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Deep learning helps scientists design materials that can both detect and capture toxic sulfur gases

Researchers developed a multitask deep learning framework to predict how strongly a material adsorbs sulfur gases and how effectively it senses them. The approach accelerated the discovery of materials for gas detection and purification, highlighting specific material candidates with strong sensing responses to toxic gases.

Biochar made from brewery waste could help trap harmful bacteria in sandy filtration systems

Researchers found that biochar produced from malt spent rootlets can sharply increase E. coli retention in sand, offering a potential route to cleaner water and productive reuse of brewery waste. Adding more biochar changes how bacteria are retained, shifting from physical trapping to direct attachment.

SourceBiochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University·JournalBiochar·TypeExperimental study·DateAug 10, 2026

Atomic-scale study reveals how catalyst supports shape cleaner syngas production

A computational study reveals that zirconia supports nickel-based catalysts in producing cleaner syngas by balancing methane conversion activity and resisting carbon buildup. Zirconium oxide provides a balanced performance, enhancing interaction with reforming reactants while maintaining moderate carbon binding and strong oxygen affinity.

SourceShenyang Agricultural University Collaborative Journals·JournalSustainable Carbon Materials·TypeExperimental study·DateAug 3, 2026

Engineered biochar could turn biomass waste into safer, more effective tools for cleaning wastewater

Researchers are engineering biochar-based composites to overcome limitations, such as insufficient adsorption capacity and limited selectivity for certain emerging pollutants. The new review highlights the importance of balancing treatment performance with environmental safety throughout the material's life cycle.

SourceShenyang Agricultural University Collaborative Journals·JournalSustainable Carbon Materials·TypeLiterature review·DateJul 15, 2026

Microwave-made biochar could help turn waste biomass into cleaner water and safer soils

A new review compares conventional and microwave-assisted pyrolysis, showing how microwave heating can tailor biochar for removing metals, dyes, pharmaceuticals, and microplastics. Microwave-derived biochars often show higher surface area, stronger mesoporosity, and greater retention of oxygen-containing functional groups.

SourceBiochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University·JournalBiochar·TypeLiterature review·DateJun 23, 2026

New study reveals how next-generation biochar can transform pollution cleanup and circular sustainability

Emerging microwave-based techniques significantly enhance biochar's ability to remove contaminants from water and soil while improving energy efficiency. Biochar has gained attention as a sustainable solution for managing agricultural residues, food waste, and other organic by-products.

SourceBiochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University·JournalBiochar·TypeLiterature review·DateApr 29, 2026

New insights into biochar reveal how to better capture phosphorus and protect water systems

Researchers have developed a calcium-modified biochar that more effectively captures organic phosphorus, offering a solution to reduce nutrient pollution in water systems. The study reveals how molecular structure influences phosphorus adsorption, providing a clearer roadmap for designing more effective materials.

SourceBiochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University·JournalBiochar·TypeExperimental study·DateMar 20, 2026

New study reveals hidden role of larger pores in biochar carbon capture

A new study challenges the assumption that only small pores in biochar capture carbon dioxide, finding that larger pores significantly increase carbon capture at higher temperatures. The research suggests optimizing the full pore hierarchy of biochar could improve its performance as a carbon capture material.

SourceBiochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University·JournalBiochar·TypeExperimental study·DateMar 12, 2026

New sulfur-iron biochar shows powerful ability to lock up arsenic and cadmium in contaminated soils

A novel engineered biochar has been developed to simultaneously immobilize arsenic and cadmium in contaminated water and agricultural soils. The sulfur-ferrihydrite-modified biochar achieves high adsorption capacities for both pollutants, transforming them into more stable residual fractions.

Rapid microwave method creates high performance carbon material for carbon dioxide capture

Researchers developed a fast and energy-efficient way to produce advanced carbon materials capable of capturing carbon dioxide, dramatically reducing production time while improving adsorption performance. The new material demonstrates exceptional ability to capture and selectively separate carbon dioxide from gas mixtures.

Scientists turn agricultural waste into powerful material that removes excess nutrients from water

Researchers develop calcium hydroxide modified biochar from discarded Camellia oleifera shells to remove ammonium and phosphate from water, showcasing strong adsorption performance. The material demonstrates potential for practical agricultural and industrial wastewater treatment, maintaining strong performance in real-world tests.

Turning livestock waste into clean water: Animal manure biochar emerges as a low cost tool to remove toxic pollutants from wastewater

Animal manure biochar effectively removes hazardous pollutants such as dyes, antibiotics and heavy metals from wastewater. The material's surface chemistry and mineral content support mechanisms like electrostatic attraction, hydrogen bonding and ion exchange.

Breakthrough material advances uranium extraction from seawater, paving the way for sustainable nuclear energy

Researchers create a new material that dramatically boosts uranium extraction efficiency, addressing one of the key challenges in sustainable nuclear energy. The study introduces a special type of covalent organic framework (COF) that shows record-high efficiency and selectivity in isolating uranium from seawater.

Researchers develop high-performance biochar for efficient carbon dioxide capture

Researchers developed a novel biochar material with a high specific surface area and micropore volume, achieving a maximum CO2 adsorption capacity of 3.434 millimoles per gram at room temperature. The material's optimal mesopore proportion enabled rapid adsorption kinetics, resolving a long-standing trade-off in biochar design.

Turning waste into clean water: Magnetic carbon materials remove toxic pollutants from wastewater

Researchers have developed magnetic carbon adsorbents made from flax shives and eucalyptus sawdust to effectively remove toxic chemicals like pentachlorophenol from water. The materials demonstrated outstanding performance in removing up to 95% of PCP, showing excellent stability and minimal loss of performance.

New biochar innovation captures stubborn metal pollutants from water

A team of Chinese researchers has developed a low-cost biochar material that efficiently removes persistent metal complexes from water. The ferromanganese oxide-modified biochar can capture copper–citrate complexes, which are difficult to remove using conventional methods, achieving high removal rates and chemical stability.

A graphene sandwich — deposited or transferred?

Researchers at Kobe University investigated how different manufacturing techniques affect the electronic structure of magnetic tunnel junctions. They found that the surface of ferromagnets is different when insulators are transferred to them compared to growing crystals on insulator flakes. This difference influences device behavior, p...

SourceKobe University·JournalJournal of Applied Physics·TypeComputational simulation/modeling·DateSep 18, 2025

Researchers propose hydroxyl adsorption as selectivity descriptor for electrocatalytic nitrate reduction to ammonia

A team of researchers proposes hydroxyl adsorption as a selectivity descriptor for electrocatalytic nitrate reduction to ammonia over copper-based catalysts. They found that more negative potentials and lower NO3- concentrations can improve ammonia selectivity.

SourceDalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy Sciences·JournalACS Catalysis·TypeCommentary/editorial·DateAug 25, 2025

No spin, no catalysis

Researchers have designed a novel single-atom ruthenium-doped Co3O4 catalyst that significantly promotes water splitting efficiency. The high-spin Co3+ species facilitate robust OH* adsorption and enhance the supply of H* intermediates, accelerating the Volmer–Tafel pathway of the hydrogen evolution reaction.

SourceScience China Press·JournalScience Bulletin·TypeExperimental study·DateAug 14, 2025

Teams engineer microporous new CO₂-activated carbon material—Enabling energy-efficient separation of critical fluorinated gases

A team of scientists has developed a novel CO2-activated porous carbon adsorbent that selectively traps impurities while purifying target gases. The material achieves a record C3F6/C3F8 uptake ratio and produces 99.999% pure C3F8 at industrial scales.

SourceIndustrial Chemistry & Materials·JournalIndustrial Chemistry and Materials·TypeExperimental study·DateJul 16, 2025

Researchers realize direct methane to acetic acid conversion under mild condition

Researchers developed a novel MoS2-confined Rh-Fe dual-site catalyst for the direct conversion of methane to acetic acid, achieving an unprecedented CH3COOH selectivity of 90.3% at room temperature. The catalyst's unique structure effectively balances C-H activation and C-C coupling, addressing long-standing challenges in this process.

SourceDalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy Sciences·JournalJournal of the American Chemical Society·TypeCommentary/editorial·DateJun 8, 2025

Structure of the natural red pigment carmine revealed

Advanced electron crystallography techniques have revealed the unexpected structure of carmine, a natural red colouring agent. The substance has a well-defined, three-dimensional porous structure composed of two calcium ions, two aluminium ions, and four organic ligand molecules.

SourceStockholm University·JournalCrystal Growth & Design·TypeExperimental study·DateJun 3, 2025

Researchers achieve electrosynthesis of ammonia from NO in pressurized electrolyzer

A research group from Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics achieves electrosynthesis of ammonia from NO in a pressurized electrolyzer with ampere-level current density and long-term stability. The method uses an in situ-grown hierarchical porous copper nanowire array electrode to regulate the kinetics and thermodynamics of the reaction.

SourceDalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy Sciences·JournalNature Communications·TypeCommentary/editorial·DateMar 11, 2025

Flexible COF-based porous liquid with “breathing effect”for enhancing CO2 adsorption and catalysis

Researchers have developed a COF-based porous liquid that can dynamically adjust its pore size in response to pressure change, significantly enhancing CO2 capture and catalytic conversion. This innovative material boasts a 24-fold higher efficiency for the reaction of CO₂ with propylene oxide compared to conventional methods.

SourceScience China Press·JournalNational Science Review·TypeExperimental study·DateFeb 27, 2025

Conjugated phthalocyanine framework-based artificial SEI for high-voltage lithium metal battery

Researchers developed a conjugated phthalocyanine framework with enhanced electron-withdrawal properties and flexibility, leading to improved capacities, rate capabilities, and cyclic stability in high-voltage lithium metal batteries. The framework also showed longer operating life and higher capacity retention.

SourceScience China Press·JournalNational Science Review·TypeExperimental study·DateFeb 27, 2025

Adsorptive regolith on mars soaks up water, researchers reveal

Researchers from Tohoku University have improved a Mars climate model to account for the planet's non-uniform regolith properties. The enhanced model shows that highly absorptive regolith in mid- and low latitudes retains substantial amounts of absorbed water, which remains on the surface as stable adsorbed water.

SourceTohoku University·JournalJournal of Geophysical Research Planets·DateFeb 26, 2025

Brewing tea removes lead from water

Researchers found that brewing tea can adsorb significant amounts of toxic heavy metals like lead and cadmium from drinking water. The study revealed that steeping time played the most significant role in removing metal ions, with longer steeping times resulting in more effective filtering.

SourceNorthwestern University·JournalACS Food Science & Technology·TypeExperimental study·DateFeb 24, 2025

Nanoparticle island-modified LiMn₂O₄ electrode advances lithium extraction from brine

Researchers have developed a novel LiMn₂O₄ electrode material with improved lithium extraction capacity and cycle stability. The SnO₂ nanoparticle island-modified LMO electrode material shows good selectivity and stability for lithium ions, enabling efficient electrochemical salt lake lithium extraction.

SourceIndustrial Chemistry & Materials·JournalIndustrial Chemistry and Materials·TypeExperimental study·DateFeb 18, 2025