Natural environment – Page 5
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ResearchSpotlight shone on sped up photochemical reactions in droplets
Light can produce ‘hot spots’ in aerosols that supercharge reaction rates
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ResearchLight-driven molecular motor made from entirely renewable resources
Green synthetic strategy leads to first light-driven molecular motor from wood biomass
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ResearchRadiation discovered to be a major overlooked source of natural gas generation in shales
Uranium and thorium may be responsible for producing a significant portion of hydrocarbons in some fracking wells
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ResearchOrigin of water’s DNA-damaging slow electrons discovered
First evidence of intermolecular Coulombic decay in liquid water will allow better modelling of radiation damage in living tissue
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ResearchPolymers designed to degrade upon exposure to gamma rays
Phenyl imine conjugated N–N bonds mean materials are ready for recycling
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ResearchMassive Australian wildfires caused new damage to the ozone layer
Smoke particles caused a drop in chlorine-binding chemicals that set back the ozone layer’s recovery by 10 years
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ResearchExtent of pharmaceutical pollution on every continent on Earth revealed
Largest study of its kind creates map of drug contamination hotspots
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ResearchDirect evidence emerges for the existence of two forms of liquid water
Low temperature experiments with sugary solution reveal transition from low- to high-density states at pressure
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ResearchSimulations reveal how manipulating ocean acidity could lower atmospheric carbon dioxide levels
Strategy would see surface acidity pumped into deeper ocean layers
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ResearchWorldwide wastewater analysis reveals rise of designer drugs during lockdowns
Replacement of banned mephedrone found for the first time in New Zealand over 2020 Christmas period
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ResearchRising ozone pollution threatens east Asia’s cereal crops
Losses of wheat, rice and maize add up to $63 billion every year
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ResearchLow temperature method for decarbonising limestone locks carbon dioxide up as a mineral
Process could drastically cut carbon emissions associated with manufacturing cement
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ResearchGreen credentials of crystallisation process turned around by rotary cone dryer tweak
Mechanochemistry helps transformations and cocrystallisations cut solvent use on an industrial scale
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ResearchThe sun may have been the surprising source of Earth’s water
Dust grains pounded by solar wind and then delivered to Earth are a significant source of the planet’s oceans
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ResearchMajority of top chemicals on market deemed environmentally unsustainable by new metric
Researchers call on chemical industry to embrace absolute environmental sustainability criteria
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ResearchWater filter that uses milk protein to catch arsenic achieves positive results in Peru
Cheap technology tested in real-life conditions
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ResearchModel performs reality check on adsorbents for carbon capture
Tool could save researchers time by assessing new materials from a variety of angles
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ResearchCooking oils work as solvents for metal-catalysed reactions
Suzuki–Miyaura, Hiyama, Stille, Sonogashira and Heck cross-couplings shown to proceed with quantitative yields in certain vegetable oils, fish oil, butter and waxes
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ResearchChemical definition of brine as water could help clear up Chile’s lithium controversy
As evidence grows that lithium mining damages water sources, reclassifying brine as water – rather than as mineral – could empower Indigenous communities to protect their rights and convince mining companies to act more responsibly
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ResearchTusk isotopes reveal a mammoth’s life
17,000 years after its death, scientists use strontium analysis to trace animal’s movements throughout its 28-year life