Novel catalysts improve efficiency of urea synthesis at ambient conditions

02-Mar-2021 - Converting both nitrogen (N2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) into value-added urea molecules via C-N coupling reaction is a promising method to solve the problem of excessive CO2 emissions. Compared with huge energy consumption industrial processes, the electrochemical urea synthesis provides an ...

Scientists probe electronic angular momentum to a chemical reaction for the first time

01-Mar-2021 - A chemical reaction can be understood in detail at the quantum state-resolved level, through a combined study of molecular crossed beam experiments and theoretical quantum molecular reaction dynamics simulations. At a single collision condition, the molecular crossed beam apparatus is able to ...

Purely Organic Hole Transporter

Dopant-free, humidity-stable organic layers give perovskite solar cells 21% efficiency

19-Jan-2021 - Durable, high-performing perovskite solar cells also require durable, high-performing charge-transporting layers. Scientists have developed the first organic hole transporter that does not need a dopant to attain high charge mobility and stability. According to the study published in the journal ...

Bioinspired material to oust plastics

Tough, strong and heat-endure

11-Nov-2020 - Modern life relies closely on plastics, even though the petroleum-based production creates serious environmental challenges. The industry opts out to use sustainable materials due to their limited mechanical properties or complex manufacturing processes. An advanced strategy to design and produce ...

Ultraheavy precision polymers

Controlled photoenzymatic RAFT polymerization of nonconjugated polymers

30-Oct-2020 - An environmentally friendly and sustainable synthesis of "heavyweight" polymers with very narrow molecular weight distributions is an important concept in modern polymer chemistry. Thanks to a new photoenzymatic process, Chinese researchers have been able to increase the range of possible ...

Merck Announces € 20 Million OLED Manufacturing Expansion in Korea and China

Additional OLED sublimation units will help meet customer demand in the growing OLED market of Asia

29-Oct-2020 - Merck announced a € 20 million expansion of its OLED (organic light-emitting diode) manufacturing capacity at its sites in Pyeongtaek, Korea and Shanghai, China. Additional sublimation units will be built to help meet customer demand in the growing OLED market. With the investment, Merck will ...

BASF to increase production capacity for synthetic ester base stocks in Jinshan, China

Capacity to be almost doubled

13-Oct-2020 - BASF will almost double the production capacity for its synthetic ester base stocks at its site in Jinshan, China. The investment comes in response to the rising demand for high-performance lubricants in Asia Pacific and further strengthens BASF’s position as a reliable supplier that strongly ...

Engineered electrode material moves battery research closer to 'holy grail'

An electric vehicle with such a battery could travel 600 miles on a single charge

12-Oct-2020 - Electric vehicles are gaining in popularity, but their long charging time is a significant detraction for potential customers. While a typical SUV with a combustion engine could travel 300 miles with a five-minute refuel, a state-of-the-art electric vehicle takes about one hour to store enough ...

Tracking structural regeneration of catalysts for electrochemical CO2 reduction

15-Sep-2020 - Recent years have witnessed explosive development in electrochemical CO2 reduction into valuable chemicals or fuels. The CO2 electroreduction is considered as a promising route to utilize renewable electricity from intermittent energy, such as solar, winder, geothermal power, etc. Designing ...

Scientists develop low-temperature resisting aqueous zinc-based batteries

03-Sep-2020 - Aqueous zinc-based batteries (ZBBs) are widely used for portable and grid-scale applications due to their high safety, low cost and high energy density. However, the inhomogeneous zinc deposition on anode during charging and the zinc dendrite formation decrease the cycling stability of ZBBs. ...