Scientists convert chicken fat into energy storage devices

Cost-effective method for converting waste chicken fat into electrically conductive nanostructures

14-May-2024 - The global move toward more sustainable, green energy has increased power reserves and the demand for energy storage devices. Unfortunately, some materials for these devices can be expensive and environmentally problematic. Producing alternative energy storage devices from things that are usually ...

Crab shells could help power the next generation of rechargeable batteries

This work could help develop more sustainable battery technologies

15-Mar-2023 - Anybody who has ever enjoyed fresh crab legs or lobster tails can attest to how difficult it is to get through their tough shells. But instead of just throwing them away, researchers are “upcycling” these shells into porous, carbon-filled materials with a wide variety of uses. Now, a team ...

Lithium-ion batteries that last longer in extreme cold

A lithium-ion battery made with a bumpy carbon-based anode material maintained its rechargeable storage capacity in extreme cold

13-Jun-2022 - When temperatures fall below freezing, cellphones need to be recharged frequently, and electric cars have shorter driving ranges. This is because their lithium-ion batteries’ anodes get sluggish, holding less charge and draining energy quickly. To improve electrical performance in the extreme ...

Growing extremely tiny, uniformly sized diamonds — without explosives

Precise way to make nanodiamonds

25-Mar-2022 - Diamonds aren’t just glittery, sparkly gems for jewelry. The smallest ones, only a few nanometers wide, are also crucial for drug delivery, sensors and quantum computer processors. Producing diamond nanoparticles that are consistently sized is important to the success of these technologies. Now, ...

Suburban sprawl accounts for 50 percent of US household carbon footprint

24-Jan-2014 - Many U.S. cities are taking steps to grow urban centers in an attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But a challenge is the significant carbon footprint of spacious suburban living, which in many areas, may be cancelling out these efforts. The report, appearing in the ACS journal ...

Producing hydrogen from water with carbon/charcoal powder

03-Sep-2013 - In the latest advance in efforts to find an inexpensive way to make hydrogen from ordinary water — one of the keys to the much-discussed "hydrogen economy" — scientists are reporting that powder from high-grade charcoal and other forms of carbon can free hydrogen from water illuminated with laser ...

Home cooking, traffic are sources of key air pollutants from China

23-Aug-2013 - Almost 80 percent of air pollution involving soot that spreads from China over large areas of East Asia — impacting human health and fostering global warming — comes from city traffic and other forms of fossil-fuel combustion, such as home cooking with coal briquettes. That's the conclusion of a ...

A milestone for new carbon-dioxide capture/clean coal technology

22-Mar-2013 - An innovative new process that releases the energy in coal without burning — while capturing carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas — has passed a milestone on the route to possible commercial use, scientists are reporting. Their study in the ACS journal Energy & Fuels describes results of a ...

Carbon nanotubes twice as strong as once thought

17-Sep-2010 - Carbon nanotubes — those tiny particles poised to revolutionize electronics, medicine, and other areas — are much bigger in the strength department than anyone ever thought, scientists are reporting. New studies on the strength of these submicroscopic cylinders of carbon indicate that on an ...

New method could revolutionize dating of ancient treasures

30-Mar-2010 - Scientists described development of a new method to determine the age of ancient mummies, old artwork, and other relics without causing damage to these treasures of global cultural heritage. Reporting at the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), they said it could allow ...