university of california berkeley

A supramolecular ink technology could be a game changer for the OLED display industry
Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images of the new 2D nanosheet as a barrier coating that self-assembles on a variety of substrates, including a Teflon beaker and membrane, polyester film, thick and thin silicon films, and glass. The TEM experiments were conducted at UC Berkeley’s Electron Microscope Laboratory. (Credit: Emma Vargo et al./Berkeley Lab. Images courtesy of Nature.)
Heading for sustainable manufacturing by scaling up self-assembling nanosheets
A simplified version of the biolandfill technology used for agro-sequestration. To keep the biomass dry, it’s necessary to use two layers of high-density polyethylene with a combined thickness up to 4 millimeters. The plastic acts as a water diffusion barrier, allowing less than 1.75 micrometers equivalent water thickness to diffuse through annually. This rate of water diffusion can be accommodated for thousands of years by the dry salt-biomass mixture, which can absorb the water without increasing its own relative humidity (water activity) above 60%. Water activity below 60% suppresses all life and all biodegradation. (Image by Eli Yablonovitch and Harry Deckman)
Salting and burying biomass crops in dry landfills could economically capture greenhouse gases for thousands of years
Breakthrough in Catalysis Research Could Lead to Massive Energy Savings
Transformative cellular glue tools could regenerate tissues, heal wounds and regrow nerves
Fusion Breakthrough: Do we actually have liftoff?
UC Berkeley chemists tested their chemical process for breaking down polyethylene plastic on several types of post-consumer PE: four-pack tops, milk and shampoo bottles and plastic packaging. The yield of propylene from each is shown at the bottom. With improvements to the process, it could make a dent in the PE waste stream and provide a product in high-demand by the plastics industry without using more fossil fuels. (Photo credit: John Hartwig lab, UC Berkeley)
The ubiquitous plastic bag that blights the landscape may have finally become recyclable via a new process
Engineered living materials developed at Rice University can be customized for a variety of applications, including environmental remediation or as custom catalysts. (Credit: Sara Molinari/Ajo-Franklin Research Group)
Growing living macroscale modular materials from bacteria
Junpyo Kwon, a Ph.D. student researcher from the Xu Group at UC Berkeley, is shown holding a recyclable, biodegradable printed circuit. The advance could divert wearable devices and other flexible electronics from landfill, and mitigate the health and environmental hazards posed by heavy metal waste. Credit: Marilyn Sargent/Berkeley Lab
A fully recyclable and biodegradable printed circuit
Light microscopy image of nanowires, 100 to 1,000 nanometers in diameter, grown from cesium germanium tribromide (CGB) on a mica substrate. The CGB nanowires are samples of a new lead-free halide perovskite solar material that is also ferroelectric. (Credit: Peidong Yang and Ye Zhang/Berkeley Lab)
A simpler less expensive approach to solar cell manufacturing is also lead free
Carbon dioxide (depicted in red and white at left) is the main greenhouse gas warming Earth and is emitted in large quantities in the flue gas from industrial and power plants. A new method for removing CO2 from these flue gases involves piping the emissions through a porous material based on the chemical melamine (center). DETA, a chemical bound inside the porous melamine, grabs CO2 and removes it from the gas, with nitrogen vented to the atmosphere. (Image courtesy of Haiyan Mao and Jeffrey Reimer, UC Berkeley)
Could melamine big a really big help in carbon capture?
A way to generate an alternative jet fuel by harvesting an unusual carbon molecule from bacteria
UC chemical engineers are developing new processes to convert carbon dioxide into useful products using tandem electrodes. Photo/Jingjie Wu
Turning pollution into cash: Converting carbon dioxide into ethylene to reduce the carbon footprint
Getting LiDAR down to chip size opens numerous possibilities
Rapid global phaseout of animal agriculture has the potential to stabilize greenhouse gas levels