Think of it as recycling on the nanoscale: a tantalizing electrochemical process that can harvest carbon before it becomes air pollution and restructure it into the components of everyday products. The drive to capture airborne carbon dioxide from industrial waste and make it into fuel and plastics is gaining momentum after a team of researchers … Read more
A novel approach to address environmental challenges is the development and commercialization of robust hydrogen fuel cells. These cells contain a polymer electrolyte membrane that serves as a barrier between the electrodes (the conductors that enable the flow of electricity through a substance). This membrane conducts protons but inhibits the movement of electrons, hydrogen molecules, … Read more
Leguminous plants have a mechanism (rhizobial symbiosis) to efficiently acquire nitrogen, which is an essential macronutrient for growth, through the nitrogen-fixing bacteria rhizobia. Root nodules are organs on plant roots that facilitate the symbiotic relationship. Rhizobia coloniza these nodules and fix nitrogen by converting nitrogen from air into ammonia. Iron is needed for the enzymes … Read more