Electronic noses sniff out volatile organic compounds

Improving the fluid flow inside noselike chambers can enhance detection of harmful chemicals

25-May-2023 - Volatile organic compounds are chemicals emitted as gases that can have adverse health effects. They are often found in paints, pharmaceuticals, and refrigerants, among other common products, but they can also act as markers of explosives, insect infestation, food spoilage, and disease. Tracing ...

Enhanced arsenic detection in water, food, soil

Sensor can identify the global content and form of arsenic-containing molecules at very low concentrations

02-Mar-2023 - It is a cruel paradox that on a planet with a surface mostly covered by water, hundreds of millions of people don’t have access to clean drinking water. As for the pollution of potable and natural water sources, one of the main culprits is arsenic, an abundant and toxic element in the earth’s ...

Solar cell keeps working long after sun sets

Harvesting energy from the temperature difference between photovoltaic cell, surrounding air leads to a viable, renewable source of electricity at night

12-Apr-2022 - About 750 million people in the world do not have access to electricity at night. Solar cells provide power during the day, but saving energy for later use requires substantial battery storage. In Applied Physics Letters, by AIP Publishing, researchers from Stanford University constructed a ...

Turning plastic grocery bags into sustainable fuel

Using pyrolysis, dewaxing catalyst to upcycle plastic waste into fuel source

05-Nov-2021 - More than 300 million tons of plastic waste are produced annually, which causes serious environmental issues because of plastic's life cycle and the difficulty of eliminating it. Consequently, most plastic waste ends up in either a landfill or the ocean. A significant number of plastics break ...

Turning hazelnut shells into potential renewable energy source

26-Aug-2021 - Biomass is attracting growing interest from researchers as a source of renewable, sustainable, and clean energy. It can be converted into bio-oil by thermochemical methods, such as gasification, liquefaction, and pyrolysis, and used to produce fuels, chemicals, and biomaterials. In Journal for ...

Cellphone converts into powerful chemical detector

With only $50 worth of components, an ordinary cellphone transforms into a sophisticated scientific instrument, capable of identifying chemicals, drugs, and pathogens

07-May-2021 - Scientists from Texas A&M have developed an extension to an ordinary cellphone that turns it into an instrument capable of detecting chemicals, drugs, biological molecules, and pathogens. The advance is reported in Reviews of Scientific Instruments, by AIP Publishing. Modern cellphones include ...

Improving high-energy lithium-ion batteries with carbon filler

Conductive carbon fillers in lithium-ion batteries allow high power output with reversible energy storage

13-Nov-2020 - Lithium-ion batteries are the major rechargeable power source for many portable devices as well as electric vehicles, but their use is limited, because they do not provide high power output while simultaneously allowing reversible energy storage. Research reported in Applied Physics Reviews, by ...

Laser-based ultrasound approach provides new direction for nondestructive testing

09-Sep-2019 - Many industrial buildings, including nuclear power plants and chemical plants, rely on ultrasound instruments that continually monitor the structural integrity of their systems without damaging or altering their features. One new technique draws on laser technology and candle soot to generate ...

Strain enables new applications of 2D materials

Application of mechanical strain appears to manipulate the conductivity of low-dimensional materials

23-May-2019 - Superconductors' never-ending flow of electrical current could provide new options for energy storage and superefficient electrical transmission and generation, to name just a few benefits. But the signature zero electrical resistance of superconductors is reached only below a certain critical ...

A 'recipe book' that creates color centers in silicon carbide crystals

Different temperature and proton dosages for the generation of defects

05-Oct-2018 - Silicon carbide (SiC), a material known for its toughness with applications from abrasives to car brakes, to high-temperature power electronics, has enjoyed renewed interest for its potential in quantum technology. Its ability to house optically excitable defects, called color centers, has made ...