EurekAlert! News by Subject: Chemistry & Physics - News by Subject: Chemistry & Physics

Chemistry & Physics

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 26-Dec-2025 13:11 ET (26-Dec-2025 18:11 GMT/UTC)

Prussian Blue breaks out of its cubic mold after 300 years

Pohang University of Science & Technology (POSTECH)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

POSTECH team synthesizes octahedral Prussian Blue using glycerol, boosting hybrid capacitor performance.

Journal: Advanced Functional Materials

Living cement: scientists turn bacteria-infused cement into energy-storing supercapacitors

Aarhus University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team at Aarhus University has demonstrated how the world’s most widely used building material can be transformed into a living energy device. By integrating electricity-generating microbes into cement, the team has created a living supercapacitor that can store electricity and even regenerate its capacity when fed nutrients. The technology could pave the way for energy-autonomous buildings and infrastructure.

Journal: Cell Reports Physical Science

When magnets cannot agree: Quantum mechanics deciphers iron catalyst

University of Vienna
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Catalysts are indispensable for the large-scale production of many chemicals, as they accelerate chemical reactions. Some of them contain metal atoms such as iron as key building blocks. The electrons of each individual iron atom possess a tiny magnetic moment, the so-called spin. When several iron atoms meet in a catalyst, the way their spins are oriented relative to each other is crucial. A research team at the University of Vienna was able to decipher the mode of action of an iron-based catalyst using quantum mechanical calculations. They showed that the phenomenon of superposition stabilizes the catalyst and makes it more effective.

Journal: Angewandte Chemie International Edition

AI tool developed at Oxford helps astronomers find supernovae in a sky full of noise

University of Oxford
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new AI-powered tool has reduced astronomers’ workload by 85% - filtering through thousands of data alerts to identify the few genuine signals caused by supernovae (powerful explosions from dying stars). The findings have been published today (10 Sept) in The Astrophysical Journal.

Journal: The Astrophysical Journal

New ways of producing methanol from electricity and biomass

Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In future, it could become easier to manufacture methanol from biomass decentrally on site. Researchers at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) are proposing a method with which raw and waste materials from plants can be processed in a self-contained procedure under mild reaction conditions. This method means that the complex drying and transportation of biomass to large biomass gasification plants becomes superfluous. The results were published in the journal Green Chemistry.

Journal: Green Chemistry

Gemini South aids in discovery of elusive cloud-forming chemical on ancient brown dwarf

Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In the first discovery of its kind, astronomers have found silane in the atmosphere of an ancient brown dwarf nicknamed The Accident. This molecule plays an important role in the formation of clouds in gas giant atmospheres, but for decades it has eluded detection in planets like Jupiter and Saturn. The discovery was made possible with complementary observations from the U.S. National Science Foundation-funded Gemini South telescope in Chile and NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.

Journal: Nature

How to find a cryptic animal: Recording the elusive beaked whale in the Foz do Amazonas Basin

American Institute of Physics
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Beaked whales are considered one of the least understood mammals, but pressure from their predators may be driving these whales to exhibit inconspicuous surface behavior. Using passive acoustic monitoring, hydrophones, and autonomous recorders, researchers were able to capture nine audio recordings, visually spotting the whales four separate times. They discuss their findings in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

Journal: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America