Turning bacteria into bioplastic factories

Biologists find new ways to encourage the plastic-producing power of purple microbes

28-Aug-2024 - In a world overrun by petroleum-based plastics, scientists are searching for alternatives that are more sustainable, more biodegradable and far less toxic to the environment. Two new studies by biologists at Washington University in St. Louis highlight one potential source of game-changing ...

Barcodes expand range of high-resolution sensor

Optical barcodes for multimode sensing have potential applications in biomedical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, chemical sensing and more

01-May-2024 - The same geometric quirk that lets visitors murmur messages around the circular dome of the whispering gallery at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London or across St. Louis Union Station’s whispering arch also enables the construction of high-resolution optical sensors. Whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) ...

Nanoplastics unexpectedly produce reactive oxidizing species when exposed to light

10-Jan-2023 - Plastics are ubiquitous in our society, found in packaging and bottles as well as making up more than 18% of solid waste in landfills. Many of these plastics also make their way into the oceans, where they take up to hundreds of years to break down into pieces that can harm wildlife and the ...

By design: from waste to next-gen carbon fiber

A new chemically designed lignin leads to stronger, lighter carbon fiber and better recycled plastics

22-Aug-2022 - Research from Washington University in St. Louis may soon lead to lighter, stronger carbon fiber materials and stronger plastics with a gentler environmental impact. The main ingredient necessary for these improvements is lignin, a compound that is essential for most plants but considered a waste ...

New 2D alloy combines five metals, breaks down CO2

It's first demonstrated use of a 2D, multi-metallic alloy

02-Jul-2021 - A two-dimensional alloy material -- made from five metals as opposed to the traditional two -- has been developed by a collaboration between researchers at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis and researchers at the College of Engineering at the University of ...

Researchers observe new isotope of fluorine

02-Apr-2021 - Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis reported the first observations of a new form of fluorine, the isotope 13F, described in the journal Physical Review Letters. They made their discovery as part of an experiment conducted at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at ...

Engineers develop new fuel cells with twice the operating voltage as hydrogen

Smaller, lighter and more efficient fuel cell design possible

22-Jun-2020 - Electrification of the transportation sector -- one of the largest consumers of energy in the world -- is critical to future energy and environmental resilience. Electrification of this sector will require high-power fuel cells (either stand alone or in conjunction with batteries) to facilitate ...

Lots of lead in the water? Maybe manganese is to blame

Researchers have found the naturally occurring mineral can speed up the production of lead dioxide under certain circumstances

24-Jul-2019 - Manganese is not a particularly toxic mineral. In fact, people need a little in their diets to remain healthy. Research at Washington University in St. Louis has shown however, that in conjunction with certain other chemicals, naturally occurring manganese can lead to big changes in the water in ...

No more trial-and-error when choosing an electrolyte for metal-air batteries

16-Jul-2019 - Metal-air batteries have been pursued as a successor to lithium-ion batteries due to their exceptional gravimetric energy densities. They could potentially enable electric cars to travel a thousand miles or more on a single charge. A promising new member of the alkali-metal-air battery family is ...

High-powered fuel cell boosts electric-powered submersibles, drones

01-Mar-2019 - The transportation industry is one of the largest consumers of energy in the U.S. economy with increasing demand to make it cleaner and more efficient. While more people are using electric cars, designing electric-powered planes, ships and submarines is much harder due to power and energy ...