Trapping gases better with boron nitride "nanopores"
What is common between a technology for storing energy in a solar cell and that for water purification? They both rely on the use of porous materials, or more specifically, 'nanoporous' materials that can trap gas molecules within narrow spaces on th.....»»
Photoacoustic sensor achieves high-sensitivity detection of multiple greenhouse gases
Recently, Prof. Gao Xiaoming's team from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, developed a novel photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS)-based sensor that enabled simultaneous, high-sensitive detection of CO2, CH4, and.....»»
Using sunlight to turn greenhouse gases into valuable chemicals
McGill University researchers have harnessed the power of sunlight to transform two of the most harmful greenhouse gases into valuable chemicals. The discovery could help combat climate change and provide a more sustainable way to produce certain ind.....»»
Space travel: Protection from cosmic radiation with boron nitride nanotube fibers
With the success of the Nuri launch last year and the recent launch of the newly established Korea Aerospace Administration, interest in space has increased, and both the public and private sectors are actively investing in space-related industries s.....»»
Pollution of the potent warming gas methane soars and people are mostly to blame
The amount and proportion of the powerful heat-trapping gas methane that humans spew into the atmosphere is rising, helping to turbocharge climate change, a new study finds......»»
How Front Range cow waste and car exhaust are hurting Rocky Mountain National Park"s ecosystem
For decades, gases from car exhaust and cow waste have drifted from Colorado's Front Range to harm plants, fish and wildlife in Rocky Mountain National Park, and while a decades-long effort to slow the damage is working, it's not moving as quickly as.....»»
Grenfell victims were "overcome by toxic gases" after construction loophole
Governments have a duty to protect their citizens. While they won't go as far as telling us what we can and cannot put in our homes, we do expect them to ensure that the buildings we live in are safe from fire......»»
Beef industry can reduce emissions by up to 30%, says new research
Greenhouse gases resulting from human activity have been the largest driver of climate change since the mid-20th century—especially from agriculture. The U.S. beef industry alone is responsible for 3.3% of the nation's total emissions, and even wit.....»»
Catalytic process vaporizes plastic bags and bottles, yielding gases to make new, recycled plastics
A new chemical process can essentially vaporize plastics that dominate the waste stream today and turn them into hydrocarbon building blocks for new plastics......»»
Climate change feedbacks lead to surge in natural methane emissions
Attempts to cut greenhouse gases made tougher by increased emissions. Enlarge / A view of the Pantanal wetlands in Brazil. New research shows a large chunk of global methane emissions are from rotting vegetation in tropical wetla.....»»
The Quantum Mechanics of the Greenhouse Effect
Carbon dioxide’s powerful heat-trapping effect has been traced to a quirk of its quantum structure. The finding may explain climate change better than any computer model......»»
Study shows effective regulation and monitoring is key to tackling emissions of a super-greenhouse gas
New research has revealed factories globally are not properly destroying one of the most potent greenhouse gases emitted from the production of fluoropolymers like Teflon, and refrigerants......»»
Exploring the structures of xenon-containing crystallites
Noble gases have a reputation for being unreactive, inert elements, but more than 60 years ago Neil Bartlett demonstrated the first way to bond xenon. He created XePtF6, an orange-yellow solid. Because it's difficult to grow sufficiently large crysta.....»»
Changing food consumers" choices may help cut greenhouse gases
Planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions associated with the global food supply chains induced by diets could fall by 17% if people change their food choices towards more plant-based diets, a new study reveals......»»
Detecting climate change using aerosols
Climate change is one of the most significant environmental challenges of present times, leading to extreme weather events, including droughts, forest fires, and floods. The primary driver of climate change is the release of greenhouse gases into the.....»»
Ammonia-free gallium nitride semiconductor production found to improve crystal quality, reduce environmental impact
Gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors can now be grown without ammonia, a toxic chemical that needs a sophisticated detoxifying system before it can be released into the atmosphere. The new technique is not only more environmentally friendly but also.....»»
Is this how you get hot Jupiters?
When we think of Jupiter-type planets, we usually picture massive cloud-covered worlds orbiting far from their stars. That distance keeps their volatile gases from vaporizing from stellar heat, similar to what we're familiar with in our solar system......»»
Confined water gets electric: Study reveals dielectric response of water in nanopores
When water gets inside nanopores with sizes below 10 nanometers, new physics emerge: new phases of ice were observed and ultrafast proton transport was measured. Confined water also plays a role in biology, where aquaporins cross cellular membranes t.....»»
Aluminum scandium nitride films: Enabling next-gen ferroelectric memory devices
Imagine a thin film, just nanometers thick, that could store gigabytes of data—enough for movies, video games, and videos. This is the exciting potential of ferroelectric materials for memory storage. These materials have a unique arrangement of io.....»»
Studies find China-based emissions of three potent climate-warming greenhouse gases have spiked in past decade
When it comes to heating up the planet, not all greenhouse gases are created equal. They vary widely in their global warming potential (GWP), a measure of how much infrared thermal radiation a greenhouse gas would absorb over a given time frame once.....»»
Material with molecular trapdoor holds promise for highly selective gas adsorption
An international team led by scientists at City University of Hong Kong has found a flexible metal-organic framework (MOF) with one-dimensional channels that acts as a "molecular trapdoor" to selectively adsorb gases, such as carbon dioxide, in respo.....»»