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

We would like to share with you a selection of high impact articles, published in Energy & Environmental Science  covering the range of applications of metal–organic frameworks in the fields of energy and the environment. Some of these are available to read for free for a limited period.

On behalf of Editor-in-Chief Nate Lewis (Caltech) and Advisory Board member Jeffrey R. Long (University of California Berkeley) we invite you to submit your best research to Energy & Environmental Science.

Read this high-impact MOFs research today: 

Reviews and Analysis

FREE The current status of hydrogen storage in metal–organic frameworks—updated
Julian Sculley, Daqiang Yuan and Hong-Cai Zhou
DOI: 10.1039/C1EE01240A

FREE Mesoporous metal–organic frameworks: design and applications
Lifang Song, Jian Zhang, Lixian Sun, Fen Xu, Fen Li, Huanzhi Zhang, Xiaoliang Si, Chengli Jiao, Zhibao Li, Shuang Liu, Yingliang Liu, Huaiying Zhou, Dalin Sun, Yong Du, Zhong Cao and Zelimir Gabelica
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03517K

FREE Metal organic frameworks for electrochemical applications
Adina Morozan and Frédéric Jaouen
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE22989G

FREE Conjugated porous polymers for energy applications
Filipe Vilela, Kai Zhang and Markus Antonietti
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE22002D

FREE Emerging concepts in solid-state hydrogen storage: the role of nanomaterials design
Hazel Reardon, James M. Hanlon, Robert W. Hughes, Agata Godula-Jopek, Tapas K. Mandal and Duncan H. Gregory
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03138H

FREE Solid-state hydrogen storage for mobile applications: Quo Vadis?
Claudia Weidenthaler and Michael Felderhoff
DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00771D

Original Research

Metal–organic frameworks with potential for energy-efficient adsorptive separation of light hydrocarbons
Yabing He, Rajamani Krishna and Banglin Chen
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE22858K

Structure–property relationships of porous materials for carbon dioxide separation and capture
Christopher E. Wilmer, Omar K. Farha, Youn-Sang Bae, Joseph T. Hupp and Randall Q. Snurr
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE23201D

Feasibility of zeolitic imidazolate framework membranes for clean energy applications
Aaron W. Thornton, David Dubbeldam, Ming S. Liu, Bradley P. Ladewig, Anita J. Hill and Matthew R. Hill
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE21743K

Evaluating metal–organic frameworks for post-combustion carbon dioxide capture via temperature swing adsorption
Jarad A. Mason, Kenji Sumida, Zoey R. Herm, Rajamani Krishna and Jeffrey R. Long
DOI: 10.1039/C1EE01720A

Carbon capture in metal–organic frameworks—a comparative study
Jason M. Simmons, Hui Wu, Wei Zhou and Taner Yildirim
DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00700E

High and selective CO2 uptake, H2 storage and methanol sensing on the amine-decorated 12-connected MOF CAU-1
Xiaoliang Si, Chengli Jiao, Fen Li, Jian Zhang, Shuang Wang, Shuang Liu, Zhibao Li, Lixian Sun, Fen Xu, Zelimir Gabelica and Christoph Schick
DOI: 10.1039/C1EE01380g

Selecting metal organic frameworks as enabling materials in mixed matrix membranes for high efficiency natural gas purification
Seda Keskin and David S. Sholl
DOI: 10.1039/B923980B

CO2 capture and conversion using Mg-MOF-74 prepared by a sonochemical method
Da-Ae Yang, Hye-Young Cho, Jun Kim, Seung-Tae Yang and Wha-Seung Ahn
DOI: 10.1039/C1EE02234B

Evaluation of an industrial pilot scale densified MOF-177 adsorbent as an on-board hydrogen storage medium
Anne Dailly and Eric Poirier
DOI: 10.1039/C1EE01426A