New electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries performs well in frigid regions and seasons

23-May-2023

Many owners of electric vehicles worry about how effective their battery will be in very cold weather.Now a new battery chemistry may have solved that problem. In currentlithium-ion batteries, the main problem lies in the liquid electrolyte. This key battery component transfers charge-carrying ...

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10-Mar-2023

Researchers at the University of Notre Dame are adding to their list of consumer products that contain PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), a toxic class of fluorine compounds known as “forever chemicals.” In a new study published in Environmental Science and Technology Letters, ...

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A fast, efficient, selective membrane for purifying saltwater

16-May-2022

Water scarcity is a growing problem around the world. Desalination of seawater is an established method to produce drinkable water but comes with huge energy costs. For the first time, researchers use fluorine-based nanostructures to successfully filter salt from water. Compared to current ...

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17-Jun-2021

Many cosmetics sold in the United States and Canada likely contain high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a potentially toxic class of chemicals linked to a number of serious health conditions, according to new research from the University of Notre Dame. Scientists tested more ...

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02-Apr-2021

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis reported the first observations of a new form of fluorine, the isotope 13F, described in the journal Physical Review Letters. They made their discovery as part of an experiment conducted at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at ...

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New solutions for fluorine chemistry

17-Feb-2021

Two new catalysts for aromatics refinement using fluorine compounds and a new fluorine building block are among the results achieved at the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis in Rostock (LIKAT) in the past year. In laboratories around the world, fluorine is considered a hot element when it comes to ...

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Chemists harness synergy effect of gallium

22-Jan-2021

Chemists at Friedrich Schiller University Jena have demonstrated the value of “teamwork” by successfully harnessing the interaction between two gallium atoms in a novel compound to split the particularly strong bond between fluorine and carbon. The gallium compound is also cheaper and more ...

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Water-based lithium-ion batteries would be safer to handle and easier to recycle

23-Jul-2020

Lithium-ion batteries contain salts rich in fluorine, which decompose in humid air to toxic, highly corrosive hydrogen fluoride. The hazardous nature of this substance makes recycling more difficult and more expensive. A research project entitled "Fluoribat" is now being launched at Empa to solve ...

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Novel fabrication method for affordable gas membranes

06-Jul-2020

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, are advancing gas membrane materials to expand practical technology options for reducing industrial carbon emissions. Results published in Chem demonstrate a fabrication method for ...

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Investigations with neutrons settle scientific dispute about the structure of fluorine

29-Mar-2019

In toothpaste, Teflon, LEDs and medications, it shows its sunny side – but elemental fluorine is extremely aggressive and highly toxic. Attempts to determine the crystal structure of solid fluorine using X-rays ended with explosions 50 years ago. A research team has now clarified the actual ...

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