News by Subject Technology & Engineering

Hydrogen is a clean energy source that can be produced by splitting water molecules with light. However, it is currently impossible to achieve this on a large scale. In a recent breakthrough, scientists at Tokyo University of Science, Japan, developed a novel method that uses plasma discharge in solution to improve the performance of the photocatalyst in the water-splitting reaction. This opens doors to exploring a number of photocatalysts that can help scale-up this reaction.

A recently completed research project revealed the potential for reducing material used for a suspension bridge deck by more than 25 per cent -- meaning a saving of up to 30 per cent of CO2 emissions.

Scientists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany have developed a new sustainable method of extracting the flavoring agent vanillin from lignin, a component of wood.

A technique called COSMOS will help researchers understand how our brains work and aid in the development of new drugs. The inventors have created an instructional website to help other researchers build their own relatively-inexpensive COSMOS systems.

Researchers have developed a new easy-to-use smart optical film technology that allows smart window devices to autonomously switch between transparent and opaque states in response to the surrounding light conditions.

Researchers have discovered a single molecule 'switch' that can act like a transistor and offers the potential to store binary information -- such as the 1s and 0s used in classical computing.

The development of the new material directly addresses the shortage of lithium resources and high energy power supplies.