An important innovation is the optimized interface between gas, fluid and copper particles, allowing the very efficient supply of CO2 and removal of the product, CO.
Image: University of Twente

In an effort to convert carbon dioxide into carbon dioxide, researchers have developed an electrode in the form of a hollow porous coper fiber that completes this transformation at an extremely efficient level.

The researchers, including ECS member Marc T.M. Koper, believe that this development could give the industrial industry an edge, where it would be extremely beneficial for chemical processes that require gas conversion.

(MORE: Read additional research by Koper.)

The process is not confined to the conversion of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide, however. Because the manufacturing method is suited for other fibers, it could also be applied to the conversion of oxygen in a fuel cell or hydrogen conversion in the electrochemical production of ammonia.

While the principal idea behind the process is straightforward, the efficiency and selectivity of the reaction is the surprising factor.

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Image: AlexanderAIUS

Graphene is at it again, outperforming all known materials (including superconductors) in a recent study testing the transmission of high frequency electrical signals.

The researchers found that when the electrical signals pass through graphene, none of the energy is lost – opening the door to a new realm of electrical transmission.

This from the University of Plymouth:

And since graphene lacks band-gap, which allows electrical signals to be switched on and off using silicon in digital electronics, academics say it seems most applicable for applications ranging from next generation high-speed transistors and amplifiers for mobile phones and satellite communications to ultra-sensitive biological sensors.

Read the full article.

“An accurate understanding of the electromagnetic properties of graphene over a broad range of frequencies (from direct current to over 10 GHz) has been an important quest for several groups around the world,” said Shakil Awan, leader of the study. “Initial measurements gave conflicting results with theory because graphene’s intrinsic properties are often masked by much larger interfering signals from the supporting substrate, metallic contacts and measurement probes. Our results for the first time not only confirm the theoretical properties of graphene but also open up many new applications of the material in high-speed electronics and bio-sensing.”

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Up until the 1948, the lemon-lime soda 7-Up contained lithium salts, a substance most commonly known for its medical qualities used in the treatment of major depressive disorders.

While the additive has long since been removed from 7-Up, the scientists from the YouTube channel Periodic Videos thought it would be interesting to drop a piece of lithium into the current day recipe for the soda.

Initially, the results were as expected: nothing special. But after a few more seconds, the solution began transforming from its clear, bubbly state to a dark, sludgy brown. Watch as Sir Martyn Poliakoff explains the unexpected phenomena.

ECS members have found a way to embed a supercapacitor energy storage device in a silicon wafer of a microchip.
Image: Drexel University.

More than half a decade of research has revealed that carbon films can give microchips energy storage capabilities.

An international team, led by ECS members Yury Gogotsi and Patrice Simon, has confirmed their process for making carbon films and micro-supercapacitors that will allow microchips and their power sources to become one and the same.

(MORE: Read additional publications by Gogotsi.)

“This has taken us quite some time, but we set a lofty goal of not just making an energy storage device as small as a microchip—but actually making an energy storage device that is part of the microchip and to do it in a way that is easily integrated into current silicon chip manufacturing processes,” Simon said. “With this achievement, the future is now wide open for chip and personal electronics manufacturers.”

(MORE: Read additional publications by Simon.)

This research proves that the versatile films can be seamlessly integrated into systems that power silicon-based microchips, providing the ability to power items from laptops to smart watches.

“The place where most people will eventually notice the impact of this development is in the size of their personal electronic devices, their smart phones, fitbits89 and watches,” Gogotsi said. “Even more importantly, on-chip energy storage is needed to create the Internet of Things – the network of all kinds of physical objects ranging from vehicles and buildings to our clothes embedded with electronics, sensors, and network connectivity, which enables these objects to collect and exchange data. This work is an important step toward that future.”

This from Drexel University:

The researchers’ method for depositing carbon onto a silicon wafer is consistent with microchip fabrication procedures currently in use, thus easing the challenges of integration of energy storage devices into electronic device architecture. As part of the research, the group showed how it could deposit the carbon films on silicon wafers in a variety of shapes and configurations to create dozens of supercapacitors on a single silicon wafer.

Read the full article.

The carbon films also have the potential to have applications in dynamic seals, gas filtration, and water desalination or purification.

Through a nanoribbon-infused epoxy, researchers were able to remove ice through Joule heating.
Image: Rice University

Graphene, better known as the wonder material, has seemingly limitless possibilities. From fuel cells to night-vision to hearing, there aren’t many areas that graphene hasn’t touched. Now, researchers from Rice University and transforming graphene for uses in air travel safety.

James Tour, past ECS lecturer and molecular electronics pioneer, has led a team in developing a thin coating of graphene nanoribbons to act as a real-time de-icer for aircrafts, wind turbines, and other surfaces exposed to winter weather.

(MORE: Read “High-Density Storage, 100 Times Less Energy“)

Through electrothermal heat, the graphene nanoribbons melted centimeter-thick ice on a static helicopter rotor blade in a -4° Fahrenheit environment.

This from Rice University:

The nanoribbons produced commercially by unzipping nanotubes, a process also invented at Rice, are highly conductive. Rather than trying to produce large sheets of expensive graphene, the lab determined years ago that nanoribbons in composites would interconnect and conduct electricity across the material with much lower loadings than traditionally needed.

Read the full article.

“Applying this composite to wings could save time and money at airports where the glycol-based chemicals now used to de-ice aircraft are also an environmental concern,” Tour said.

The coating may also protect aircrafts from lightning strikes and provide and extra layer of electromagnetic shielding.

The seventh row of the periodic table has been completed with the addition of four new elements. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPC) has officially filled slots 113, 115, 117, and 118 with the tentatively ununtrium, ununpentium, ununseptium, and ununoctium.

These are the first new elements to be officially added to the period table since felrovium and livermorium in 2011.

This from PBS:

Japan’s RIKEN Institute has been credited for the discovery of ununtrium (113), while ununpentium (115), ununseptium (117) and ununoctium (118) were discovered by scientists at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia; California’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.

Read the full article.

“The chemistry community is eager to see its most cherished table finally being completed down to the seventh row,” Professor Jan Reedijk, President of the Inorganic Chemistry Division of IUPAC, said in a statement.

From oil pipeline breaks to leaks in chemical plants, corrosion is one of the most damaging and costly naturally occurring events seen today. In order to better understand and prevent to corrosion process, John Scully, ECS member since and 2016 winner of the Society’s Linford Award, has teamed up with a multidisciplinary team to understand corrosion from the nano to the macroscale.

A new Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) has emerged with the mission of preventing corrosion. Sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, the ultimate goal of the project is to understand, predict, and control the role of minor elements on the early stages of corrosion in metal alloys.

At its core, corrosion is the degradation of materials due to electrochemical reactions with the environment. In addition to yielding safety issues, corrosion costs an expected $23 billion annually, according to the Department of Defense.

Not only can corrosion cause buildings and bridges to collapse, but corrosion o electrical outlets and medical implants can cause fires and blood poisoning.

In order to address this complex problems, Scully and others are creating a team comprised of those versed in electrochemistry, microscopy, tomography, and simulations.

A new material developed at Penn State could mean big things for everything from smartphones to solar cells.

For over 60 years, the main material used in transparent conductor display has been indium tin oxide. With over 90 percent of the display market utilizing this material, it has left very little room for competitor materials.

While indium tin oxide has provided solid efficiency levels at a decent price point for the past half decades, expenses have recently skyrocketed on this material.

Current electronic devices, such as smart phones and tables, are primarily priced according to display material costs. Displays and touch screen modules make up 40 percent of the cost to produce a device, greatly outpacing other essential pieces such as chips and processors. It hasn’t been until now that researchers have found a material that could potential replace indium tin oxide and potentially reduce device costs.

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In 2013, Carlo Santoro received the F.M. Beckett Summer Fellowship from ECS. Through that fellowship, he connected with Dr. Plamen Atanassov at the University of New Mexico to study enzymes and their integration into microbial systems.

Now, Dr. Santoro is working alongside Dr. Atanassov and some of the world’s best microbiologists to develop bio-catalytic materials that will simultaneously decontaminate wastewater and generate energy in a microbial biofuel cell.

Carlo’s story parallels the experiences many of us have had in our own careers. Whether it was a summer fellowship or an important networking event, many of us have benefited from opportunities that impacted not only our academic careers, but our future prospects as well.

“I spent a summer at the University of New Mexico learning and integrating enzymes into a microbial system to make a hybrid system. It was interesting; it was a way to learn new things, a way to interact with people in different fields, to learn more. It was a very, very great experience.”
-Carlo Santoro
2013 summer fellowship recipient

At ECS, we recognize that today’s emerging scientists are the next generation of leaders in our field. They will continue to make discoveries and shape our science long into the future. But they need our support now to get there.

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