Headline: Researchers decode aqueous amino acid's potential for direct air capture of CO2

■ Release Date: 2023.12.4

■ Published by: DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory

■ Keywords: carbon dioxide, air capture, glycine

■ Abstract:

Scientists have made a significant stride toward understanding a viable process for direct air capture, or DAC, of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This DAC process is in early development with the aim of achieving negative emissions, where the amount of carbon dioxide removed from the envelope of gases surrounding Earth exceeds the amount emitted.

Headline: Engineers tackle hard-to-map class of materials

■ Release Date: 2023.12.4

■ Published by: Rice University

■ Keywords: ferroelectric, selenium, tin

■ Abstract:

Materials scientists mapped the structural features of a 2D ferroelectric material made of tin and selenium atoms using a new technique that can be applied to other 2D van der Waals ferroelectrics, unlocking their potential for use in electronics and other applications.

Headline: Tiny electromagnets made of ultra-thin carbon

■ Release Date: 2023.12.4

■ Published by: Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

■ Keywords: graphene, electromagnets, carbon

■ Abstract:

Graphene, that is extremely thin carbon, is considered a true miracle material. An international research team has now added another facet to its diverse properties with new experiments: Experts fired short terahertz pulses at micrometer-sized discs of graphene, which briefly turned these minuscule objects into surprisingly strong magnets. This discovery may prove useful for developing future magnetic switches and storage devices.

Headline: Breakthroughs in nanosized contrast agents and drug carriers through self-folding molecules

■ Release Date: 2023.12.4

■ Published by: Tokyo Institute of Technology

■ Keywords: polymer, gadolinium, magnetic resonance

■ Abstract:

Self-folding polymers containing gadolinium forming nanosized complexes could be the key to enhanced magnetic resonance imaging and next-generation drug delivery. Thanks to their small size, low toxicity, and good tumor accumulation and penetration, these complexes represent a leap forward in contrast agents for cancer diagnosis, as well as neutron capture radiotherapy.

Headline: Harvesting water from air with solar power

■ Release Date: 2023.12.5

■ Published by: American Institute of Physics

■ Keywords: solar, gel, salt

■ Abstract:

Researchers have developed a promising new solar-powered atmospheric water harvesting technology that could help provide enough drinking water for people to survive in difficult, dryland areas: They synthesized a super hygroscopic gel capable of absorbing and retaining an unparalleled amount of water. One kilogram of dry gel could adsorb 1.18 kilograms of water in arid atmospheric environments and up to 6.4 kilograms in humid atmospheric environments. This hygroscopic gel was simple and inexpensive to prepare and would consequently be suitable for large-scale preparation.

Headline: Chemists create organic molecules in a rainbow of colors

■ Release Date: 2023.12.5

■ Published by: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

■ Keywords: acene, semiconductors, solar cell

■ Abstract:

Chemists have now come up with a way to make molecules known as acenes more stable, allowing them to synthesize acenes of varying lengths. Using their new approach, they were able to build molecules that emit red, orange, yellow, green, or blue light, which could make acenes easier to deploy in a variety of applications.

Headline: Catalyst for electronically controlled C--H functionalization

■ Release Date: 2023.12.7

■ Published by: Princeton University

■ Keywords: cobalt, catalyst, iridium

■ Abstract:

Scientists chipping away at one of the great challenges of metal-catalyzed C--H functionalization with a new method that uses a cobalt catalyst to differentiate between bonds in fluoroarenes, functionalizing them based on their intrinsic electronic properties. And their method is fast -- comparable in speed to those that rely on iridium.

Headline: Polaritons open up a new lane on the semiconductor highway

■ Release Date: 2023.12.7

■ Published by: Purdue University

■ Keywords: phonons, heat transfer, semiconductors

■ Abstract:

On the highway of heat transfer, thermal energy is moved by way of quantum particles called phonons. But at the nanoscale of today's most cutting-edge semiconductors, those phonons don't remove enough heat. That's why researchers are focused on opening a new nanoscale lane on the heat transfer highway by using hybrid quasiparticles called 'polaritons.'.