Latest Chemical Stories
Need more energy storage? Just hit ‘print’April 23, 2019
Researchers from TCD and Drexel University develop a conductive ink made from a special type of material - MXene - used to print components for electronic devices. The ink is additive-free, and can print the finished devices in one step without any special finishing treatments
Agtech: The future of agriculture is computerisedApril 9, 2019
Machine learning can reveal optimal growing conditions to maximise taste and other features
Economic, environmental and operational feasibility study: Inline conditioning of buffers in chromatography applicationsMarch 26, 2019
Odhran O’Callaghan investigates the economic, operational and environmental consequences of full deployment of continuous buffer manufacturing in a biopharmaceutical process using an existing process as a case study
Engineers develop fast method to convert algae to biocrudeMarch 12, 2019
A team of chemical engineers have developed a new kind of jet mixer for creating biomass from algae that extracts the lipids from the watery plants with much less energy than the older extraction method - a discovery that puts this form of energy closer to becoming a viable, cost-effective alternative fuel
Lithium-air batteries can store energy for cars, houses and industryFebruary 26, 2019
Growth in the offer of renewable energy sources will mean increased demand for devices optimal for energy storing
First carbon fibres with uniform porous structureFebruary 12, 2019
Chemistry researchers use block copolymers to create first carbon fibres with uniform porous structure
3D printing of microfluidic devices: An experimental evaluation of selected printersJanuary 29, 2019
Katie Kilcoyne summarises the experimental evaluation of three, commercially available 3D printers, each employing a different mode of printing, with reference to printing of simple open, simple enclosed and complex enclosed microfluidic (MF) channels, for MF devices for potential LOC and/or continuous pharma manufacturing applications
Feasibility study on addressing the global water and energy challengesJanuary 15, 2019
Kevin O'Donovan describes the final-year research project he undertook, in which the feasibility of the use of aquaporin membranes for osmotically driven processes, specifically Pressure Retarded Osmosis (PRO) and Forward Osmosis (FO), was investigated
What happens when materials take tiny hitsDecember 11, 2018
High-speed camera shows incoming particles cause damage by briefly melting surfaces as they strike
Purple bacteria ‘batteries’ turn sewage into clean energyNovember 27, 2018
Purple phototrophic bacteria - which can store energy from light - when supplied with an electric current can recover near to 100% of carbon from any type of organic waste, while generating hydrogen gas for use as fuel
How to mass produce cell-sized robotsNovember 27, 2018
Technique from MIT could lead to tiny, self-powered devices for environmental, industrial, or medical monitoring
Graphene takes a step towards renewable fuelNovember 13, 2018
Researchers are working to develop a method to convert water and carbon dioxide to the renewable energy of the future, using the energy from the sun and graphene applied to the surface of cubic silicon carbide
New, durable catalyst for key fuel cell reaction may prove useful in eco-friendly vehiclesOctober 30, 2018
A new catalyst exceeds US Department of Energy targets for performing the oxygen reduction reaction, a key step in generating an electric current in a hydrogen fuel cell
Chemists discover unexpected enzyme structureOctober 16, 2018
Metal cluster in enzyme that breaks down carbon dioxide can switch between two different shapes
Cash, carbon, crude: How to make oil fields bury emissionsOctober 2, 2018
A new analysis looks at what it would take for oil companies to start pumping millions of tons of carbon dioxide into their wells to boost crude production - and what it would mean for the climate
Transparent loudspeakers and MICs that let your skin play musicOctober 2, 2018
An international team of researchers has presented an innovative wearable technology that will turn your skin into a loudspeaker
Engineered sand zaps stormwater pollutantsSeptember 18, 2018
Engineers have created a new way to remove contaminants from stormwater, potentially addressing the needs of water-stressed communities that are searching for ways to tap the abundant and yet underused source of fresh drinking water
Thomas Midgley Jr: The man who harmed the world the mostSeptember 4, 2018
With his deadly inventions, Thomas Midgley Jr has greatly contributed to the environmental problems we face today, writes Susan Fourtané
New class of materials could be used to make batteries that charge fasterAugust 7, 2018
Researchers used materials with a complex crystalline structure and found that lithium ions move through them at rates that far exceed those of typical electrode materials, which equates to a much faster-charging battery
Piper Alpha – What have we learned?July 24, 2018
Fiona Macleod and Stephen Richardson ask: What went wrong on Piper Alpha? Why did it have such disastrous consequences? And what lessons can still be learned today?