Better catalysts for a sustainable bioeconomy

Get zeolite research out of the dead end

24-Sep-2020 - Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and from ETH Zurich want to make so-called zeolites more efficient. Today, these compounds are already indispensable additives in the chemical industry and have been used as catalysts in oil refineries since the 1960s. Now, in the journal Nature ...

Effective pathway to convert CO2 into ethylene discovered

Promising way to to transform ethylene production into a greener industry

24-Sep-2020 - A research team from Caltech and the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering has demonstrated a promising way to efficiently convert carbon dioxide into ethylene -- an important chemical used to produce plastics, solvents, cosmetics and other important products globally. The scientists developed ...

Shape matters for light-activated nanocatalysts

Pointed tips on aluminum 'octopods' increase catalytic reactivity

23-Sep-2020 - Points matter when designing nanoparticles that drive important chemical reactions using the power of light. Researchers at Rice University's Laboratory for Nanophotonics (LANP) have long known that a nanoparticle's shape affects how it interacts with light, and their latest study shows how shape ...

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 ...

Splitting water molecules for a renewable energy future

New technique to reassemble, revivify, and reuse a catalyst

09-Sep-2020 - The future economy based on renewable and sustainable energy sources might utilize battery-powered cars, large-scale solar and wind farms, and energy reserves stored in batteries and chemical fuels. Although there are examples of sustainable energy sources in use already, scientific and ...

Chemist developed a green catalyst for pharmaceutical and industrial chemistry

Catalyst based on a substance that comes from plant waste

08-Sep-2020 - Many production facilities (e.g. plastic manufacturers, pharma companies, and others) use nanocatalysts that contain palladium--an expensive component that is not sustainably produced. A chemist from RUDN University found a way to reduce palladium consumption and to make its manufacture more ...

Photocatalysts show promise in creating self-cleaning surfaces and disinfecting agents

New active photocatalysts based on natural aluminosilicate nanotubes with cadmium sulfide quantum dots

07-Sep-2020 - A joint paper by Kazan Federal University, Boreskov Institute of Catalysis, and Russian Oil and Gas University was published in Chemistry - A European Journal. The team produced and studied new active photocatalysts based on natural aluminosilicate nanotubes with cadmium sulfide quantum dots ...

Manganese single-atom catalyst boosts performance of electrochemical CO2 Reduction

03-Sep-2020 - Electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) is a promising approach to convert CO2 into useful chemicals. A research team led by Prof. ZHANG Suojiang from the Institute of Process Engineering (IPE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences prepared a manganese (Mn) single-atom catalyst (SAC) with ...

New Nitrogen Assembly Carbon catalyst has potential to transform chemical manufacturing

More sophisticated and challenging chemical transformations without the need for transition metals

28-Aug-2020 - Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory have discovered a metal-free carbon-based catalyst that has the potential to be much less expensive and more efficient for many industrial concerns, including manufacturing of bio- and fossil fuels, electrocatalysis, and fuel cells. At ...

Making enzymes fit for industrial applications

Biobased process for ammonia production

27-Aug-2020 - Bacterial enzymes are often powerful but also very sensitive catalysts. To call up their performance, they therefore need a special environment. Researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) have developed new techniques for efficiently coupling bacterial enzymes to electrodes. Together with a ...