Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) disposal is a major environmental concern. While defluorination presents an environmentally friendly approach for recycling PTFE, traditional defluorination methods are energy-intensive, require extreme conditions, and ignore fluorine recovery. Now, an international research team has developed an approach that enables room-temperature defluorination with high fluorine recovery yield under optimal conditions using sodium dispersion. The method is useful for recycling not only PTFE but also other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Researchers from the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB) have developed a new framework based on machine learning that significantly improves the resolution of complex differential equations, especially in cases where traditional methods present difficulties. The study, led by experts Pedro Tarancón-Álvarez and Pablo Tejerina-Pérez, has been published in the journal Communications Physics (Nature publishing group).

In the era of instant data exchange and growing risks of cyberattacks, scientists are seeking secure methods of transmitting information. One promising solution is quantum cryptography – a quantum technology that uses single photons to establish encryption keys. A team from the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw has developed and tested in urban infrastructure a novel system for quantum key distribution (QKD). The system employs so-called high-dimensional encoding. The proposed setup is simpler to build and scale than existing solutions, while being based on a phenomenon known to physicists for nearly two centuries – the Talbot effect. The research results have been published in prestigious journals: “Optica Quantum”, “Optica”, and “Physical Review Applied”.

 

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.