How urea forms spontaneously

New reaction discovered: Potential for sustainable and low-energy urea synthesis

02-Jul-2025 - Urea is considered a possible key molecule in the origin of life. ETH researchers have discovered a previously unknown way in which this building block can form spontaneously on aqueous surfaces without the need for any additional energy. Urea is one of the most important industrial chemicals ...

Multi-million investment to drive the de-fossilization of the chemical industry

Verbio flagship project in bio-based chemicals: groundbreaking for catalyst production in Hungary

01-Jul-2025 - XiMo, a wholly owned subsidiary of Verbio SE, held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction of the new production facility for the large-scale industrial production of metathesis catalysts in Gödöllő, Hungary. Starting in summer 2026, innovative metathesis catalysts will be ...

Versatile new polymer material

Highly efficient metal catcher and building block for environmentally friendly batteries

30-Jun-2025 - Researchers at Ulm University have developed an organic material with extraordinary properties: The novel polymer is extremely effective at recovering valuable precious metals such as gold or palladium from solutions, separating toxic semimetals and also making batteries more environmentally ...

Electroactive polymers for heating and cooling

The temperature converters among electroactive materials

27-Jun-2025 - Electroactive polymers react to forces, deformations, and temperature changes with electrical signals. They can also deform or change their temperature under electrical voltage. Targeted temperature changes are particularly interesting for heating and cooling systems. Electrocaloric polymers are ...

Microbes transform plastic waste into paracetamol

How traditional chemistry can work with engineering biology to create sustainable chemical-producing living microbial factories

25-Jun-2025 - Paracetamol production could be revolutionised by the discovery that a common bacterium can turn everyday plastic waste into the painkiller, a study reveals. The new method leaves virtually no carbon emissions and is more sustainable than the current production of the medicine, researchers ...

Saint-Gobain acquires Maturix

25-Jun-2025 - Saint-Gobain announces the next step in the expansion of its digital construction chemicals platform with the acquisition of Maturix, based in Denmark, a leading provider of real-time monitoring solutions for the concrete industry. Maturix offers cutting-edge wireless sensor technology which ...

No data, no risk?

How the monitoring of chemicals in the environment shapes the perception of risks

23-Jun-2025 - Several hundred thousand chemicals are considered as potentially environmentally relevant. Scientists from the RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau in Germany show that monitoring data for surface waters are only available for a very small fraction of these chemicals. In their article, published in the ...

Metal-organic Frameworks with Metallic Conductivity

Researchers produce MOF thin film with genuine metallic conductivity for the first time – prospects for the electronics of the future

19-Jun-2025 - Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are characterized by high porosity and a customizable structure. They have enormous potential, for example for applications in electronics. Until now, however, their low electrical conductivity has severely limited their use. With the help of AI- and robot-assisted ...

New 3D-printing method makes two materials from one resin

Innovative material responds differently to UV versus visible light

06-Jun-2025 - One-pot recipes make preparing meals quick and easy. And one-pot 3D-printing could do the same for additive manufacturing. Now, researchers publishing in ACS Central Science have demonstrated a new resin that simultaneously creates solid objects and dissolvable structural supports, depending on ...

Renewable Materials Conference 2025: Nominees for the Innovation Award Unveiled

23-May-2025 - The Renewable Materials Conference (RMC), organised by the nova-Institute, will present leading solutions and innovations for replacing fossil carbon with biomass, CO₂ utilisation and recycling. The growing success of RMC demonstrates that its unique concept of presenting all solutions for ...