New door opened to understanding the catalysis of ammonia production

Research team investigates the reaction mechanism for catalytic ammonia production at PETRA III

26-Jan-2024 - A research team from Stockholm University, in collaboration with DESY and the Montanuniversität Leoben in Austria, has succeeded for the first time in investigating the surface of iron and ruthenium catalysts in the formation of ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen; the results have been published ...

A single instrument determines a total of ten greenhouse gases and air pollutants simultaneously and with high precision

"Innosuisse Certificate" for Empa Spin-off: Ready for sustainable growth

12-Dec-2022 - Founded in February 2018 as an Empa spin-off, the start-up company "MIRO Analytical" received one of the coveted "Innosuisse Certificates" in October. The certificate reflects the remarkable progress the young company made during the funding agency's coaching program and confirms that the ...

A new, highly sensitive chemical sensor uses protein nanowires

UMass Amherst team introduces high-performing 'green' electronic sensor

15-May-2020 - Writing in the journal NanoResearch, a team at the University of Massachusetts Amherst reports that they have developed bioelectronic ammonia gas sensors that are among the most sensitive ever made. The sensor uses electric-charge-conducting protein nanowires derived from the bacterium Geobacter ...

Sensors detect disease markers in breath

19-May-2017 - A small, thin square of an organic plastic that can detect disease markers in breath or toxins in a building's air could soon be the basis of portable, disposable sensor devices. By riddling the thin plastic films with pores, University of Illinois researchers made the devices sensitive enough to ...

Graphene foam detects explosives, emissions better than today's gas sensors

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute engineering researchers overcome decade-old hurdle hampering development of nanostructure-based gas sensors

30-Nov-2011 - A new study from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute demonstrates how graphene foam can outperform leading commercial gas sensors in detecting potentially dangerous and explosive chemicals. The discovery opens the door for a new generation of gas sensors to be used by bomb squads, law enforcement ...

Cell phones that protect against deadly chemicals? Why not?

Crowdsourcing cell phones to detect chemicals

15-Apr-2010 - Do you carry a cell phone? Today, chances are it's called a "smartphone" and it came with a three-to-five megapixel lens built-in—not to mention an MP3 player, GPS or even a bar code scanner. This 'Swiss-Army-knife' trend represents the natural progression of technology—as chips become ...

Instantaneous trace gas fingerprint with laser frequency combs

Scientists at the MPQ record ultrasensitive absorption broadband spectra within tens of microseconds by combining cavity enhancement and frequency comb spectroscopy

01-Dec-2009 - Trace gas spectroscopic detection has drawn much interest in recent years, as it both allows a better understanding of the molecular spectra of weak overtone transitions and in situ non-intrusive sensing of compounds at low concentration. However, recording a broadband spectrum within a very ...

Opto-electronic nose sniffs out toxic gases

15-Sep-2009 - Imagine a polka-dotted postage stamp that can sniff out poisonous gases or deadly toxins simply by changing colors. As reported in Nature Chemistry, Kenneth Suslick and his team at the University of Illinois have developed an artificial nose for the general detection of toxic industrial chemicals ...

Environmentally Friendly Catalyst Drastically Reduces Laughing Gas Emissions

11-Nov-2005 - A catalyst that reduces the emission of a nitrogen-containing greenhouse gas by more than 90%, a sensor system that continuously measures the temperature of liquid steel and consequently contributes significantly to improving quality, and a solder paste that makes it possible for electronics ...