Chemistry

Understanding the behavior of battery materials during charging and discharging is essential for improving the performance of existing batteries and developing new materials for future batteries. One such material that has become increasingly significant for future batteries is LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2, also known as NMC811. However, this material often experiences an irreversible capacity loss between the first
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Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a popular plastic used to manufacture single-use products such as plastic bottles and packaging due to its rigidity, transparency, and hardness. However, PET’s durability also makes it highly persistent in the environment, potentially taking several hundred years to degrade in the ocean. The biodegradation of PET by polyester hydrolases (or PETases)
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Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology have developed new synthetic metabolic pathways that can turn carbon dioxide into a valuable material for the biochemical industry. The process uses formic acid, which is produced through artificial photosynthesis, to create highly reactive formaldehyde. Formaldehyde can then be fed into metabolic pathways to produce other
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Researchers at Cornell University have developed a new method for analyzing protein crystals that could revolutionize drug discovery. The method, which was outlined in a paper published in Nature Communications, allows researchers to interpret the data from X-ray crystallography experiments that was previously discarded. This development could lead to a better understanding of a protein’s
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Scripps Research chemists have developed a new and controllable method for making benzocyclobutenes (BCBs) that has been a long-standing issue in the field of pharmaceutical chemistry. BCBs are highly valued as building blocks for drug molecules but have been notoriously challenging to access. In a paper published in Science, the researchers described their new method
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Researchers at Utrecht University and the University of Antwerp have discovered that a catalyst for clearing CO2 becomes more active and selective if its pretreatment is modified. Catalysts are essential for clearing CO2 or converting it into something useful in the energy and transportation sectors where large amounts of the greenhouse gas are emitted. The
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Researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and UC Berkeley have developed a way to use bacteria to create new-to-nature carbon products that can be used to produce sustainable biochemicals. The team used natural enzymatic reactions along with a new-to-nature reaction called the “carbene transfer reaction.” The process could offer alternatives to chemical manufacturing processes that
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Photosynthesis is a crucial process for sustaining life on earth, but many aspects of it remain a mystery. Scientists have been working to unlock the secrets of photosynthesis for years, and now researchers from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have succeeded in cracking a key secret of
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Water is known as a universal solvent that remains unchanged by its interactions. However, recent research from North Carolina State University has shown that water can change its solubility characteristics, depending on what it interacts with. This research has found that when water interacts with cellulose, it can stack in layered shells, controlling chemical reactions
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Chemists at the University of California, Los Angeles have discovered that 1,2,3-cyclohexatriene, a benzene isomer, has the potential to be a useful reagent in organic synthesis. Although it has been considered too unstable to be of use for many years, it is substantially higher in energy than benzene, making it a promising candidate for synthesizing
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