POSTECH develops a magnetic-field battery technology that prevents explosions and delivers four times the capacity.

Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have successfully traced the mechanism behind how an industrially important “superbase” catalyst is synthesized in a faster, microwave-assisted reaction. They took measurements using X-rays while the reaction occurred, uncovering how small precursor molecules were formed first before they clustered to create the final product. Their insights promise finer control over a promising technology for speeding up chemical synthesis in industry.

- University of Leicester engineers have developed a design framework for a magnetic cloak

- Designed to hide objects from magnetic fields, effectively making them ‘invisible’ to magnetic detection

- Allows magnetic cloaks to be created for objects of any shape for the first time

Researchers have taken a leap in understanding how kangaroos can increase their hopping speeds without incurring an associated energetic cost. Their study, first published in eLife as a Reviewed Preprint and appearing now as the final Version of Record, shows that changes in kangaroo posture at high speeds increases their tendon stress and energy storage and return. This increased energy storage/return counteracts the higher muscular force required at speed, explaining why the animals’ energetic cost remains unchanged.

A research team led by Prof. LI Xianfeng from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) eveloped a novel bromine-based two-electron transfer reaction system to overcome key limitations of conventional zinc–bromine flow batteries. By introducing amine compounds as bromine scavengers, the team converts corrosive bromine (Br₂) into brominated amines, reducing Br₂ concentration to ultra-low levels (~7 mM). This enables a two-electron redox process that increases energy density while significantly lowering electrolyte corrosivity.

One of the current challenges in the chemical industry is to find methods that facilitate the optimisation of catalysts capable of enabling the development of new chemical processes. Catalyst optimisation is usually based on trial-and-error testing, in which the properties of the catalyst are improved through a slow and routine process aimed at identifying the best combinations of ligand and metal, which are its basic components. Once the catalyst has been optimised, its properties are fixed and adapted to the specific requirements of a particular chemical process.

A highly interesting alternative to this method is to design a catalyst that contains a ligand whose properties can be modulated through the application of an external stimulus. These properties, known as “switchable”, are much easier to modulate and therefore to adapt to the specific needs of each reaction. Over the past four years, the Organometallic Chemistry and Homogeneous Catalysis Group (QOMCAT) at the Universitat Jaume I has designed a series of multisensitive catalysts capable of adapting their properties through the application of electrochemical, light-based, chemical and supramolecular stimuli.

Formaldehyde, a highly toxic chemical, must be converted into value-added products. A recent paper by researchers from Chonnam National University presents an engineered enzyme system that converts the highly toxic formaldehyde into L-glyceraldehyde, a valuable chiral compound, with high selectivity and conversion efficiency in a sustainable, one-pot, water-based process. This technology can help better manage environmental pollutants, supporting greener chemical manufacturing.