Next generation solar fuels: How a record-breaking copper catalyst converts CO₂ into liquid fuels

Researchers have made real-time movies of copper nanoparticles as they evolve to convert carbon dioxide and water into renewable fuels and chemicals

21-Feb-2023 - Since the 1970s, scientists have known that copper has a special ability to transform carbon dioxide into valuable chemicals and fuels. But for many years, scientists have struggled to understand how this common metal works as an electrocatalyst, a mechanism that uses energy from electrons to ...

Fertilizing the ocean to store carbon dioxide

Iron-based fertilizer, engineered into nanoparticles, could help store excess carbon dioxide in the ocean

01-Dec-2022 - The urgent need to remove excess carbon dioxide from Earth’s environment could include enlisting some of our planet’s smallest inhabitants, according to an international research team led by Michael Hochella of the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Hochella and his ...

Argonne scientists reveal secret of nanoparticle crystallization in real time

19-May-2010 - A collaboration between the Advanced Photon Source and Center for Nanoscale Materials at U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has "seen" the crystallization of nanoparticles in unprecedented detail. “Nanoscience is a hot issue right now, and people are trying to create ...

Iowa State researchers part of $78 million national effort to develop advanced biofuels

19-Jan-2010 - Two teams of Iowa State University researchers will receive a total of $8 million over three years from a $78 million U.S. Department of Energy program to research and develop advanced biofuels. Victor Lin – professor of chemistry, director of the Institute for Physical Research and Technology's ...

More than meets the eye: New blue light nanocrystals

24-Jul-2009 - Berkeley Lab researchers have produced non-toxic magnesium oxide nanocrystals that efficiently emit blue light and could also play a role in long-term storage of carbon dioxide, a potential means of tempering the effects of global warming. In its bulk form, magnesium oxide is a cheap, white ...

Nanofarming technology harvest biofuel oils without harming algae

Ames Laboratory and Catilin seek to commercialize new algal oil extraction process

14-Apr-2009 - Algae is widely touted as the next best source for fueling the world's energy needs. But one of the greatest challenges in creating biofuels from algae is that when you extract the oil from the algae, it kills the organisms, dramatically raising production costs. Now researchers at the U.S. ...