EES Blog

US scientists have made an efficient catalytic system to split water that uses molybdenum carbide nanoparticles on a carbon nanotube support. Molybdenum and carbon are both low cost and abundant elements.

Water splitting using sustainable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, has been identified as a promising technology, with the hydrogen produced being a clean fuel of the future.

The current catalysts for water splitting include platinum. However, this is expensive and global supply is low. The system also has the advantage of straightforward catalyst preparation.

Read the full details of this promising development:

Highly active and durable nanostructured molybdenum carbide electrocatalysts for hydrogen production
W.-F. Chen, C.-H. Wang, K. Sasaki,* N. Marinkovic, W. Xu,
J. T. Muckerman, Y. Zhu and R. R. Adzic
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE23891H

A series of articles in Energy & Environmental Science (DOI: 10.1039/C2EE22019A, DOI: 10.1039/C2EE22658H and DOI: 10.1039/C2EE22659F) debated the probable worldwide impacts of the meltdown of the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station following the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami off the east coast of Japan in March 2011.

Now, US scientists say that taking into account radiocaesium isotopes, the number of deaths from cancer resulting from the disaster could be in the region of 1000 rather than the 125 first anticipated.

Read this latest EES article for free for a limited period:

Accounting for long-term doses in “Worldwide health effects of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident.”
Jan Beyea, Edwin Lyman and Frank N. von Hippel
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE24183H

Scientists in Korea have produced a flexible thin film device that can be powered by the heat from a person’s fingertips. The material is easy to process and can be cut with scissors. It displays high electrical conductivity, which enabled it to be used as an electrode itself without using an additional conductive electrode. The film has a large power factor of 1,270 μW m^-1 K^-2.

Read this hot EES communication for free for a limited period:

Flexible PEDOT electrodes with large thermoelectric power factors to generate electricity by fingertips
Eunkyoung Kim, Teahoon Park, Chihyun Park, Byeonggwan Kim and Haijin Shin
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE23729J

For more excellent research and authoratative reviews in this area, check out our  Energy & Environmental Science thermoelectrics web collection.

In their Energy and Environmental Science Perspective article, Jonathan D. Yuen and Fred Wudl review the advances in high performance, or rather high mobility, donor–acceptor polymers. The first comment is on the fact that the field apparently has been focusing on the donor part of the assembly, making it a case of DONOR–acceptor polymers. To make amends  Wudl and Yuen focused on the acceptor part, returning the focus to the entire DONOR–ACCEPTOR polymer.

HOMO and LUMO levels for the acceptors described in the Perspective. Values are in eV.

The grand achievement in the field of donor–acceptor polymers is that mobilities surpassing 1 cm²/Vs now are routinely reported. Indeed the 10 cm²/Vs boundary is being threatened. This impressive accomplishment is a result of innovation in chemical structure, focusing on both the donor and acceptor units; as well as a continued effort to understand and optimize the structure of the donor–acceptor polymers on device platforms.

The work outlined in this perspective is technical and complicated. The results of a major commercial breakthrough are not. Carbon-based photovoltaics — solar cells — will allow for sustainable energy production. The next challenge will be to manufacture the donor-acceptor polymers exclusively from renewable sources.

by Dr Thomas Just Sørensen

Read this exciting EES Perspective today:

Strong acceptors in donor–acceptor polymers for high performance thin film transistors
Jonathan D. Yuen and Fred Wudl
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE23505F

The nuclear industry generates radioactive toxic waste, which needs to be decontaminated inside the facilities themselves and of the effluents released into the environment. Radionuclide decontamination is currently performed using physico-chemical methods and while they work well, they are expensive, can produce secondary toxic sludge and do not completely remove ¹⁴C.

Now, scientists in France have reported a new autotrophic green microalgae called Coccomyxa actinabiotis nov. sp., isolated from a radioactive nuclear site, which is extremely radioresistant (most “normal” organisms are killed by the radioactivity) and strongly accumulates radionuclides, including ²³⁸U, ¹³⁷Cs, ^110mAg, ⁶⁰Co, ⁵⁴Mn, ⁶⁵Zn and ¹⁴C. In 1 hour, the microalga was as effective as the conventional physico-chemical ion-exchangers to purify nuclear effluents.

The microalgae could be used to complement existing decontamination protocols in industry and also for the clean-up of accidentally contaminated water.

Read this exciting Energy & Environmental Science article in full:

An extremely radioresistant green eukaryote for radionuclide bio-decontamination in the nuclear industry
Corinne Rivasseau, Emmanuel Farhi, Ariane Atteia, Alain Couté, Marina Gromova, Diane de Gouvion Saint Cyr, Anne-Marie Boisson, Anne-Sophie Féret and Richard Bligny
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE23129H