Headline: Cryo-imaging lifts the lid on fuel cell catalyst layers

■ Release Date: 2023.4.24

■ Published by: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

■ Keywords: platinum, catalyst, cell

■ Abstract:

Thanks to a novel combination of cryogenic transmission electron tomography and deep learning, EPFL researchers have provided a first look at the nanostructure of platinum catalyst layers, revealing how they could be optimized for fuel cell efficiency.

Headline: Researchers design battery prototype with fiber-shaped cathode

■ Release Date: 2023.4.24

■ Published by: North Carolina State University

■ Keywords: zinc-ion, battery, cathode

■ Abstract:

In a new study, researchers made a cathode, or the positive end of a battery, in the shape of a thread-like fiber. The researchers were then able to use the fiber to create a zinc-ion battery prototype that could power a wrist watch.

Headline: Better superconductors with palladium

■ Release Date: 2023.4.24

■ Published by: Vienna University of Technology

■ Keywords: copper, platinum, nickel

■ Abstract:

A new age of superconductors may be about to beginn: In the 1980s, many superconducting materials (called cuprates) were based on copper. Then, nickelates were discovered -- a new kind of superconducting materials based on nickel. But now, scientists from Austria and Japan have shown: There is a 'Goldilocks zone' of superconductivity which can neither be reached with cuprates nor with nickelates. Instead, palladium-based materials ('palladates') could be the solution.

Headline: Researchers team up with national lab for innovative look at copper reactions

■ Release Date: 2023.4.24

■ Published by: Binghamton University

■ Keywords: copper, hydrogen, carbon monoxide

■ Abstract:

Researchers are working to get a better look at how peroxides on the surface of copper oxide promote the oxidation of hydrogen but inhibit the oxidation of carbon monoxide, allowing them to steer oxidation reactions.

Headline: Outstanding performance of organic solar cell using tin oxide

■ Release Date: 2023.4.24

■ Published by: University of Groningen

■ Keywords: solar, cell, tin

■ Abstract:

Organic solar cells have a photoactive layer that is made from polymers and small molecules. The cells are very thin, can be flexible, and are easy to make. However, the efficiency of these cells is still much below that of conventional silicon-based ones. Applied physicists have now fabricated an organic solar cell with an efficiency of over 17 percent, which is in the top range for this type of material. It has the advantage of using an unusual device structure that is produced using a scalable technique.

Headline: Progress in alternative battery technology

■ Release Date: 2023.4.25

■ Published by: ETH Zurich

■ Keywords: zinc, battery, metal

■ Abstract:

It is not easy to make batteries cheap, efficient, durable, safe and environmentally friendly at the same time. Researchers have now succeeded in uniting all of these characteristics in zinc metal batteries.

Headline: CO2 recycling: What is the role of the electrolyte?

■ Release Date: 2023.4.25

■ Published by: Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie

■ Keywords: electrolyte, cell, cathode

■ Abstract:

The greenhouse gas carbon dioxide can be converted into useful hydrocarbons by electrolysis. The design of the electrolysis cell is crucial in this process. The so-called zero-gap cell is particularly suitable for industrial processes. But there are still problems: The cathodes clog up quickly.

Headline: Chemists tackle the tough challenge of recycling mixed plastics

■ Release Date: 2023.4.26

■ Published by: Colorado State University

■ Keywords: polymer, plastics, recycling

■ Abstract:

Polymer chemists have been finding ways to tackle the environmental problems humans have created with plastics waste. Now, a team has come up with fundamental new chemistry that seeds a creative solution to the challenge of recycling mixed-use plastics.

Headline: Using microbes to get more out of mining waste

■ Release Date: 2023.4.27

■ Published by: University of Waterloo

■ Keywords: metal, waste, tailings

■ Abstract:

Researchers have developed a new mining technique which uses microbes to recover metals and store carbon in the waste produced by mining. Adopting this technique of reusing mining waste, called tailings, could transform the mining industry and create a greener and more sustainable future.

Headline: Is the ocean a solution for ushering in the era of environmentally friendly energy?

■ Release Date: 2023.4.27

■ Published by: Pohang University of Science & Technology (POSTECH)

■ Keywords: chelating agents, battery, seawater

■ Abstract:

Researchers confirm the superiority of seawater batteries that use chelating agents.