The use of palladium on carbon powder supports (Pd-CP) has traditionally been a commercially viable means of catalyzing deprotection reactions, despite also requiring substantive quantities of precious metal and limiting the selection of solvents due to low hydrogenation activity. However,…
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7374-542) has developed a new class of enzymes, called enoate reductases, which can be used for the asymmetric synthesis of chiral intermediates, such as esters and aldehydes. The modified biocatalysts, which the company has patented, are…
Chemists at Stanford University (Calif.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7374-543) have constructed a field-effect transistor (FET) with graphene that can operate at room temperature. Previous graphene FET demonstrations have been performed at liquid helium temperature (4K). The researchers were able to make 10-nm wide…
Researchers at TU Delft (edlinks.chemengonline.com/7374-544) and the FOM Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (Utrecht, both Netherlands) have demonstrated the so-called avalanch effect, where a single photon of light can release more than one electron within a semiconductor crystal. The…
Industrial designer Tore Christian Bjørsvik at Sintef Health Research (Trondheim, Norway; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7374-545) has developed a safety helmet with a soft, flexible inner layer that instantly becomes a hard shock absorber if the helmet is subjected to impact. The helmet also…
The Dow Performance Fluids, a business of Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7374-546) has introduced a new high-temperature cleaning solvent for cleaning polymer-process reactor vessels, pipelines, heat exchangers, pumps and other equipment impaired by polymer residue. Dow HT-Solve 515 —…
Ethanol could be produced for less than $1/gal through a new process developed by ZeaChem, Inc. (Lakewood, Colo.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7374-531). The company has piloted the process (flowsheet) and plans to start up a 1.5-million-gal/yr full-scale demonstration plant at the end of…
Last month, a Dutch consortium composed of Akzo Nobel (Amsterdam, Netherlands; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7473-549), energy firm Essent, algae producers Ingrepo and Wageningen University, received a 1-million grant to investigate the potential of converting algae into feedstock for the CPI. The four-year study…
Single crystals of high-purity, anatase titanium dioxide with a high percentage of reactive (001) facets are said to have promising applications in solar cells, photonic and optoelectronic devices, sensors and photocatalysis. However, it is the (101) crystal facets of anatase…
Scientists at Rice University (Houston, Tex.; edlinks.chemengonline.com/7374-547) have shown how baton-shaped nanoparticles of metal and carbon can trap oil droplets in water by spontaneously assembling into tiny sacs. The particles — composed of hollow carbon nanotubes (hydrophobic) with a short…