Henry White is a world leader in the field of electrochemistry, performing pioneering research in energy storage and fundamental studies of reduction-oxidation reactions and electron-transfer reactions, and the structure of interfaces between metals and solutions. White worked under ECS’s own Allen J. Bard while obtaining his PhD, where he researched electrogenerated chemiluminescence, transport in Nafion modified electrodes, and solar energy conversion using transition metal dichalcogenide photoelectrodes. Since joining the Society in 1985, White has been presented with ECS’s Carl Wagner…
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Electronic cigarettes have paved a path for smokers to get their nicotine fix in a safer way. However, with recent news reports of the devices exploding into bursts of flames, many consumers now wary of the safety concerns. E-cigarettes are relatively simple devices. Powered by a battery, an internal heating element vaporizes the liquid solution in the cartridge. But for a New York teen, the process wasn’t as simple as he expected. Anatomy of an e-cigarette According to a report…
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The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) has recently announced up to $30 million in funding for a new program that focuses on renewable energy to convert air and water into cost-competitive liquid fuels. The program, titled Renewable Energy to Fuels through Utilization of Energy-dense Liquids (REFUEL), is aimed at developing technologies that use renewable energy to convert air and water into carbon neutral liquid fuels – which can be converted into hydrogen or electricity to provide…
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Building a sustainable future Over 40 years ago, the modern environmental movement was born. Passion and concern drove a small group of twenty-somethings together in a rallying cry to create a more environment-conscious society, establishing what has become known as Earth Day. The original Earth Day focused on the issues of pollution, but today’s modern Earth Day focuses the pressing global issue of climate change. Global challenges Currently, carbon dioxide levels in the air are at their highest in over…
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Graphene’s potential seems limitless. From to patches that monitor glucose and inject treatment to water-splitting capabilities, the popularly proclaimed “wonder material” is finding a home in a host of applications. However, graphene has yet to make it wide-spread, commercial applications. To help take graphene from the lab to society, the Graphene Flagship has been formed as a European initiative promoting collaborative research on the up-and-coming material. Recently, the initiative published a paper detailing the possibility of creating light-responsive graphene-based devices…
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Leveraging electrochemistry to beat diabetes This year’s World Health Day focuses on diabetes and reducing the burden of a disease that affects over 420 million people worldwide. To put that in perspective, that number rested at 180 million in 1980. It is expected to more than double within the next 20 years. So how can we beat diabetes? Well, electrochemistry has the potential to play a rather large role in halting the rise of this disease that kills 1.5 million…
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Wild mushrooms have recently made a surprising (but not unwelcome) foray into the battery realm. In a new study, researchers from Purdue University derived promising carbon fibers from a wild mushroom and modified them with nanoparticles to cook up new battery anodes that outperform conventional graphite electrodes for lithium-ion batteries. (READ: “Wild Fungus Derived Carbon Fibers and Hybrids as Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries“) Outperforming traditional anodes “Current state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries must be improved in both energy density and power output…
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Edward Goodrich Acheson (1856-1931), one of the charter members of ECS, is best known for having invented and commercialized carborundum, an artificial graphite. Biography Acheson was born in southwestern Pennsylvania and raised its coal fields. At the age of 16, after his father died, he left school to help support his family. Nevertheless, Acheson devoted his nights to the scientific endeavors, especially electrical experiments. In 1880, Acheson attempted to sell a battery of his own invention to Thomas Edison, who ended up…
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Christian Amatore has given a new direction to electrochemistry and has had a pioneering role in the development of ultramicroelectrodes worldwide. He is currently the Director of Research at CNRS and will be giving the ECS Lecture at the 229th ECS Meeting in San Diego, CA, May 29-June 2, 2016. His talk is titled, “Seeing, Measuring and Understanding Vesicular Exocytosis of Neurotransmitters.” Listen to the podcast and download this episode and others for free through the iTunes Store, SoundCloud, or…
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Experience the wonders of Argonne National Laboratory at this year’s Chicago Section Spring Event! Featuring a laboratory tour, a dinner buffet, and a talk by distinguished speaker Dr. Deyang Qu, this event is not to be missed! This event will take place on Tuesday, April 5th and begin at 3:30 p.m. Register now! Argonne National Laboratory Spanning 1,500 acres, Argonne National Laboratory is the largest national laboratory in the Midwest. Argonne serves as a center for government and corporate research and development, as well…
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