Inspired by the principles of the sodium ion battery, Kyle Smith (right) is re-appropriating technology to make huge strides in water desalination.
Image: L. Brian Stauffer

Battery applications range from powering electronic devices to storing energy harvested from renewable sources, but batteries have a range of applications beyond the obvious. Now, researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are taking existing battery technology and applying it to efforts in water desalination.

The researchers have published the open access article in the Journal of The Electrochemical Society.

“We are developing a device that will use the materials in batteries to take salt out of water with the smallest amount of energy that we can,” said Kyle Smith, ECS member and assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “One thing I’m excited about is that by publishing this paper, we’re introducing a new type of device to the battery community and to the desalination community.”

Water desalination technologies have flourished as water needs have grown globally. This could be linked to growing populations or drought. However, because of technical hurdles, wide-spread implementation of these technologies has been difficult. However, the new technologies developed could combat that issue by using electricity to draw charged salt ions out of the water.

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ECS is seeking to fill the position of technical editor of the electrochemical engineering topical interest area for the Journal of The Electrochemical Society.

The topical interest area includes industrial electrochemistry, the mathematical modeling of electrochemical reactors and devices, electrochemical machining, and the electrochemical synthesis of compounds. Specific topics include: kinetics, selectivity, and yields; mass, momentum, and heat transport; and electrode designs and evaluation.

Self-nominations and third-party nominations are due no later than February 5, 2016.

Full applications are due no later than February 12, 2016.

Learn more!

Please share with anyone you feel would be a good candidate.

Make sure to mark your calendars for PRiME 2016, the Joint International Meeting of The Electrochemical Society (ECS), The Electrochemical Society of Japan (JECS), and The Korean Electrochemical Society (KECS).

With over 50 technical symposia taking place from October 2-7, 2016 in Honolulu, HI at the Hawaii Convention Center and the Hilton Hawaiian Village, this will be one of the largest ever conferences devoted solely to electrochemistry and solid-state science. PRiME 2016 will also feature the technical co-sponsorship of The Chinese Society of Electrochemistry, The Electrochemistry Division of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, The Japan Society of Applied Physics, The Korean Physical Society Semiconductor Division, and The Chinese Physical Society Semiconductor Division.

Now is your chance to make plans for presenting your latest work to the leading researchers from around the world by submitting your abstract!

Submit your abstract today!

The abstract deadline for PRiME 2016 is April 15, 2016.

Europe Section Volta Award

Nominations Deadline: February 15, 2016

The Europe Section has established the Alessandro Volta Medal, an award to recognize outstanding contributions in electrochemistry and solid-state chemistry and technology in Europe.

The award consists of a silver medal and a check for $2,000. The recipient will be required to attend a Europe Section sponsored meeting, at which the award will be presented, and deliver a lecture on a subject related to the contribution for which the award has been granted. The nominations for 2016 are now open. The nomination form can be downloaded here. The completed nomination (including supporting letters) should be submitted to the ECS Awards website.

Please keep in mind that if you are making a nomination, you will also need to obtain and submit the supporting letters. Allow extra time to do so before the deadline.

A radical new development from Cornell University has the potential to change the superconducting community. For the first time, researchers have developed a self-assembling, porous, 3D gyroidal superconductor, which may have completely new properties.

This from Futurity:

The gyroid is a complex cubic structure based on a surface that divides space into two separate volumes that are interpenetrating and contain various spirals. Pores and the superconducting material have structural dimensions of only around 10 nanometers, which could lead to entirely novel property profiles of superconductors.

Read the full article.

Benefits of superconductors

Because superconductors offer no resistance to electrical current and can repel magnetic fields, they hold immense potential for future applications. While we depend on electricity to power a majority of our devices, researchers are always looking for a way to cut heat resistance. Heat resistance not only causes the deterioration and breakdown of appliances, it also leads to wasted energy.

(MORE: Read “Superconductors and the Future.“)

Superconductors, however, offer no resistance to electrical current. However, this is only at extremely low temperatures. The new research out of Cornell University challenges that traditional notion.

Development could ‘revolutionize everything’

“There’s this effort in research to get superconducting at higher temperatures, so that you don’t have to cool anymore,” said Ulrich Wiesner, leader of the research group. “That would revolutionize everything. There’s a huge impetus to get that.”
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Chennupati Jagadish, distinguished professor at Australian National University

Chennupati Jagadish, long-time member and ECS Fellow, has recently been selected to receive Australia’s highest civilian honor. The Australian National University distingused professor has been named a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), for his “eminent service to physics and engineering, particularly in the field of nanotechnology, to education as a leading academic, researcher, author and mentor, and through executive roles with national and international scientific advisory institutions.”

(MORE: Read Jagadish’s published research in the ECS Digital Library.)

“I am humbled, honored, and grateful for this honor,” Jagadish, former recipient of the ECS Electronics and Photonics Divison Award, said. “This is a wonderful recognition for 25 plus years of work my research group at the Australian National University in the field of semiconductor optoelectronics and nanotechnology.”

Jagadish’s work takes the form of such novel innovations as lasers for telecommunications, increased efficiency solar cells, and artificial, trainable neurons.

Throughout his scientific career, Jagadish has published more than 620 research papers and five U.S. patents.
“They say that rest is for the weak,” Jangadish said. “I say, ‘Look, I’m having fun.’ Science is fun for me and when you’re having fun you don’t really look at how long you’re working.”

(Really, if you have one, add it to the comment below, immediately after you cast your vote)

ECS elections are now open! Members can vote now.

Thinking isn’t agreeing or disagreeing. That’s voting.

– Robert Frost

Did you know

The very first President of ECS was Joseph W. Richards, a metallurgical engineer of international reputation? Prof. Richards was a charter member and principal organizer of The Electrochemical Society. He was the only ECS president to serve two consecutive terms, in 1902 and 1903.

Fast forward to over one hundred years later where you, as a valued voting member of The Electrochemical Society, have to power to select the next president, vice-president and secretary. The exceptional candidate pool are proven professionals within the field who are also dedicated Society volunteers.

Take a moment to vote for those who will continue to lead the organization as a steward of electrochemical & solid state science and technology.

Electronic Voting Instructions

Read the candidate biographies offer background information and candidate statements

Proceed directly to the electronic proxy to access the balloting system.

Enter your ECS ID and password. Your password for the electronic proxy is your last name entered in lower case.

After you log on, your electronic proxy ballot will appear. Enter your vote for each office. Space is provided if you choose to write in a candidate. You can only vote once.

NOTE: If you don’t know your ECS ID go to electrochem.org and log in. It’s at the top of the screen. Use your ECS username and password. Click on MY ACCOUNT. You’ll see ECS ID right under the title MY PROFILE.

If you have trouble logging into the system, contact Marcelle Austin at 609.737.1902, ext. 124 or marcelle.austin@electrochem.org.

The voting deadline is midnight ET March 15, 2016.

In order to meet increasing water demands and combat the devastating effects of climate change, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is looking toward scientific innovation to help quench the Persian Gulf’s thirst.

Increasing water shortage in UAE

The first issue that leads to UAE water shortages is the essentially non-existent rainfall paired with the country’s high water consumption. The UAE’s capital of Abu Dhabi receives only 75mm of rainfall annually, with the country as a whole receiving less than 100mm of rainfall each year . Pair that with a water consumption that is the highest in the world, coming in at 82 percent above global average, and the situation starts to look serous.

But that’s not the only issue in the UAE’s water supply problems. Climate change is making this land even hotter and drier than ever before, with a study stating that the effects of climate change may make the Persian Gulf uninhabitable by 2071.

(MORE: See how ECS scientists are addressing water and sanitation issues around the world.)

For this reason, the UAE is turning toward German and Japanese researchers, offering a $5 million reward to researchers who could help solve this problem.

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The capture and recycling of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may be the first stop toward a “methanol economy.”

For the first time, researchers have successfully proven that carbon dioxide captured from the environment can be transformed into methanol. This not only removes damaging carbon dioxide emissions, but also produces an exciting alternative fuel. For some, this is an inevitable step toward an economy where fuel and energy storage would be primarily based on methanol.

The study was led by the University of Southern California professors G. K. Surya Prakash and George A. Olah and was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

“Direct CO₂ capture and conversion to methanol using molecular hydrogen in the same pot was never achieved before. We have now done it!” Prakash says.

Methanol is especially attractive because of its use as an alternative fuel in fuel cells and for hydrogen storage. Some believe that methanol is the future, with 70 million tons already being produced annually via the production of plastics.

This from Phys.org:

In the new study, the researchers developed a stable catalyst based on the metal ruthenium that does not decompose at high temperatures. The catalyst’s good stability allows it to be reused over and over again for the continuous production of methanol.

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