Microparticles with feeling

Researchers develop a new method to simultaneously measure flow and oxygen - Accurate and fast as never before

25-May-2022 - An international research team headed by the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Aarhus University and the Science for Life Lab in Uppsala has developed tiny particles that measure the oxygen concentration in their surroundings. In this way, they can track fluid flow and ...

A big bang: Graphene, hydrogen research leads to new company

A simple new way to create graphene

05-Apr-2022 - It's a true research success story: Explosive graphene and hydrogen research from Kansas State University has turned into a successful international company,HydroGraph Clean Power Inc. The company recently went public on the Canadian Securities Exchange and is preparing for decades of growth as ...

Easing oxygen's evolution

An electrode made from inexpensive earth-abundant metals bubbles with potential for green fuel production

14-Mar-2022 - A metal foam could underpin a low-cost method for generating carbon-free fuels, researchers from KAUST have shown. The team seamlessly coated the foam with iron and cobalt nanomaterials to create a highly active electrode for a device that splits water molecules to release oxygen and hydrogen, a ...

Surprising semiconductor properties revealed with innovative new method

Discovery reveals role of oxygen impurities in semiconductor properties

11-Mar-2022 - A research team probing the properties of a semiconductor combined with a novel thin oxide film have observed a surprising new source of conductivity from oxygen atoms trapped inside. Scott Chambers, a materials scientist at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, ...

A novel microscope pins down the miracle of molecular oxygen

Researchers track the first step of the reaction of one single dye pigment with oxygen at unprecedented resolution

26-Jul-2021 - Why is it that the colours of a t-shirt fade over time in the sun? Why do you get a sunburn, and why do the leaves of a tree turn brown in the autumn? These questions all have one theme in common, the interplay between dye pigments and ambient oxygen. Every child learns about this chemical ...

Scientists intensify electrolysis, utilize carbon dioxide more efficiently with magnets

"Our ultimate goal is to transform carbon dioxide back into carbon-based chemicals"

02-Jul-2021 - For decades, researchers have been working toward mitigating excess atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. One promising approach captures atmospheric CO2 and then, through CO2 electrolysis, converts it into value-added chemicals and intermediates--like ethanol, ethylene, and other useful ...

Scientists discover how oxygen loss saps a lithium-ion battery's voltage

Measuring the process in unprecedented detail gives them clues to how to minimize the problem and protect battery performance

16-Jun-2021 - When lithium ions flow in and out of a battery electrode during charging and discharging, a tiny bit of oxygen seeps out and the battery's voltage - a measure of how much energy it delivers - fades an equally tiny bit. The losses mount over time, and can eventually sap the battery's energy ...

Isolating an elusive missing link

Scientists have, for the first time, isolated and fully characterised an elusive intermediate in the Water Oxidation Reaction

04-Jun-2021 - The Water Oxidation Reaction (WOR) is one of the most important reactions on the planet since it is the source of nearly all the atmosphere's oxygen. Understanding its intricacies can hold the key to improve the efficiency of the reaction. Unfortunately, the reaction's mechanisms are complex and ...

Lightning and subvisible discharges produce molecules that clean the atmosphere

04-May-2021 - Lightning bolts break apart nitrogen and oxygen molecules in the atmosphere and create reactive chemicals that affect greenhouse gases. Now, a team of atmospheric chemists and lightning scientists have found that lightning bolts and, surprisingly, subvisible discharges that cannot be seen by ...

Decoding the way catalysts work

Good catalytic performance is driven chiefly by processes that occur on the surface of the catalyst – and not electrochemical processes

20-Nov-2020 - Splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen is an important chemical reaction, especially considering that the use of hydrogen as an energy source in sustainable mobility in the future. An international research team has now decoded how one of the catalysts used in this reaction works. Hydrogen is a ...