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Chemistry and catalysis RSS feed

Catalysts are the unsung heroes of chemistry, accelerating reactions used to make fertilizers, fuels and consumer products. Our work aims to make catalysts more efficient and reduce the use of fossil fuels.

Energy sciences

Depiction of four techniques used to study a single-atom catalyst.

News Feature

Measuring the process in unprecedented detail gives them clues to how to minimize the problem and protect battery performance.

Illustration of oxygen atoms leaving a lithium-ion battery as lithium flows in alongside a battery whose energy is being sapped by this process
Illustration

In this illustration, the pairs of red spheres are escaping oxygen atoms and purple spheres are metal ions. This new understanding could lead to...

Illustration of oxygen atoms leaving a lithium-ion battery as lithium flows in alongside a battery whose energy is being sapped by this process
News Feature

The Horizon Prizes celebrate the most exciting, contemporary chemical science at the cutting edge of research and innovation.

ultrafast X-ray scattering
News Feature

From the invisible world of elementary particles to the mysteries of the cosmos, recipients of this prestigious award for early career scientists explore nature...

Panofsky fellows
News Feature

Edward Hohenstein, Emma McBride and Caterina Vernieri study what happens to molecules hit by light, recreate extreme states of matter like those inside stars...

Early Career Awardees 2021
News Feature

With a new suite of tools, scientists discovered exactly how tiny plate-like catalyst particles carry out a key step in that conversion – the...

Illustration of nanoscale catalyst particles.
News Feature

Scientists have documented a process that makes these next-gen batteries lose charge – and eventually some of their capacity for storing energy – even...

News Feature

This new understanding could aid the development of more efficient clean energy sources.

electron transfer
News Feature

The surprising results offer a way to boost the activity and stability of catalysts for making hydrogen fuel from water.

Illustration showing a book with layers of atoms on its pages
News Feature

The results, which show that ultrafast atomic motions are the first step in forming a magnetic state, could lead to faster and more efficient...

Charge transfer
News Feature

A better understanding of how this happens could help researchers hone future electronic measurements and offer insights into how X-rays interact with matter on...

Image - Artist's rendering of two laser beams striking sample.
News Brief

Scientists at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource will study plastics and biologically-motivated processes that break them down in hopes of finding more efficient ways...

Clear plastic bottles