Quantum tunnelling enhances ozone decay
The OH + HCl → H2O + Cl reaction rate is boosted by strong hydrogen bonding, which generates quantum transition states
UK’s first ‘industrial scale’ carbon capture plant opens in Cheshire
40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide will be captured each year at Tata Chemicals Europe facility
Switching protocol doubles carbon capture capacity of supercapacitors
Approach shows promise as way to capture CO2 in a more energy efficient manner
Spider webs record severity of microplastic pollution in cities
Plastic content found to make up as much as a tenth of a web’s total weight
Hydrotrioxides are in the air
10 million tonnes of the highly reactive three-oxygen compounds could form in Earth’s atmosphere every year
Teflon-inspired nanochannels outperform biological water transporters
Extreme water repellence of fluorinated surfaces leads to unprecedented permeation rates
Labs’ carbon footprint under scrutiny as tool calculates impact of buildings and scientists
Software reveals environmental impact of over 500 French labs
Mineralisation makes chemical recycling of fluoropolymers a possibility
By using molten sodium hydroxide, researchers show they can produce fluorite from fluoropolymers in a two-step process
Split-cell design behind batteries that degrade and get absorbed by their environment
Batteries that breakdown on their own could help minimise electronic waste
Carbon-negative concrete blocks could be made using magnesium from seawater
Electrolyser route avoids need for calcination step
Atmospheric helium increasing at a measurable rate
Air samples revealed a rate of increase beyond expected natural variations
Lunar soil shows promise as a catalyst for extraterrestrial photosynthesis
Moon rock could one day be used to accelerate water splitting and carbon dioxide conversion in space to support crewed missions
Sunscreen’s coral-killing mechanism uncovered
Sea anemones and corals convert oxybenzone into phototoxic compounds
Features
Soil searching
The plant trade’s scientific secrets
Cultured meat flexes its muscles
A lightning burst of chemistry
Is synthetic petroleum the missing link in the route to net zero?
The human health observatory in our sewers
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Wastewater from battery recycling plants mined for water-splitting catalysts
Electrocatalysts derived from metal pollutants used to generate hydrogen
Discovery of microplastics in people raises difficult questions about health implications
Scientists keep finding tiny polymer particles in lungs, blood and placentas – but what does that mean means for people’s health?
Light-driven molecular motor made from entirely renewable resources
Green synthetic strategy leads to first light-driven molecular motor from wood biomass
Radiation 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
Massive 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
Nanobots snap up pollutants with their polymer ‘hands’ to clean up water
Magnetically-guided system can trap arsenic and herbicide atrazine
Dimethyl ether found in a planet-forming disc for the first time
Discovery of dimethyl ether, nitric oxide and other small molecules offers insight into early chemical evolution on planets
Freefall flights test feasibility of making oxygen on the moon and Mars
Efficiency of water electrolysis is reduced at lower gravity
Extent of pharmaceutical pollution on every continent on Earth revealed
Largest study of its kind creates map of drug contamination hotspots
Chemical ecosystem of Murchison meteorite molecules revealed in snapshots
Atomic force microscopy proof of principle test shows technique is up to the challenge of chronicling chemical diversity in extra-terrestrial samples
Simulations reveal how manipulating ocean acidity could lower atmospheric carbon dioxide levels
Strategy would see surface acidity pumped into deeper ocean layers