Do your old, damp coffee grounds have the potential to save the world? New research from the journal Nanotechnology states that the same coffee grounds you toss in the trash every day actually have the ability to store methane.

ECS Fellow Meyya Meyyappan and a team of researchers found that by combining the used coffee grounds with potassium hydroxide, a material with the ability to store substantial amounts of methane was created.

Coffee Grounds Fight Climate Change

In light of global warming and the damaging effects rising temperatures and increased greenhouse gas emissions have on the planet, the ability to store harmful methane is critical.

Methane is a preventable greenhouse gas that accounts for about 10 percent of all harmful emissions derived from human activity. While methane doesn’t stay in the atmosphere as long as the more commonly talked about carbon dioxide, it is far more devastating to the climate due to its extreme efficiency in absorbing heat. In fact, methane is about 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

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Photos and text by Galina Strukova and Gennady Strukov.

The beauty of these pictures is intriguing and fascinating by its asymmetric, exquisite and intricate pattern. What is it? Is it a product of a novel computer program or photographs of fine creations of nature? Neither statement is true. In fact, these are not pictures, but images of metal samples made with an electron microscope.

Only some color is added to the images to emphasize their resemblance to natural objects of our macroworld: seashells, jelly-fish, leaves of exotic plants. The size of the samples is from tens of micrometers to 1-2 millimeters. They are produced via self-organization of nano-sized (millionth of a millimeter) wires growing on porous membranes under the action of electric current pulses.

This is how such volumetric (3D) sculptures are described in scientific journals [1- 3] along with the experimental conditions for their reproduction, i.e., the conditions of the process (electrolyte composition, porous membrane, pulsed current mode) are specified, when growing nanowires organize themselves in an inexplicable fashion into “sculptures” that show perfect resemblance to natural creations. The authors have managed to isolate and photograph them with a modern electron microscope.

Besides, they have proved that the internal structure of this metallic “seashells” is a volumetric multilayer network woven by nano-sized wires. Such antenna-like samples are expected to find application in nanotechnology. Now we can produce such “sculptures” from various metals “by order”, examine them and admire their elegant forms and fascinating beauty. However, it is still a riddle. Why do they so closely resemble shells and leaves? Does this mysterious self-organization have anything in common with formation of plant leaves and seashells?

[1] J of Bionic Engineering 10 (2013) 368–376
[2] Materials Today 16 (2013) 98–99
[3] Materials Letters 128 (2014) 212-215

Here at ECS, we aim to stay on top of all the latest scientific discoveries and innovations around that world. That’s why we created the ECS Redcat Blog.

Our blog aims to provide the latest scientific news for the benefit of all interested. However, we can’t cover every event in the scientific community. Check out some of our other favorite science blogs below:

The Last Word On Nothing
Named after Victor Hugo’s quote, “Science says the first word on everything, and the last word on nothing,” this blog gathers together a vast array of science journalists to publish essays, informational articles, and more.

PLOS
PLOS, or the Public Library of Science, hosts a blog to keep you informed on the latest innovations and developments in science. Whether you’re trying to find out what’s on your dog’s mind or how climate change will shape the future, PLOS has the answers.

Live Science
One look at Live Science’s homepage and you get a glimpse into the biggest advancements in science today. Find the latest research coming out of academic institutes as well as the newest innovations in industry.

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The semiconducting silicon chip brought about a wave of electronic transformation the propelled technology and forever changed the way society functions. We now live in a digital world, where almost everything we encounter on a daily basis is comprised of a mass of silicon integrated circuits (IC) and transistors. But with the materials used to develop and improve these devices being pushed to their limits, the question of the future of electronics arises.

The Beginnings

The move towards a digital age really took flight late in 1947 at Bell Labs when a little device known as the transistor was developed. After this development, Gordon Moore became a pioneering research in the field of electronics and coined Moore’s law in 1965, which dictated that transistor density would double every two years.

Just over 50 years after that prediction, Moore’s law is still holding true. However, researchers and engineers are beginning to hit a bit of a roadblock. Current circuit measurement are coming in a 2nm wide—equating to a size roughly between a red blood cell and a single strand of DNA. Because the integrated circuits are hitting their limit in size, it’s becoming much more difficult to continue the projected growth of Moore’s law.

The question then arises of how do we combat this problem; or do we move toward finding an alternative to silicon itself? What are the true limits of technology?

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Digby D. Macdonald of the University of California, Berkeley will be awarded the 2015 Olin Palladium Award for his distinguished contributions to the field of electrochemical and corrosion science.

Macdonald is currently the Professor in Residence at the University of California, Berkeley’s Departments of Nuclear Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering.

Throughout his rousing career, Macdonald held numerous positions in academia at such institutes as Ohio State University and Pennsylvania State University. In 2011, Macdonald was nominated for a Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He has been recognized by many for his scientific achievements, receiving the Frumkin Memorial Medal in 2015 and the Gibbs award in 2013.

His work on passivity and the properties of aqueous solutions at high temperatures and pressures have not only impacted the landscape of science, but have also made him a pillar and mentor for many students in electrochemical and corrosion science.

Science joining ECS in 1975, the Society has made Macdonald a Fellow and presented him with both the Wagner Memorial and Uhlig Awards.

The award will be presented at the 228th ECS Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona this October. Registration for this meeting is now open!

And take peek at Macdonald’s meeting abstract entitled, “Some Critical Issues of the Breakdown of Passive Films.”

ECS’s Nate Lewis is propelling his vision of efficient and affordable alternative energy sources with the new development of an “artificial leaf” system that splits water through solar energy to create hydrogen fuel.

(PS: Make sure to catch Nate Lewis’ presentation this October at the fifth international Electrochemical Energy Summit held during the 228th ECS Meeting!)

“This new system shatters all of the combined safety, performance, and stability records for artificial leaf technology by factors of 5 to 10 or more,” says Lewis, a 33-year ECS member and scientific director of the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis.

Shattering Water Splitting Records

He and his team, including postdoctoral scholar and ECS member Ke Sun, were able to achieve recording-setting outcomes through the development of a advice with three novel components: two electrodes, one photoanode and one photocathode, and a membrane.

This from Futurity:

The photoanode uses sunlight to oxidize water molecules, generating protons and electrons as well as oxygen gas. The photocathode recombines the protons and electrons to form hydrogen gas.

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ECS publishes special or “focus” issues in order to highlight scientific and technological areas of current interest and future promise that are expanding rapidly or have taken a new direction.

The editors of the Journal of The Electrochemical Society (JES) and the ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology (JSS) are calling for papers for these upcoming focus issues:

Defect Characterization in Semiconductor Materials and Devices
Submission Deadline: October 21, 2015
In recent years, a rapidly growing interest and concern have developed within the microelectronics industry and research community with respect to defect characterization in hetero-epitaxial layers and nano-structures for CMOS and photonic applications. Read more.

Honoring Allen J. Bard
Submission Deadline: September 30, 2015
ECS welcomes original research contributions to a special issue of the Journal of The Electrochemical Society honoring Allen J. Bard. Prof. Bard has been a pioneer of modern electrochemistry for over 60 years and a long-standing member of the Society. For his 80th birthday, The Electrochemical Society founded the Allen J. Bard Award in 2013 to honor his extensive contributions to the field of electrochemistry; the first award was given in May 2015. Read more.

This past May, ECS presented Dr. Henry White with the first ever Allen J. Bard Award at the 227^th ECS Meeting in Chicago. A former student of Bard himself, Dr. White has worked with his research team to advance new methods to determine the structure of biological polymers like DNA, develop novel batteries with increased energy storage capacity, and investigate the delivery of drugs through human skin via electrical currents. ECS is delighted to begin the tradition of the Allen J. Bard Award so auspiciously.

Yet, the inaugural presentation of the Bard Award at the 227^th ECS Meeting was also a culmination: the satisfying conclusion to a story of hard work and generosity and the enduring connection between an educator and the lives he impacted. The desire to create an award in honor of Dr. Bard first arose in May 2013. Through the generous outpouring of many of Bard’s former students, ECS was able to fully endow the award in only two years. Thanks to this support, the Allen J. Bard Award will continue to honor the achievements of outstanding electrochemists for years to come. Below, please see a timeline of the Allen J. Bard Award, including some of Dr. Bard’s major accomplishments.

To further celebrate the impact of Dr. Bard, ECS now hopes to establish a symposium in his honor, which will occur in conjunction with the presentation of the award. Topics for the symposium will be guided by the award winner and by that spirit of creativity and intellectual adventurousness characteristic of Bard and his work.

To support the Bard Award endowment, please consider donating online.

More and more people are looking toward nanomaterials to help solve issues in the energy infrastructure. Not only could this technology lead to more efficient and cost effective renewable energy sources, but could also help the development of devices that remove pollutants from the air and water. In fact, nanotechnology has such a vast scope that there is potential for it to impact almost all areas of society.

“There is not a field that is not touched,” said nanomaterials expert Francis D’Souza of the University of North Texas. “It is a group of very eminent scientists exploring the possibilities in every single field. You can expect big discoveries and breakthroughs.”

While nanomaterials are infiltrating everything from electronics to biomedical applications, many scientists have shift their primary focus to energy harvesting.

“There are so many new capabilities that can be exploited with nanotechnology, from dramatic improvements to solar conversion efficiency to battery systems with higher storage capacity and faster charging and discharging cycles to miniaturized power management systems, so we can have energy storage that can last for a long time,” said IBM’s Lili Deligianni.

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Lili Deligianni is a Research Scientist and Principal Investigator at IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Center. Her innovative work in chemical engineering has led to cutting-edge developments in chip technology and thin film solar cells. Lili has been with ECS for many years and currently serves as the Society’s Secretary.

Listen to the podcast and download this episode and others for free through the iTunes Store, SoundCloud, or our RSS Feed. You can also find us on Stitcher.

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