Superior light-to-chemical energy conversion with Coulombic dyads

Scientists established a novel photocatalyst class that uses precious metals more efficiently

13-Sep-2024 - Inspired by nature's photosynthesis, photocatalysts use light to trigger a chemical reaction that would otherwise only occur at high temperatures or under harsh conditions. For this concept to be widely applicable in an economical fashion, the quantum efficiency of the light-induced ...

Concept for more efficient precious metal catalysts

New approach for the production of resource-saving catalysts uses different interactions of precious metals with different carrier materials

26-Jul-2024 - More than 90 percent of all chemical products in our everyday lives use a catalyst in the course of their production. Catalysts make chemical reactions faster, can reduce their energy consumption and make some reactions possible in the first place. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of ...

Chromium replaces rare and expensive noble metals

21-Aug-2023 - Expensive noble metals often play a vital role in illuminating screens or converting solar energy into fuels. Now, chemists at the University of Basel have succeeded in replacing these rare elements with a significantly cheaper metal. In terms of their properties, the new materials are very ...

Researchers “film” novel catalyst at work

15-Aug-2023 - A novel catalysis scheme enables chemical reactions that were previously virtually impossible. The method developed at the University of Bonn is also environmentally friendly and does not require rare and precious metals. The researchers recorded the exact course of the catalysis in a kind of ...

Team at TU Freiberg develops recycling process for precious metals from electrolysers

07-Aug-2023 - Hydrogen from electrolysis with renewable energies is considered a key element of the energy transition. By means of catalysts, water is split into its components hydrogen and oxygen. The electrochemical reaction requires precious metals such as platinum, iridium or ruthenium as catalysts. How ...

Light elements make a difference in noble metal catalysis

21-Mar-2022 - Noble metals have been widely used as heterogeneous catalysts because they easily stand out with high activity and selectivity for many reactions of both scientific and industrial interest. At least a century ago, some light alloying elements with small atomic radii are known to easily permeate ...

BASF and Heraeus to form a joint venture offering world-class precious metal recycling solutions in China

Recycled precious metals are used to make new products for the automotive, chemical, electronics and green hydrogen industries

14-Feb-2022 - BASF and Heraeus have agreed to form a joint venture (BASF: 50%; Heraeus: 50%) to recover precious metals from spent automotive catalysts. The new company named BASF HERAEUS (China) Metal Resource Co., Ltd will be set up in Pinghu, China. The founding of the legal entity is targeted in Q1 2022, ...

Heraeus Accelerator Program 2021 starts with five start-ups

Startups from Germany and Spain selected

16-Sep-2021 - Heraeus, a leading technology group, is launching its 2021 Accelerator Program with five selected start-ups: OrelTech, Fusion Bionic, Highline Technology, Intelligent Fluids from Germany and NANOGAP from Spain. The focus of the 2021 program is on start-ups developing solutions and products for ...

BASF expands global PGM refining capacity, further driving circular economy business

17-May-2021 - BASF announced the expansion of its Seneca, South Carolina, USA, Platinum Group Metals (PGM) refining facility. The company will invest double-digit millions in capital improvements to increase refining capacity to recycle precious metals from spent catalysts such as automotive catalytic ...

Finding a better way to recover precious metals from electronic waste

"It's like being a metal whisperer. We make things go the way we want"

04-Mar-2021 - Inspired by nature's work to build spiky structures in caves, engineers at Iowa State University have developed technology capable of recovering pure and precious metals from the alloys in our old phones and other electrical waste. Using controlled applications of oxygen and relatively low ...