Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

Affordable and Sustainable Alternative to Lithium-ion Batteries proposed

Findings could pave the way for a cost-efficient, high-performing calcium-ion battery. Concerns regarding scarcity, high prices, and safety regarding the long-term use of lithium-ion batteries has prompted a team of researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to propose a greener, more efficient, and less expensive energy storage alternative.

In research published recently in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), corresponding author Nikhil Koratkar, the John A. Clark and Edward T. Crossan Professor of Engineering at Rensselaer, and his team, assert that calcium ions could be used as an alternative to lithium-ions in batteries because of its abundance and low cost.

“The vast majority of rechargeable battery products are based on lithium-ion technology, wh...

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New Bioremediation Material can Clean ‘Forever Chemicals’

New bioremediation material can clean 'forever chemicals'
PFAS are adsorbed into the cell wall of the plant material. When the fungus consumes the plant, it also eats the chemical that was adsorbed. Credit: Susie Dai

A novel bioremediation technology for cleaning up per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, chemical pollutants that threaten human health and ecosystem sustainability, has been developed by Texas A&M AgriLife researchers. The material has potential for commercial application for disposing of PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals.”

Published July 28 in Nature Communications, the research was a collaboration of Susie Dai, Ph.D., associate professor in the Texas A&M Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, and Joshua Yuan, Ph.D., chair and professor in Washington University in St...

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Researchers 3D Print Sensors for Satellites

the sensor broken down into component parts
Caption: MIT researchers have demonstrated a 3D-printed plasma sensor for orbiting spacecraft that works just as well as much more expensive, semiconductor sensors. These durable, precise sensors could be used effectively on inexpensive, lightweight satellites known as CubeSats, which are commonly utilized for environmental monitoring or weather prediction.
Credits:Figure courtesy of the researchers and edited by MIT News

Cheap and quick to produce, these digitally manufactured plasma sensors could help scientists predict the weather or study climate change.

MIT scientists have created the first completely digitally manufactured plasma sensors for orbiting spacecraft...

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Researchers develop Nanoporous Zinc Electrodes that make Primary Alkaline Zinc Batteries Rechargeable

A research team at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed a new electrode design that is set to enable the rechargeability of alkaline zinc batteries, one of the most common types of non-rechargeable batteries used in our daily lives, shedding light on a wider application of rechargeable batteries.

Batteries are ever important in the age of smart cities and global digitalization. Yet, a majority of batteries in the market are not rechargeable, or called primary batteries. They are disposed after a single use, an unsustainable practice that poses a serious threat to the environment.

Compared with other types of primary batteries, alkaline zinc batteries are cheap, safe, and energy-dense...

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