Imagine a future where harmful pollutants in aquatic reservoirs or industrial liquid waste can be degraded with the power of sunlight. Moreover, such a process would be accompanied by the simultaneous production of clean fuels like hydrogen and/or hydrogen peroxide as an alternative to fossil fuels, or the generation of useful chemicals like precursors of pharmaceuticals or nutrients. It might sound like science fiction, but a recent breakthrough demonstrated by the international and interdisciplinary research team led by Prof. Juan Carlos Colmenares from the Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences in photocatalysis can turn this vision into reality. Researchers show a green approach in synthesis of defective carbon nitride that is far better at catalyzing solar-driven chemical reactions than a non-defective equivalent.

Penn-led researchers have engineered a powerful cancer-fighting compound from Aspergillus flavus, a toxic fungus linked to ancient tomb deaths. The modified molecules showed potent effects against leukemia cells, rivaling FDA-approved drugs and opening new paths in the search for fungal-derived medicines.

This work provides valuable insights into electrode design strategies for high-performance AZIBs. The successful synthesis of FA-VOPO₄ nanosheets with enlarged interlayer spacing offers a promising pathway toward high-energy-density, safer, and more durable aqueous energy storage systems. These findings contribute to the development of more efficient energy storage technologies with potential applications in grid storage and portable electronics.

The chemical reaction to produce hydrogen from water is several times more effective when using a combination of new materials in three layers, according to researchers at Linköping University in Sweden. Hydrogen produced from water is a promising renewable energy source – especially if the hydrogen is produced using sunlight.

The Moon’s surface has two main rock types: white highland anorthosite and dark lowland basalt. While both are common on the nearside, the farside lacks dark lowlands. Researchers found that nearside rocks are unusually rich in chlorine (Cl), unlike farside rocks. Farside crust materials, lacking Cl enrichment, likely formed from magma that preserves remnants of the original lunar magma ocean from 4.5 billion years ago.

Kyoto, Japan -- As we witness the detrimental effects of climate change, the need for a rapid shift to renewable energy is only becoming more urgent. One of the most efficient forms of renewable energy, solar power, is generated by solar cells, which are the building blocks of solar panels. These electronic devices use semiconductors to convert the energy of light into electricity, a process called the photovoltaic effect.

Conventional solar cells have fundamental limitations in output voltage and conversion efficiency. A phenomenon called the bulk photovoltaic effect, which has attracted much attention in recent years, may enable highly efficient solar energy conversion without such limitations. However, the essential physics of the bulk photovoltaic effect have not been fully understood.

This effect originates from quantum phenomena and involves the asymmetric photoexcitation behavior of electrons, causing a steady electrical charge flow called a shift current, which is usually generated in the system with space-inversion symmetry. Another current materializes when there is a break in time-reversal symmetry, or the symmetry of physical laws when the flow of time is reversed. Since time-reversal symmetry is broken in magnetic materials, new effects related to the bulk photovoltaic effect are expected to arise in magnetic systems, but many aspects of these systems remain unexplained both theoretically and experimentally.