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Category: chemistry

Using peat as sustainable precursor for fuel cell catalyst materials

Iron-nitrogen-carbon catalysts have the potential to replace the more expensive platinum catalysts currently used in fuel cells. This is shown by a study conducted by researchers from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) and universities in Tartu and Tallinn, Estonia. The research is published in the journal ACS Nano.

At BESSY II, the team observed the formation of complex microstructures within various samples. They then analyzed which structural parameters were particularly important for fostering the preferred electrochemical reactions. The raw material for such catalysts is well decomposed peat.

Fuel cells convert the chemical energy of hydrogen directly into electrical energy, producing only water. Fuel cells could be an important component in a climate-neutral energy system. The greatest potential for improvement lies in the reduction of costs via the replacement of the electrocatalysts, which are currently based on the precious metal platinum.

When substrates dictate the route: Deuterium source reshapes hydrogen isotope exchange pathways

A collaboration between the groups of Professor Mónica H. Pérez-Temprano at the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) and Professor Anat Milo at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has uncovered how the characteristics of specific substrates require certain reaction conditions that determine the course of a chemical reaction, in the context of C–H deuteration reactions.

The study, published in Nature Catalysis, combines detailed experiments with data science rooted in reaction intermediates. By correlating molecular features with reaction outcomes, the researchers reveal that the choice of deuterium source—such as heavy water (D2O), deuterated methanol (CD3OD), or acetic acid-d4 (AcOD-d4)—does more than merely influencing the degree of deuterium incorporation. It can actively alter the reaction pathway, revealing hidden mechanistic complexity that intuition alone could not predict.

Study reveals unexpected link between dopamine and serotonin in the brain

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, Columbia University and the University of San Francisco, have uncovered a previously unknown mechanism by which dopamine, a key brain chemical vital for movement and motivation, can affect brain activity indirectly by boosting serotonin. The study was published in Science Advances.

Dopamine is a key chemical messenger that supports many essential brain functions, including motivation, movement, and learning. Although dopamine acts throughout the brain, it plays an especially central role in the basal ganglia, a network of interconnected regions responsible for selecting which behaviors we express.

The basal ganglia and dopamine are deeply involved in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases, and many widely used medications target this network.

Hidden household toxin triples liver disease risk, study finds

PCE, a dry-cleaning chemical found in many everyday products, has been linked to tripled risk of serious liver damage. Scientists have uncovered a new environmental culprit behind liver disease: tetrachloroethylene (PCE), a chemical used in dry cleaning and household products. The study found that people with PCE exposure were three times more likely to develop severe liver scarring, even when traditional risk factors like alcohol or obesity were absent. The chemical is widespread in air, water, and consumer goods, making it a stealthy threat to public health.

Liver disease most often develops due to one of three major causes: excessive alcohol use, the buildup of fat in the liver associated with obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol, or viral infections such as hepatitis B and C.

Researchers from Keck Medicine of USC have identified another potential cause of liver damage. A new study published in Liver International links tetrachloroethylene (PCE), a chemical widely used in dry cleaning and found in household products like adhesive glues, spot removers, and stainless steel polish, to serious liver harm.

BPA-Free? New Study Shows Popular Replacements May Harm Human Cells

Researchers report that some chemicals used in printed food-package stickers as replacements for bisphenol A can still disrupt human ovarian cell function. Chemicals that have taken the place of bisphenol A (BPA) in food packaging may cause potentially harmful changes in human ovarian cells, acco

Automated Benchtop Synthesis of a Quadrillion-Plus Member Core@Multishell Nanoparticle Library Using a Massively Generalizable Nanochemical Reaction

Rapidly expanding advances in computational prediction capabilities have led to the identification of many potential materials that were previously unknown, including millions of solid-state compounds and hundreds of nanoparticles with complex compositions and morphologies. Autonomous workflows are being developed to accelerate experimental validation of these bulk and nanoscale materials through synthesis. For colloidal nanoparticles, such strategies have focused primarily on compositionally simple systems, due in part to limitations in the generalizability of chemical reactions and incompatibilities between automated setups and mainstream laboratory methods. As a result, the scope of theoretical versus synthesizable materials is rapidly diverging. Here, we use a simple automated platform to drive a massively generalizable reaction capable of producing more than 651 quadrillion distinct core@multishell nanoparticles using a single set of reaction conditions. As a strategic model system, we chose a family of seven isostructural layered rare earth (RE) oxychloride compounds, REOCl (RE = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Dy), which are well-known 2D materials with composition-dependent optical, electronic, and catalytic properties. By integrating a computer-driven, hobbyist-level pump system with a laboratory-scale synthesis setup, we could grow up to 20 REOCl shells in any sequence on a REOCl nanoparticle core. Reagent injection sequences were programmed to introduce composition gradients, luminescent dopants, and binary through high-entropy solid solutions, which expands the library to a near-infinite scope. We also used ChatGPT to randomly select several core@multishell nanoparticle targets within predefined constraints and then direct the automated setup to synthesize them. This platform, which includes both massively generalizable nanochemical reactions and laboratory-scale automated synthesis, is poised for plug-and-play integration into autonomous materials discovery workflows to expand the translation of prediction to realization through efficient synthesis.

Over a decade in the making: Lanthanide nanocrystals illuminate new possibilities

In a discovery shaped by more than a decade of steady, incremental effort rather than a dramatic breakthrough, scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and their collaborators demonstrated that great ideas flourish when paired with patience.

Flashback to 2011: a small group of young researchers gathered around an aging optical bench at the NUS Department of Chemistry, watching a faint, flickering glow on a screen. Their goal seemed deceptively simple: make an insulating crystal emit light when electricity flowed through it. The challenge, however, was nearly impossible.

Lanthanide nanocrystals, known for their chemical stability and pinpoint color purity, were insulators, notoriously resistant to electrical excitation.

Biochemistry: Glucose Metabolism Overview Part II

GLUCOSE OXIDATION EQUATION Glucose + 6 O2 — 6 CO2 + 6 H2O + Energy (ATP + heat) • Most energy is generated in mitochondrial matrixCommon Abbreviations: • ATP: adenosine triphosphate • NADH: nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide • FADH2: flavin adenine dinucleotide • CoA: Coenzyme AKEY PROCESSES IN GLUCOSE OXIDATION • Glycolysis • Pyruvate decarboxylation • Citric acid cycle (also known as the Krebs’ cycle and the tri-carboxylic acid (TCA) cycle) • Oxidative phosphorylation (electron transport chain & chemiosmosis)CITRIC ACID CYCLE • 1 glucose molecule requires 2 citric acid cycle turns • Input for each turn: 1 Acetyl CoA • Output for each turn: 3 NADH + 2 CO2 + 1 ATP + 1 FADH2 • NADH & FADH2: electron transfer molecules for oxidative phosphorylation • Occurs in mitochondrial matrixSubstrate level phosphorylation • ATP generated from substrates in glycolysis and citric acid cycle • NOT from.

Lab-grown diamond coatings shown to prevent mineral scale in industrial pipes

In industrial pipes, mineral deposits build up the way limescale collects inside a kettle ⎯ only on a far larger and more expensive scale. Mineral scaling is a major issue in water and energy systems, where it slows flow, strains equipment and drives up costs.

A new study by Rice University engineers shows that lab-grown diamond coatings could resolve the issue, providing an alternative to chemical additives and mechanical cleaning, both of which offer only temporary relief and carry environmental or operational downsides.

“Because of these limitations, there is growing interest in materials that can naturally resist scale formation without constant intervention,” said Xiang Zhang, assistant research professor of materials science and nanoengineering and a first author on the study alongside Rice postdoctoral researcher Yifan Zhu. “Our work addresses this urgent need by identifying a coating material that can ‘stay clean’ on its own.”

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