Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

Instead of reacting together on the surface of the catalyst (the palladium cluster), the hydrogen atoms dissociate into their components — protons and electrons. The protons enter the surrounding solution of water and methanol, while the electrons flow through the palladium itself into oxygen molecules. Credit: American Chemical Society

It paves the way to design improved catalysts to produce H2O2 to use in place of harmful chlorine, regardless of the scale of the production facility. From the polyurethane that makes our car seats to the paper made from bleached wood pulp, chlorine can be found in a variety of large-scale manufacturing processes...

Salt crystals which can be turned into polyimide. Credit: Image courtesy of Vienna University of Technology, TU Vienna

Using a new synthesis procedure developed at TU Wien, it is now possible to produce the extremely resistant material polyimide in the form of angular particles for the first time. Polyimides withstand extreme heat and chemically aggressive solvents, while being considerably less dense than metals. That is why they are very popular in industry, for example as an insulation layer on PCBs or in aerospace applications. However, it is precisely their high stability, which makes polyimides very difficult to process. Neither melting nor etching can be used to bring them into the correct shape.

“Small plastic particles are usually obtained as spherical objects,” says Miriam Unter...

This prototype bicycle helmet will protect your head with a biodegradable and renewable alternative to hazardous Styrofoam. The shock-absorbing foam material inside was developed at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and it is one of the key features of an entirely wood-sourced helmet. Credit: Cellutech

We may soon be saying goodbye to polystyrene, the petroleum-based material that is used to make Styrofoam. In what looks like an ordinary bicycle helmet, designers have replaced Styrofoam with a new shock-absorbing material made with renewable and biodegradable wood-based material.

Researcher Lars Wågberg, a professor in Fibre Technology at Stockholm’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology, says the wood-based foam material Cellufoam offers comparable properties to Styrofoam.

The helmet was pr...

A thin, flexible film developed by researchers from the University of Michigan can detect biomarkers of cancer in the blood. It may eventually lead to the development of phone-sized cancer detection devices. (Photo : Public Domain Pictures | Pixabay

A thin, stretchable film that coils light waves like a Slinky could one day lead to more precise, less expensive monitoring for cancer survivors. The Uni of Michigan chemical engineers who developed the film say it could help patients get better follow-up Rx with less disruption to their everyday lives.
The film provides a simpler, more cost-effective way to produce circularly polarized light, an essential ingredient in the process that could eventually provide an early warning of cancer recurrence.

Circular polarization is similar to the linea...