste heat into electricity or to provide refrigeration without any liquid coolants, and a research team from the University of Michigan has found a way to nearly double the efficiency of a particular class of them that's made with organic semiconductors.
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