The combination of solar energy and natural hydrothermal systems will innovate the chemistry of CO₂ hydrogenation; however, the approach remains challenging due to the lack of robust and cost-effective catalytic system. Here, Zn which can be recycled with solar energy-induced approach was chosen as the reductant and Co as catalyst to achieve robust hydrothermal CO₂ methanation. Nanosheets of honeycomb ZnO were grown in situ on the Co surface, resulting in a new motif (Co@ZnO catalyst) that inhibits Co deactivation through ZnO-assisted CoO_x reduction. The stabilized Co and interaction between Co and ZnO functioned collaboratively toward the full conversion of CO₂–CH₄. In situ hydrothermal infrared spectroscopy confirmed the formation of formic acid as an intermediate, thereby avoiding CO formation and unwanted side reaction pathways. This study presents a straightforward one-step process for both highly efficient CO₂ conversion and catalyst synthesis, paving the way for solar-driven CO₂ methanation.

SAN ANTONIO — June 10, 2025 — Southwest Research Institute’s Dr. Craig DeForest discussed the latest accomplishments of NASA’s PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission during a media event at the 246th American Astronomical Society meeting in Anchorage, Alaska. As the spacecraft constellation completes commissioning, early PUNCH data showed coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, as they erupted from the Sun and traveled across the inner solar system.

The National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), headed by President Kazuhiro Hono(Open in a new window), has decided to present this year’s NIMS Award to: Prof. Tsutomu Miyasaka, Professor of Engineering, Toin University of Yokohama, Prof. Henry J. Snaith Professor of Physics, University of Oxford, and Prof. Nam-Gyu Park Professor of Chemical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University.

University of Utah engineers encode partial differential equations in light and feed them into newly designed optical neural engine, or ONE, to accelerate machine learning.

While studying embryos in vitro can have many ethical and technical complications, there is a model that serves as an excellent substitute. Two-dimensional “gastruloids” are made from colonies of human pluripotent stem cells that can replicate the third week of gestation in which the three germ layers of the body are established. In APL Bioengineering, researchers discuss a sorting system comprised of a microscope, a camera, a sorting stage, and devices for collecting and releasing the microrafts that the gastruloids are grown on. The system is controlled by custom software that automates the process.

In Nanotechnology and Precision Engineering, researchers developed a microrobot capable of manipulating small droplets in the presence of magnetic fields. To make their robot, they mixed neodymium magnetic particles and sugar with a chemically stable polymer. The sugar was then dissolved away, leaving holes throughout the polymer for increased surface area. Lastly, the team treated the polymer with plasma to make it attract water and other liquids. Including the magnetic particles allowed the team to control their robot by applying magnetic fields, and using powerful neodymium particles made the robot more responsive and effective compared to existing magnetic microrobots.