Providing Safe, Clean Water

03-Dec-2019

In many parts of the world, access to clean drinking water is far from certain. Filtration of large volumes of water, however, is slow and impractical. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, scientists have introduced a new water purification method based on magnetic nanoparticles coated with a ...

more

High-energy-density polymeric cathode for fast-charge sodium- and multivalent-ion batteries

06-Nov-2019

Next-generation batteries will probably see the replacement of lithium ions by more abundant and environmentally benign alkali metal or multivalent ions. A major challenge, however, is the development of stable electrodes that combine high energy densities with fast charge and discharge rates. In ...

more

22-Oct-2019

Evening gowns with interwoven LEDs may look extravagant, but the light sources need a constant power supply from devices that are as well wearable, durable, and lightweight. Chinese scientists have manufactured fibrous electrodes for wearable devices that are flexible and excel by their high ...

more

Strained, Symmetric, and New

02-Oct-2019

Many natural compounds used in medicine have complex molecular architectures that are difficult to recreate in the lab. Help could come from a small hydrocarbon molecule, called tetravinylallene, which has been synthesized for the first time by Australian scientists. As detailed in the journal ...

more

Determination of the crystal structure of a DNA-stabilized silver nanocluster

13-Sep-2019

Nanoclusters are little “heaps” of a few atoms that often have interesting optical properties and could become useful probes for imaging processes in areas such as biomedicine and diagnostics. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, researchers have introduced a nanocluster of 16 silver atoms ...

more

Organic dye in zinc oxide interlayer stabilizes and boosts the performance of organic solar cells

20-Aug-2019

Organic solar cells are made of cheap and abundant materials, but their efficiency and stability still lag behind those of silicon-based solar cells. A Chinese-German team of scientists has found a way to enhance the electric conductivity of organic solar cells, which increases their ...

more

A smart chemoenzymatic method detects and removes hazardous phenols

13-Aug-2019

Many industrial and agriculture processes use chemicals that can be harmful for workers and the ecosystems where they accumulate. Researchers from Thailand have now developed a bioinspired method to detect and detoxify these chemicals in only one step. As they report in the journal Angewandte ...

more

Heterostructure crystals could light the way to optical circuits

09-Aug-2019

It may be possible to reach new levels of miniaturization, speed, and data processing with optical quantum computers, which use light to carry information. For this, we need materials that can absorb and transmit photons. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, Chinese scientists have introduced a new ...

more

Chemotactic movement on the macroscale by a swarm of bacteria-mimicking nanoswimmers

07-Aug-2019

Bacteria can actively move towards a nutrient source—a phenomenon known as chemotaxis—and they can move collectively in a process known as swarming. Chinese scientists have redesigned collective chemotaxis by creating artificial model nanoswimmers from chemically and biochemically modified gold ...

more

Power generator autonomously switches between two functional modes

15-May-2019

Underwater vehicles, diving robots, and detectors require their own energy supply to operate for long periods independent of ships. A new, inexpensive system for the direct electrochemical extraction of energy from seawater offers the advantage of also being able to handle short spikes in power ...

more