Researchers at the College of Design and Engineering, National University of Singapore, have discovered that adding simple amino acids to ice makes it capture methane gas with remarkable speed. The modified ice turns into a solid “gas hydrate” material that can hold 30 times more methane and form nearly 80 times faster than conventional methods, all under near-freezing conditions. Unlike surfactants, the amino acids are biodegradable and avoid messy foaming during gas release. The material also works in a reusable cycle, where methane can be released on demand with gentle heating, and the leftover solution can be frozen again for the next round of storage, offering a sustainable way to store natural gas and biomethane, and has the potential to be adapted to store other molecules such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen.

Researchers at Aarhus University’s Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO) report a passive smart-window concept based on silver nanorings embedded in a thin, transparent layer inside the glass. When sunlight intensifies, the nanorings heat up through a thermoplasmonic effect and selectively reduce near-infrared (NIR) transmission—the part of sunlight that carries most heat—while maintaining high visible light transmittance. The intensity-dependent response requires no electricity, sensors or control systems and could help reduce building cooling loads and associated CO₂ emissions. The study is published in Advanced Functional Materials.

Using newly developed mathematical methods, scientists found a way to detect the position of objects hidden in opaque substances.

The UCO studied, for the first time, how alperujo storage times affect the subsequent composting process, taking into account both the quality of the product and the emission of greenhouse gases and microbiological activity

CAS Academician, Prof. Jihong Yu, and her team from Jilin University developed a post-treatment strategy based on metal replacement reaction using commercial ZSM-5 zeolite as a carrier, and successfully encapsulated a highly active PtCu alloy catalyst in the pores of the zeolite. In the study, Cu²⁺ ions were first introduced into the pores of the zeolite through ion exchange, and then reduced at high temperature to form a Cu@MFI intermediate; then the Pt component was introduced through a metal replacement reaction, and a PtCu alloy was formed in the pores of the zeolite through high temperature reduction. The prepared PtCu₅@MFI-K (Pt/Cu=1/5) showed excellent catalytic performance in the propane dehydrogenation reaction, with a propane conversion rate of 49.7%, a propylene selectivity of more than 90%, and good cyclic stability. This study provides a new low-cost and efficient synthesis strategy for the development of high-performance alloy@zeolite catalysts. These results were published as an open access article in CCS Chemistry, the flagship journal of the Chinese Chemical Society.