Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Converting biomass to useful materials

Furfuryl alcohol can be derived from biomass and converted to levulinic acid – an important precursor compound for many useful chemicals including liquid fuels – via an acid-catalysed hydration reaction. US-based scientists have explored the mechanism of this conversion and noted several reaction pathways and intermediates.

This is a potentially very important step towards understanding this “green” route to high value compounds.

Read the full details of this exciting research today:

Experimental and Theoretical Studies of the Acid-Catalyzed Conversion of Furfuryl Alcohol to Levulinic Acid in Aqueous Solution
Gretchen Gonzalez Maldonado , Rajeev Surendran Assary , James Dumesic and Larry Curtis
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03465D

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Challenges in Inorganic and Materials Chemistry (ISACS8)

Challenges in Inorganic and Materials Chemistry (ISACS8)

We are delighted to announce that registration is now open for Challenges in Inorganic and Materials Chemistry (ISACS8) which is being held on 19 – 22 July 2012 in Toronto, Canada. Register now to guarantee your place for this major conference whilst benefiting from the fantastic early bird savings currently available.

The oral abstract submission deadline is fast approaching so make sure you submit your abstract by February 24 2012 to present your work alongside sixteen outstanding plenary speakers.

For further details on this significant event, please visit the dedicated webpage.

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Cheaper catalyst for solar energy conversion

A non-precious metal catalyst has been used to carry out photocatalytic hydrogen evolution for solar energy conversion for the first time, say scientists from Japan and Korea.

Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution has been an attractive method to convert solar energy to chemical energy without emitting carbon dioxide. A hydrogen evolution system composed of an organic photosensitiser and metal catalysts has the potential to use visible light. However, the metal catalysts contain precious metals, typically platinum, because of a low overpotential for hydrogen evolution. Replacing platinum with cheap and abundant metals is a challenge.

The team replaced platinum catalysts with nickel nanoparticles with a 2-phenyl-4-(1-naphthyl)quinolinium ion as a photosensitiser and NADH as a sacrificial electron donor, resulting in a high catalytic activity.

Read this ‘HOT’ EES article today:

Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution with Ni nanoparticles by using 2-phenyl-4-(1-naphthyl)quinolinium ion as a photocatalyst
Y Yamada, S Fukuzumi
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012
DOI: 10.1039/c2ee03106j

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Reviews in Green Chemistry – a cross journal collection

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

The development of green and sustainable chemistry is one of the most topical issues of today and is relevant across all areas of chemistry in academia and industry.   

Chemical Society Reviews (Chem Soc Rev), Green Chemistry and Energy & Environmental Science (EES) are delighted to present a combined collection of high quality reviews covering a broad range of topics from this field.  The collection includes reviews currently featured in Chem Soc Rev’s Green Chemistry themed issue (online now), as well as a selection of cutting edge reviews published in Green Chemistry and EES last year.   

All these articles are free to access for a limited time only, so make the most of this opportunity and take a look…  

Fundamentals of green chemistry: efficiency in reaction design, Roger Sheldon, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 1437.  

Evaluating the “Greenness” of chemical processes and products in the pharmaceutical industry—a green metrics primer, Concepción Jiménez-González et al., Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 1485.  

Searching for green solvents, Philip, G. Jessop, Green Chem., 2011, 13, 1391.  

Derivation and synthesis of renewable surfactants, Evan S. Beach et al., Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 1499.        

Industrial biotechnology―the future of green chemistry?, Udo Kragl et al., Green Chem., 2011, 13, 3007.  

Expanding the organic toolbox: a guide to integrating biocatalysis in synthesis, Christopher M. Clouthier and Joelle Pelletier, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 1585.  

Enzyme immobilization on/in polymeric membranes: status, challenges and perspectives in biocatalytic membrane reactors (BMRs), Yamini Satyawali et al., Green Chem., 2011, 13, 1609.  

Immobilization technology: a sustainable solution for biofuel cell design, Xiao-Yu Yang et al., Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 5540-5563  

Green chemistry oriented organic synthesis in water, Marc-Olivier Simon and Chao-Jun Li, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 1415.   

Fischer–Tropsch fuels refinery design, Arno de Klerk, Energy Environ. Sci., 2011, 4, 1177.

The importance of green chemistry in process research and development, Peter J. Dunn, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 1452.   

Alternative energy input: mechanochemical, microwave and ultrasound-assisted organic synthesis, R. B. Nasir Baig and Rajender S. Varma, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 1559. 

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

Ionic liquid processing of cellulose, Robin D. Rogers et al., Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 1519. 

Processing of metals and metal oxides using ionic liquids, Andrew P. Abbott et al., Green Chem., 2011, 13, 471. 

Continuous reactions in supercritical carbon dioxide: problems, solutions and possible ways forward, Xue Han and Martyn Poliakoff, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 1428. 

Green materials synthesis with supercritical water, Tadafumi Adschiri et al., Green Chem., 2011, 13, 1380. 

Multiple objectives in biofuels sustainability policy, Jon C. Lovett et al., Energy Environ. Sci., 2011, 4, 261. 

Conversion of biomass to selected chemical products, Pierre Gallezot, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 1538.   

Toward a rational control of solid acid catalysis for green synthesis and biomass conversion, Ken-ichi Shimizu and Atsushi Satsuma, Energy Environ. Sci., 2011, 4, 3140-3153   

Waste materials―catalytic opportunities: an overview of the application of large scale waste materials as resources for catalytic applications, J. S. J. Hargreaves et al., Green Chem., 2011, 13, 16.   

Recent advances in the recycling of homogeneous catalysts using membrane separation, Dieter Vogt et al., Green Chem., 2011, 13, 2247.   

Cobalt catalysts for the coupling of CO2 and epoxides to provide polycarbonates and cyclic carbonates, Xiao-Bing Lu and Donald J. Darensbourg, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 1462.

Keep up-to-date with the latest reviews and primary research in this field by registering for our e-alerts today!

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High impact reviews from Energy & Environmental Science

Journal cover imageWe would like to share with you some of the high impact review articles which have been published in Energy & Environmental Science (EES) in 2011.

From authoritative Reviews to personal Perspectives and Minireviews of exciting emerging areas, EES publishes review articles of the very highest quality and impact.

On behalf of Editor-in-Chief Nathan Lewis (Caltech) we invite you to submit your best research today.

Read a selection of our high impact reviews:

Graphene-based nanomaterials for energy storage
Martin Pumera
DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00295J

CO2 capture by solid adsorbents and their applications: current status and new trends
Qiang Wang, Jizhong Luo, Ziyi Zhong and Armando Borgna
DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00064G

Recent advances in non-precious metal catalysis for oxygen-reduction reaction in polymer electrolyte fuel cells
Frédéric Jaouen, Eric Proietti, Michel Lefèvre, Régis Chenitz, Jean-Pol Dodelet, Gang Wu, Hoon Taek Chung, Christina Marie Johnston and Piotr Zelenay
DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00011F

Challenges in the development of advanced Li-ion batteries: a review
Vinodkumar Etacheri, Rotem Marom, Ran Elazari, Gregory Salitra and Doron Aurbach
DOI: 10.1039/C1EE01598B

Dye-sensitized solar cell redox shuttles
Thomas W. Hamann and Jesse W. Ondersma
DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00251H

Catalytic routes for the conversion of biomass into liquid hydrocarbon transportation fuels
Juan Carlos Serrano-Ruiz and James A. Dumesic
DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00436G

Current perspectives on gas hydrate resources
Ray Boswell and Timothy S. Collett
DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00203H

Development and challenges of LiFePO4 cathode material for lithium-ion batteries
Li-Xia Yuan, Zhao-Hui Wang, Wu-Xing Zhang, Xian-Luo Hu, Ji-Tao Chen, Yun-Hui Huang and John B. Goodenough
DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00029A

Organic non-fullerene acceptors for organic photovoltaics
Prashant Sonar, Jacelyn Pui Fong Lim and Khai Leok Chan
DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00668H

Graphene based new energy materials
Yiqing Sun, Qiong Wu and Gaoquan Shi
DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00683A

One-dimensional noble metal electrocatalysts: a promising structural paradigm for direct methanol fuel cells
Christopher Koenigsmann and Stanislaus S. Wong
DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00197J

Tandem polymer photovoltaic cells—current status, challenges and future outlook
Srinivas Sista, Ziruo Hong, Li-Min Chen and Yang Yang
DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00754D

Nanostructured silicon for high capacity lithium battery anodes
Jeannine R. Szczech and Song Jin
DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00281J

Carbon nanotubes and their composites in electrochemical applications
Grzegorz Lota, Krzysztof Fic and Elzbieta Frackowiak
DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00470G

Electrochemical CO2 sequestration in ionic liquids; a perspective
Neil V. Rees and Richard G. Compton
DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00580K

Low-platinum and platinum-free catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction at fuel cell cathodes
Adina Morozan, Bruno Jousselme and Serge Palacin
DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00601G

Solution-derived ZnO nanostructures for photoanodes of dye-sensitized solar cells
Feng Xu and Litao Sun
DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00448K

The role of buffer layers in polymer solar cells
Riccardo Po, Chiara Carbonera, Andrea Bernardi and Nadia Camaioni
DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00273A

Semiconductor/biomolecular composites for solar energy applications
Chuanhao Li, Feng Wang and Jimmy C. Yu
DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00162G

Zeolite-catalyzed biomass conversion to fuels and chemicals
Esben Taarning, Christian M. Osmundsen, Xiaobo Yang, Bodil Voss, Simon I. Andersen and Claus H. Christensen
DOI: 10.1039/C004518G

Advanced carbon aerogels for energy applications
Juergen Biener, Michael Stadermann, Matthew Suss, Marcus A. Worsley, Monika M. Biener, Klint A. Rose and Theodore F. Baumann
DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00627K

Underneath the fascinations of carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoribbons
Wei-Tao Zheng and Chang Q Sun
DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00434K

New conjugated polymers for plastic solar cells
David Gendron and Mario Leclerc
DOI: 10.1039/C1EE01072G

You can find many more excellent reviews on our website.

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HOT EES Communication: Affordable solar cells move closer

Current photovoltaic technology relies on the use of silicon wafers which must be ultrapure and are very expensive to produce. Now Goyal and co-workers have come up with an exciting and much cheaper solution: thin films of silicon on a much cheaper Ni-W template.

Read the full details in this HOT EES communication today:

Heteroepitaxial film silicon solar cell grown on Ni-W foils
Sung Hun Wee, Claudia Cantoni, Thomas R. Fanning, Charles W. Teplin, Daniela F. Bogorin, Jon Bornstein, Karen Bowers, Paul Schroeter, Falah Hasoon, Howard M. Branz, M. Parans Paranthaman and Amit Goyal
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03350J

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EES paper highlighted in Nature Chemistry

Paul Dauenhauer and coworkers’ paper on an improved methodology for the study of cellulose pyrolysis has been highlighted in Nature Chemistry. This is an important step in the realization of efficient biofuel production.

Read the full EES paper today:

Revealing pyrolysis chemistry for biofuels production: Conversion of cellulose to furans and small oxygenates
Matthew S. Mettler, Samir H. Mushrif, Alex D. Paulsen, Ashay D. Javadekar, Dionisios G. Vlachos and Paul J. Dauenhauer
DOI: 10.1039/C1EE02743C

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EES Issue 2 out now!

The latest issue of Energy & Environmental Science is now online. You can read the full issue here.

EES Issue 2 OFC

 
The outside front cover features an article on Optimizing luminescent solar concentrator design by Hermilo Hernandez-Noyola, David H. Potterveld, Roy J. Holt and Seth B. Darling.

Shaping the beating heart of artificial photosynthesis: oxygenic metal oxide nano-clusters is the Perspective article highlighted on the inside front cover by Andrea Sartorel, Mauro Carraro, Francesca Maria Toma, Maurizio Prato and Marcella Bonchio.

 
Issue 2 contains lots of exciting Opinion, Analysis, Review and Perspectives – here are just a few:

Fancy submitting an article to EES? Then submit to us today!

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Korean doors inspire new energy converter: EES article featured in Chemistry World

In a setup resembling traditional Korean doors, scientists from Korea have made dye-sensitised solar cells (DSCs) that are bendy enough to be rolled around a pen and twisted, while maintaining their energy conversion efficiency at 90% of that of the flat form. Bendable DSCs have potential applications in commercial advertising and small portable power sources.  

Current DSCs are built up of layers in a sandwich-type structure. They consist of two expensive transparent conductive oxide (TCO)-coated substrates with a spacer inserted between them to provide space for an electrolyte. Unfortunately, they are not very flexible because bending causes a strain on the two electrodes as they are bent in opposite directions – one substrate is under compressive strain and the other is under tensile strain. This causes the substrates to detach from the spacer. 

Korean doors

The dye-sensitised solar cell is highly bendable because of its structure - based on traditional Korean doors. © Shutterstock

 

To circumvent this problem, Seung Cha and his team from the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute, Boolmosangil, have bonded all the DSC components to glass paper, forming a structure similar to Korean doors. ‘The traditional Korean door is a beautiful and interesting internal door that consists of a wooden frame and traditional paper called “Hanji”,’ says Cha. ‘Hanji is very strong and can keep out the wind. At the same time, some light can penetrate the Hanji, creating good mood lighting in a living room.’  

First, the team attached a stainless steel mesh to one side of a sheet of glass paper. ‘The metal mesh acts as the wooden frame and the glass paper acts as the Hanji,’ explains Cha. Then, they deposited platinum – the electrochemical catalyst and conductor – on the other side. They deposited a TiO2 photoelectrode onto the mesh and filled the pores in the glass paper with the electrolyte. ‘The structure is flexible, and expensive and fragile TCO films are not required,’ says Cha. 

Tests on the team’s DSC showed that it had an energy conversion efficiency of 2%. Cha admits that the 2% efficiency is not high compared to current DSC systems and that an efficiency of 5% is needed for commercial applications. DSCs with glass substrates have shown efficiencies of more than 10% and flexible DSCs using TCO film coated plastic substrates have efficiencies of more than 5%. ‘However, our structured cell can be rolled around a pen and this degree of flexibility has not reported before,’ he says.    

Cha’s team is working towards increasing the efficiency and he expects that they can achieve 4-5% efficiency with their concept in time.  

‘As the cost of depositing the semiconductor in solar cells has dropped significantly in recent years, attention is shifting to reducing the cost of the substrate and electrodes,’ says Michael McGehee, an expert in DSCs from Stanford University, US. ‘Using paper, instead of conventional substrate materials like glass, metal or plastic, is very attractive, but has proven to be difficult because paper is rough. The authors have come up with a very clever design for making dye-sensitised solar cells with glass paper that allows the electrolyte to go right through the paper. Their approach could lead to substantially cheaper solar cells.’ 

Elinor Richards 

Read the paper from EES: 

Dye-sensitized Solar Cells on Glass Paper: TCO-free Highly Bendable Dye-sensitized Solar Cells Inspired by Traditional Korean Door Structures
Seung Il Cha, Yuhyun Kim, Kyu Hyeon Hwang, Yunji Shin, S. H. Seo and Dong Y. Lee
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03096A 

Fancy submitting an article to EES? Then why not submit to us today! 

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Efficiently harvesting the power of the sun: EES article featured in Chemistry World

Scientists from Japan and India have created a dye-sensitised solar cell (DSSC) with the highest recorded efficiency of 11.4%, breaking the record set five years ago.

In the search for alternative energy sources to silicon-based photovoltaic cells, DSSCs have been heavily researched. They are a promising option, as they have a low manufacturing cost and the potential for high efficiency. Unfortunately, their conversion efficiency is currently still below that of silicon cells and the research to improve them is extensive.

Interested to know more? Read the full article in Chemistry World here…

High-Efficiency Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell with a Novel Co-Adsorbent
Liyuan Han, Ashraful Islam, Han Chen, Chandrasekharam Malapaka, Shufang Zhang, Xudong Yang and Masatoshi Yanagida
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03418B

Fancy submitting an article to EES? Then why not submit to us today! 

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