Catalysis
Featured Topics in Materials: Vacuum | Ceramics | Plastic | Materials Processing | Superconductors | all topics
Filter by: News | Articles | New to Market | Tools & Technology | Videos | Podcasts | Journal Articles | White Papers
Mar 15 | News
Scientists from IBM and Stanford University have recent detailed polymer discoveries that could lead to the development of new types of biodegradable, biocompatible plastics. The result of a multi-year research effort, the breakthrough is based on organocatalysis, specifically oxide-based catalysts that show activities rivaling the most active metal-based catalysts. Harnessing this activity could enable us to significantly increase the ability to recycle and reuse PET.
Feb 17 | News
A new nanotech catalyst developed by McGill Univ. chemists offers industry an opportunity to reduce the use of expensive and toxic heavy metals. Although chemists have long been aware of the ecological and economic impact of traditional chemical catalysts and do attempt to reuse their materials, it is generally difficult to separate the catalyzing chemicals from the finished product. The team's discovery does away with this chemical process altogether.
Feb 16 | News
A collaboration between researchers at Northwestern Univ.'s Center for Catalysis and scientists at Oxford University has produced a new approach for understanding surfaces, particularly metal oxide surfaces, widely used in industry as supports for catalysts.
Jan 20 | News
In the battle against bacteria, researchers at the Univ. of Illinois have developed a powerful new weapon—an enhanced photocatalytic disinfection process that uses visible light to destroy harmful bacteria and viruses, even in the dark.
Jan 13 | News
What’s an MOF? It’s a metal-organic framework--a combination of metal and organic materials with molecular-scale pores that boast a high surface area and great potential for catalytic activity. Argonne Lab research into one promising example, ZIF-8, shows that such structures can be tailored to specific purposes by exerting industrially-accessible high pressure, changing the compound’s structure.
12/14/2009 | News
Ethanol, often promoted as a clean-burning, renewable fuel that could help wean the nation from oil, would likely worsen health problems caused by ozone, compared with gasoline, especially in winter, according to a new study led by Stanford researchers.
12/1/2009 | News
A Univ. of Pittsburgh team overcame a major hurdle plaguing the development of nanomaterials such as those that could lead to more efficient catalysts used to produce hydrogen and render car exhaust less toxic. The researchers reported the first demonstration of high-temperature stability in metallic nanoparticles, the vaunted next-generation materials hampered by a vulnerability to extreme heat.
11/10/2009 | News
The catalytic processes that facilitate the production of many chemicals and fuels could become much more environmentally friendly thanks to a breakthrough achieved by researchers from Lehigh and Rice Univ. In an article the researchers report a novel electron microscopy imaging study of a tungstated zirconia solid acid catalyst. Based on new information obtained from these images, the researchers were able to design a preparation procedure that increased the activity of the catalyst by more than 100 times.
11/6/2009 | News
Univ. of Utah chemists demonstrated the first conclusive link between the size of catalyst particles on a solid surface, their electronic properties and their ability to speed chemical reactions. The study is a step toward the goal of designing cheaper, more efficient catalysts to increase energy production, reduce Earth-warming gases and manufacture a wide variety of goods from medicines to gasoline.
10/23/2009 | News
Metal-carbene complexes are highly reactive molecular
structures that are very useful in pharmaceutical labs for their catalytic
abilities. Until now, chemists assumed reactive carbenes could not exist freely
and almost required expensive, toxic metals as joining mechanisms. The
breakthrough, which has resulted in stable reactive carbenes at room
temperature in solid state and solution, should greatly benefit a wide array of
catalytic processes.