Easy aluminum nanoparticles for rapid, efficient hydrogen generation from water

“We don’t need any energy input, and it bubbles hydrogen like crazy. I’ve never seen anything like it”

22-Feb-2022 - Aluminum is a highly reactive metal that can strip oxygen from water molecules to generate hydrogen gas. Its widespread use in products that get wet poses no danger because aluminum instantly reacts with air to acquire a coating of aluminum oxide, which blocks further reactions. For years, ...

New catalyst for hydrogen production is a step toward clean fuel

18-Jan-2018 - A nanostructured composite material developed at UC Santa Cruz has shown impressive performance as a catalyst for the electrochemical splitting of water to produce hydrogen. An efficient, low-cost catalyst is essential for realizing the promise of hydrogen as a clean, environmentally friendly ...

Novel capping strategy improves stability of perovskite nanocrystals

16-Jun-2016 - Perovskite materials have shown great promise for use in next-generation solar cells, light-emitting devices (LEDs), sensors, and other applications, but their instability remains a critical limitation. Researchers at UC Santa Cruz attacked this problem by focusing on perovskite nanocrystals, in ...

NSF grant funds UCSC chemists developing alternatives to phthalate plasticizers

Chemistry professor Rebecca Braslau has developed a new approach that could lead to a safe and affordable alternative to widely used phthalates

02-Jun-2014 - Rebecca Braslau, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UC Santa Cruz, has received a $480,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to support her research to develop a safe and affordable alternative to phthalate plasticizers. Phthalates are synthetic chemicals added to polyvinyl ...

New device harnesses sun and sewage to produce hydrogen fuel

A novel device that uses only sunlight and wastewater to produce hydrogen gas could provide a sustainable energy source while improving the efficiency of wastewater treatment

16-Oct-2013 - A research team led by Yat Li, associate professor of chemistry at the University of California, Santa Cruz, developed the solar-microbial device and reported their results in a paper published in the journal ACS Nano. The hybrid device combines a microbial fuel cell (MFC) and a type of solar ...

Stanford researchers say 'peak oil' concerns should ease

11-Jul-2013 - Fears of depleting the Earth's supply of oil are unwarranted, according to new research, which concludes that the demand for oil – as opposed to the supply – will reach its own peak and then decline. "Peak oil" prognosticators have painted pictures of everything from a calm development of ...

Hollow gold nanospheres show promise for biomedical and other applications

24-Mar-2009 - A new metal nanostructure developed by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has already shown promise in cancer therapy studies and could be used for chemical and biological sensors and other applications as well. The hollow gold nanospheres developed in the laboratory of Jin ...

Oxford Nanopore Technologies Announces License Agreement with University of California, Santa Cruz

21-Aug-2008 - Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd announced the completion of an exclusive license agreement to develop nanopore science developed at the University of California, Santa Cruz (“UCSC”), in the laboratories of Professors David Deamer and Mark Akeson. Oxford Nanopore will also fund research in the ...