Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

Ephemeral collision complexes mediate chemically termolecular transformations that affect system chemistry. Nature Chemistry, 2017; DOI: 10.1038/nchem.2842

Finding opens door to innumerable possibilities, from new engine types to planetary chemistry for cloud formations, climate change, and the conditions for creating life. A new study led by Michael P. Burke, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia Engineering, has identified the significance of a new class of chemical reactions involving 3 molecules that each participate in the breaking and forming of chemical bonds. The reaction of 3 different molecules is enabled by an “ephemeral collision complex,” formed from the collision of 2 molecules, which lives long enough to collide with a third molecule.

This fourth class, w...

A new material developed at Argonne shows promise for batteries that store electricity for the grid. The material consists of carefully structured molecules designed to be particularly electrochemically stable in order to prevent the battery from losing energy to unwanted reactions.
Credit: Robert Horn, Argonne National Laboratory

A new material shows promise for batteries that store electricity for the grid. The material, created by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, consists of carefully structured molecules designed to be particularly electrochemically stable in order to prevent the battery from losing energy to unwanted reactions...

After conducting a new research approach using actual commutes, a group of engineers at Washington University in St. Louis discovered a simple shift in driving habits can help to reduce those risks while out on the road. Credit: Washington University in St. Louis

Engineers show how to best reduce pollution exposure during commutes. Commute can also be hazardous to your health, exposing drivers to an increased amount of air pollutants that have been linked to a whole host of medical maladies, including cardiovascular disease, respiratory issues and even lung cancer. After conducting a new research approach using actual commutes, a group of engineers at Washington University in St. Louis discovered a simple shift in driving habits can help to reduce those risks while out on the road.

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In this greatly enlarged cross-section of an experimental chip, the bands of black and white reveal alternating layers of hafnium diselenide – an ultrathin semiconductor material – and the hafnium dioxide insulator. The cross-section matches an overlaid color schematic on the right. Credit: Michal Mleczko

The next generation of feature-filled and energy-efficient electronics will require computer chips just a few atoms thick. For all its positive attributes, trusty silicon can’t take us to these ultrathin extremes. Now, electrical engineers at Stanford have identified two semiconductors – hafnium diselenide and zirconium diselenide – that share or even exceed some of silicon’s desirable traits, starting with the fact that all 3 materials can “rust.”

“It’s a bit like rust, but a very de...