Even more challenging for recycling is polystyrene, which makes up one-third of landfill waste worldwide. Now, chemists at Cornell University, US, report the conversion of polystyrene to benzoic acid and other small molecules (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144, 5745).
Also of interest for solar cells, perovskites – materials with the same crystal structure as the mineral calcium titanium oxide – have recently attracted attention for artificial illumination and display applications.
Biologists in the US have improved arguably the most important enzyme on Earth – Rubisco. This large enzyme is crucial for fixing carbon dioxide in plants during photosynthesis.
Demand for certain raw materials used in the renewables industry, such as nickel, lithium and rare earths, was already surging before the war in Ukraine. But bans on Russian imports have dramatically increased concerns over supply and Ukraine’s future as an alternative supplier hangs in the balance.
South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has re-affirmed an earlier high court ruling declaring new regulations concerning supplements and complementary medicines as invalid.
Johnson Matthey and Schaeffler have partnered with Bekaert, a supplier of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolysers, and Dutch research institute TNO, to develop cells to be used in electrolysis. The shared research programme will run over the next three years.
Researchers in Spain report reducing inflammation in mice with multiple sclerosis – by giving them a type of ‘lipid mediator’. Use of these mediators could become valuable for treating MS, they say.
Read all the latest news about the movers and shakers in the chemical industry for May 2022.