Category Technology/Electronics

A team of chemists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has introduced a new fuel cell catalyst approach that uses a molecular catalyst system instead of solid catalysts.
Credit: Stahl Group/University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Instead of expensive platinum etc, a metal-free alternative catalyst for fuel cells may be at hand. A team of chemists from University of Wisconsin-Madison introduces a new approach that uses a molecular catalyst system instead of solid catalysts. Although molecular catalysts have been explored before, earlier examples were much less efficient than the traditional platinum catalyst.

A fuel cell converts chemical energy into electricity by reacting H2 and O2 at 2 different electrodes. A catalyst makes the reaction more efficient.
Prof Stahl and scientist Gerken took...

Rice University researchers (from left) Emilia Morosan, Eteri Svanidze and Jiakui Wang revealed their discovery of the first itinerant antiferromagnet. Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University

Combining Titanium and Gold to make 1st itinerant antiferromagnet: TiAu. This is not the kind of magnet one would stick to a refrigerator. Magnetic order only appears in TiAu when the metal is cooled to 36K = -395F. “Magnetization is a function of temperature,” said lead author Eteri Svanidze. “The magnet’s ordering temperature appears as an anomaly in the smooth curve we see in such magnetization measurements.” For common magnets, it is generally 100s of degs F, way hotter than any kitchen...

It can be used as heat storage material for solar energy generation systems or efficient use of industrial heat waste, enabling recycling of heat energy, since the material releases the stored heat energy on demand by application of weak pressure.

Materials able to store heat incl bricks or concrete that slowly release the stored heat, and others such as water or ethylene glycol that take in heat when they transform from a solid to a liquid. However, none of these materials can store heat energy over a long period as they naturally release it slowly over time. A material that could store heat energy for a long time and release it at the exact timing desired would be a boon for the field of renewable energy.

Discovered by Prof Ohkoshi’s team at University of Tokyo Graduate School of Science...

It’s surface changes appearance automatically when exposed to water, whether directly, or via humidity. Pinecones open when dry and close when wet, to provide optimal conditions for spreading seeds. They do so by simply reacting to water—it seeps into the woody leaves (microsporophylls) and causes them to droop. Inspired by this simple process, student Chao Chen of the Royal College of Art in London dissected cones to see how they were put together and then used what he learned to create objects or coverings.

He has created an artificial pinecone, a wall hanging (or covering) that self-modifies when it gets wet to reveal artful coloring, an overhang that allows light to pass through when the sun is shining, but closes when it rains to keep those underneath dry and a strip for insert...