New book by Colin J. Lambert published

In March 2021, IOP Publishing published the latest book in their electronics subject area, Quantum Transport in Nanostructures and Molecules: An introduction to molecular electronics by Professor Colin J. Lambert, research professor at Lancaster University, UK.

This book presents a conceptual framework for understanding room-temperature electron and phonon transport through molecules and other quantum objects. It looks at the flow of electricity through molecules at the boundary of physics and chemistry, and introduces molecular electronics for physicists, and quantum transport for chemists.

Professor Lambert

Professor Lambert is a world leader in the field of single-molecule electronics. He has been a professor at Lancaster since 1990 and in 2010 was awarded a research professorship. He is also a visiting professor in the Materials Department at the University of Oxford, and an elected member of Academia Europaea. (more…)

Nanostructures on the surface of the fabric.
Image: Queensland University of Technology

Oil spills have had an extensive history of disrupting the environment, killing ecosystems, and displacing families. Impacts of massive oil spills are still felt in many parts of the world, including the undersea spill at the BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that dumped an approximate 39 million gallons of oil into the gulf.

But what if these devastating oil spills could be easily cleaned up with a piece of fabric rooted in electrochemistry?

That may be a reality soon thanks to researchers at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). According to a release, the QUT researchers have developed a multipurpose fabric covered with semi-conducting nanostructures that can both mop up oil and degrade organic matter when exposed to light.

(READ: “Superhydrophobic Fabrics for Oil/Water Separation Based on the Metal-Organic Charge-Transfer Complex CuTCNAQ“)

The fabric, which repels water and attracts oil, has already has promising preliminary results. In the early stages of research, the scientists have already been able to mop up crude oil from the surface of both fresh and salt water.

(more…)