Headline: ODS FeCrAl alloys endure liquid metal flow at 600 °C resembling a fusion blanket environment

■ Release Date: 2024.11.25

■ Published by: Institute of Science Tokyo

■ Keywords: lithium, alloy, lead

■ Abstract:

Researchers explored protective coatings to resist corrosion in fusion reactors. They tested -Al2O3 oxide layers on ODS alloys in a high-temperature, flowing lithium-lead environment. Even bare ODS alloys formed a durable -LiAlO2 layer in situ, which suppressed further corrosion. The layers exhibited strong adhesion under mechanical stress, making these findings crucial for improving material durability in fusion reactors and high-temperature energy systems.

Headline: Using sunlight to recycle black plastics

■ Release Date: 2024.11.25

■ Published by: American Chemical Society

■ Keywords: plastics, recycle, polystyrene

■ Abstract:

Not all plastics are equal -- some types and colors are easier to recycle than others. For instance, black foam and black coffee lids, which are often made of polystyrene, usually end up in landfills because color additives lead to ineffective sorting. Now, researchers report on the ability to leverage one additive in black plastics, with the help of sunlight or white LEDs, to convert black and colored polystyrene waste into reusable starting materials.

Headline: How catalysts secretly lose their stability

■ Release Date: 2024.11.26

■ Published by: Ruhr-University Bochum

■ Keywords: cobalt, nanoparticles, catalyst

■ Abstract:

Covalent organic framework compounds are more active as catalysts than one would expect. Researchers have now discovered why.

Headline: Improved catalyst turns harmful greenhouse gases into cleaner fuels, chemical feedstocks

■ Release Date: 2024.11.26

■ Published by: DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory

■ Keywords: fuel, catalyst, hydrogen

■ Abstract:

A chemical reaction can convert two polluting greenhouse gases into valuable building blocks for cleaner fuels and feedstocks, but the high temperature required for the reaction also deactivates the catalyst. A team has found a way to thwart deactivation. The strategy may apply broadly to other catalysts.

Headline: In major materials breakthrough, team solves a nearly 200-year-old challenge in polymers

■ Release Date: 2024.11.27

■ Published by: University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science

■ Keywords: polymers, nanoparticles, rubber

■ Abstract:

Researchers' new polymer strategy shifts a centuries-old engineering paradigm with a molecular design that doesn't sacrifice stretchability for stiffness.