my.chemeurope.com
With an accout for my.chemeurope.com you can always see everything at a glance – and you can configure your own website and individual newsletter.
01-26-2010: University of Chicago chemists published an article in the Journal of Chemical Physics three years ago that described an early step in the process for efficiently converting methane into synthesis gas, which is useful for producing liquid fuels and hydrogen. Such developments could be critical if the nation is to take better advantage of its abundant methane reserves, said Steven Sibener, the Carl William Eisendrath Professor in Chemistry and the James Franck Institute, whose research group conducted the study. Now Sibener and his associates at four partner universities have established a center for chemical innovation to pursue a broader range of similar research aimed at spurring innovation and economic competitiveness. A $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation supports the work.
The new Center for Energetic Non-Equilibrium Chemistry at Interfaces (CENECI) is a team effort of UChicago, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Montana State University, Northwestern University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Additional partners who endorsed the center proposal are Argonne National Laboratory, Cabot Microelectronics Corporation of Aurora, Ill., and the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
The new center will explore the chemical reactions that unfold under conditions infused with more energy than would normally occur. "One hopes to find new chemistries or more efficient ways of doing known processes," Sibener said.
The syngas experiments are but one example of non-equilibrium chemistry. In the experiments, the UChicago team collided beams of molecules traveling at supersonic speeds onto a modestly heated metal surface. The high-energy collision breaks the bonds between the methane molecule's carbon atom and its hydrogen atoms, an important step in the process of turning methane into syngas. Complementing this, the catalyst held at modest temperatures ensures high selectivity in subsequent surface reactions.
The NSF center for chemical innovation will pursue three research themes: new chemical transformations and catalysis under energetic conditions; materials growth, initially focusing on diamond growth for technological applications; and reactions in liquids.
Contact / Request information
Request further information free of charge:
Watchlist
This is where you can add this news to your personal favourites
Crystal defect shown to be key to making hollow nanotubes
Scientists have no problem making a menagerie of nanometer-sized objects -- wires, tubes, belts, and even tree-like structures. What they sometimes have been unable to do is explain precisely how those objects form in the vapor and liquid cauldrons in which they are made. Now a team led by ... more
Scavenging energy waste to turn water into hydrogen fuel
Materials scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have designed a way to harvest small amounts of waste energy and harness them to turn water into usable hydrogen fuel. The process is simple, efficient and recycles otherwise-wasted energy into a useable form. "This study provide ... more
Nanotechnologists from Penn collaborate to form near-frictionless diamond material
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and IBM Research-Zürich have fabricated an ultra sharp, diamond-like carbon tip possessing such high strength that it is 3,000 times more wear-resistant at the nanoscale than silicon. The end result is a dia ... more
The world's fastest camera: Trillion-frame-per-second video
MIT researchers have created a new imaging system that can acquire visual data at a rate of one trillion exposures per second. That’s fast enough to produce a slow-motion video of a burst of light traveling the length of a one-liter bottle, bouncing off the cap and reflecting back to the bo ... more
MIT research update: New way to store sun's heat
A novel application of carbon nanotubes, developed by MIT researchers, shows promise as an innovative approach to storing solar energy for use whenever it's needed.Storing the sun's heat in chemical form — rather than converting it to electricity or storing the heat itself in a heavily insu ... more
MIT Study: conventional fossil fuels sometimes 'greener' than biofuels
In an effort to combat soaring fuel prices and cut greenhouse gas emissions, the aviation industry is racing toward the use of biofuels. In 2008, Virgin Atlantic became the first commercial airline to fly a plane on a blend of biofuel and petroleum. Since then, Air New Zealand, Qatar Airway ... more
University of Chicago establishes new center for chemical innovation
University of Chicago chemists published an article in the Journal of Chemical Physics three years ago that described an early step in the process for efficiently converting methane into synthesis gas, which is useful for producing liquid fuels and hydrogen. Such developments could be criti ... more
New type of fuel found in Patagonia fungus
A team led by a Montana State University professor has found a fungus that produces a new type of diesel fuel, which they say holds great promise. Calling the fungus' output "myco-diesel," Gary Strobel and his collaborators describe their initial observations in Microbiology. The discovery ... more
About CHEMIE.DE
CHEMIE.DE Information Service GmbH runs specialist scientific internet portals. The secret to our success? We are familiar with what we publish.
Advertising at CHEMIE.DE
Our advertising formats support you in getting your message across to a clearly defined target audience.
© 1997-2011 CHEMIE.DE Information Service GmbH, All rights reserved
