A sweet reaction: Microwaves might increase the sustainability of the chemicals industry

This work will help minimize use of fossil resources in industrial chemicals production

08-Feb-2023 - Much of what the chemicals industry produces, except for metals, is derived from fossil resources. Using renewable biomass and even one-carbon sources—such as formaldehyde—is necessary to increase the sustainability of the chemicals industry. In a study recently published in RSC Advances, ...

Modified microwave oven cooks up next-gen semiconductors

The breakthrough could change the geometry of transistors used in microchips

13-Sep-2022 - A household microwave oven modified by a Cornell engineering professor is helping to cook up the next generation of cellphones, computers and other electronics after the invention was shown to overcome a major challenge faced by the semiconductor industry. The research is detailed in ...

A nanokelvin microwave refrigerator for molecules

A new method to cool gases of polar molecules to near absolute zero paves the way to study quantum effects of exotic matter forms

02-Aug-2022 - Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics have developed a novel cooling technique for molecular gases that allows polar molecules to be cooled down to a few nanokelvin. The trick used by the team in Garching to overcome this hurdle is based on a rotating microwave field. It helps ...

Microwaves power new technology for batteries, energy

New battery technology involving microwaves may provide an avenue for renewable energy conversion and storage

24-Apr-2020 - Purdue University researchers created a technique to turn waste polyethylene terephthalate, one of the most recyclable polymers, into components of batteries. "We use an ultrafast microwave irradiation process to turn PET, or polyethylene terephthalate, flakes into disodium terephthalate, and use ...

Silicon breakthrough could make key microwave technology much cheaper and better

25-May-2018 - Researchers using powerful supercomputers have found a way to generate microwaves with inexpensive silicon, a breakthrough that could dramatically cut costs and improve devices such as sensors in self-driving vehicles. "Until now, this was considered impossible," said C.R. Selvakumar, an ...

Synthesis of medicinally privileged heterocycles through dielectric heating

10-Mar-2017 - Heterocyclic compounds are enormously crucial in various industries including food, agricultural, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Heterocyclic pharmacophores are one of the main chemical components in drug discovery research. A report in 2013 claims that four out of six and nine out of twenty one ...

Sorting machine for atoms

13-Feb-2017 - Physicists at the University of Bonn have cleared a further hurdle on the path to creating quantum computers: in a recent study, they present a method with which they can very quickly and precisely sort large numbers of atoms. Imagine you are standing in a grocery store buying apple juice. ...

Engineers use microwaves to produce high-quality graphene

Rutgers experts discover easy way to make graphene for flexible and printable electronics, energy storage, and catalysis

05-Sep-2016 - Rutgers University engineers have found a simple method for producing high-quality graphene that can be used in next-generation electronic and energy devices: bake the compound in a microwave oven. "This is a major advance in the graphene field," said Manish Chhowalla, professor and associate ...

Diamonds closer to becoming ideal semiconductors

26-May-2016 - Along with being a "girl's best friend," diamonds also have remarkable properties that could make them ideal semiconductors. This is welcome news for electronics; semiconductors are needed to meet the rising demand for more efficient electronics that deliver and convert power. The thirst for ...

Microwaved nanoribbons may bolster oil and gas wells

17-May-2016 - Wellbores drilled to extract oil and gas can be dramatically reinforced with a small amount of modified graphene nanoribbons added to a polymer and microwaved, according to Rice University researchers. The Rice labs of chemist James Tour and civil and environmental engineer Rouzbeh Shahsavari ...