Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: energy

Solid catalyst breaks the rules: Oxygen evolution steps can happen simultaneously

Oxygen evolution is considered one of the most energy-intensive steps in water electrolysis and is therefore a key factor for more efficient green hydrogen production. Modeling of the reaction mechanisms has so far been based on the assumption that the elementary steps take place sequentially and not in a concerted manner.

A team led by Prof. Dr. Kai S. Exner from the University of Duisburg-Essen has now shown that this assumption is not always correct. The results, published in Nature Communications, open up new possibilities for improving solid catalysts for energy conversion and storage applications.

There are two basic types of catalysis: homogeneous catalysts have the same physical state as the substances being converted (e.g., they all are liquid), while are in a different phase, for example a solid that reacts with liquids or gases. For a reaction to take place on the surface of a solid catalyst, the starting materials (reactants) must attach to its surface (adsorption) and then dissolve again after the reaction has taken place (desorption).

Physicists Uncover Forgotten 1938 Fusion Breakthrough That Could Power the Future

Physicists confirm DT fusion insights from a 1938 experiment. The findings connect past theory with current fusion efforts. A team at Los Alamos National Laboratory has successfully recreated a significant yet largely overlooked physics experiment: the first recorded observation of deuterium-trit

Innovative ternary alloy films pave the way for ultra-low-power memory devices

A recent study reports (Al,Ga, Sc)N thin films with record-high scandium levels, with exciting potential for ultra-low-power memory devices, as reported by researchers from Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo). Using reactive magnetron sputtering, they fine-tuned the composition of ternary alloys to overcome previous stability limits.

Quantum equivalent of thermodynamics’ second law discovered for entanglement manipulation

Just over 200 years after French engineer and physicist Sadi Carnot formulated the second law of thermodynamics, an international team of researchers has unveiled an analogous law for the quantum world. This second law of entanglement manipulation proves that, just like heat or energy in an idealized thermodynamics regime, entanglement can be reversibly manipulated, a statement which until now had been heavily contested.

Researchers Unveil Galactic Treasure Map, Opening a New Window to the Extreme Universe

A groundbreaking new survey from China’s LHAASO observatory has unveiled powerful ultrahigh-energy gamma-ray emissions across the Milky Way. China’s Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO), a leading scientific facility, has unveiled remarkable findings from its Mini Survey of the Mi

A new quantum dot photoreductant uses 99% less light energy for organic reactions

Chemists at the School of Science of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have recently made significant progress in photocatalysis by unveiling a “super” photoreductant, marking a major advancement in organic synthesis.

Quantum dots (QDs) hold great promise as photocatalysts for promoting photoredox chemistry. However, their application in photocatalytic organic transformations has lagged behind that of small molecule photosensitizers due to the limited understanding of their photophysics.

While various studies have explored the generation of hot electrons from QDs as a strategy to enhance photoreduction efficiencies, achieving effective hot-electron generation under has posed a significant challenge.

Tough fuel cell can stabilize power grid by making and storing energy in extreme industrial conditions

To build a modern-day electrical grid with the flexibility and resilience to handle ebbing and flowing energy sources like solar and wind power, West Virginia University engineers have designed and successfully tested a fuel cell that can switch between storing or making electricity and also generate hydrogen from water.

The hidden mechanics of abrupt transitions: Superconducting networks show how tiny changes trigger system collapse

Why do some changes in nature unfold gradually, while others occur in the blink of an eye? Rust forming on metal is a slow, steady process that takes days or even weeks to become visible. By contrast, a power grid can collapse in mere seconds. What accounts for this difference?

A research team at Bar-Ilan University has uncovered a surprising mechanism behind these abrupt transitions, a hidden spontaneous sequence of micro-scale events that gradually destabilize a system until it snaps. Their discovery sheds new light on how behave near critical tipping points and offers a new way to anticipate and perhaps even prevent catastrophic failure.

In their study just published in Nature Communications, the team led by Professors Shlomo Havlin and Aviad Frydman—alongside BIU researchers Ira Volotsenko, Yuval Sallem, and Nahala Yadid, and postdoctoral collaborators Bnaya Gross (Northeastern University) and Ivan Bonamassa (CEU Vienna)—investigated a novel engineered experimental system: interdependent superconducting networks.

Entropy engineering opens new avenue for robust quantum anomalous Hall effect in 2D magnets

A research team from the University of Wollongong’s (UOW) Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials (ISEM) has addressed a 40-year-old quantum puzzle, unlocking a new pathway to creating next-generation electronic devices that operate without losing energy or wasting electricity.

Published in Advanced Materials, the study is the work of UOW researchers led by Distinguished Professor Xiaolin Wang and Dr. M Nadeem, with Ph.D. candidate Syeda Amina Shabbir and Dr. Frank Fei Yun.

It introduces a new design concept to realize the elusive and highly sought-after quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect.