Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: sustainability

Researchers at Boise State University have developed a novel, environmentally friendly triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) that is fully printed and capable of harvesting biomechanical and environmental energy while also functioning as a real-time motion sensor. The innovation leverages a composite of Poly (vinyl butyral-co-vinyl alcohol-co-vinyl acetate) (PVBVA) and MXene (Ti3C2Tx) nanosheets, offering a sustainable alternative to conventional TENGs that often rely on fluorinated polymers and complex fabrication.

Read more | >

As demand for advanced polymeric materials increases, post-functionalization has emerged as an effective strategy for designing functional polymers. This approach involves modifying existing polymer chains by introducing new chemical groups after their synthesis, allowing for the transformation of readily available polymers into materials with desirable properties.

Postfunctionalization can be performed under mild conditions using visible light in the presence of catalysts, which provides a sustainable route for developing high-value polymers. However, existing methods often rely on generating carbon radicals along the polymer chain, limiting the variety of functional groups that can be introduced.

In a significant advancement, a team led by Professor Shinsuke Inagi from the Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Materials and Chemical Technology at Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo), Japan, has developed a postfunctionalization technique that allows for the incorporation of phosphonate esters under conditions. This breakthrough paves the way for a broader range of polymer modifications.

Read more | >

How do you intuitively know that you can walk on a footpath and swim in a lake? Researchers from the University of Amsterdam have discovered unique brain activations that reflect how we can move our bodies through an environment.

Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study not only sheds new light on how the human brain works, but also shows where artificial intelligence is lagging behind. According to the researchers, AI could become more sustainable and human-friendly if it incorporated this knowledge about the human brain.

When we see a picture of an unfamiliar environment—a mountain path, a busy street, or a river—we immediately know how we could move around in it: walk, cycle, swim or not go any further. That sounds simple, but how does your brain actually determine these action opportunities?

Read more | >

Harnessing just 2% of the energy potential from tidal and offshore solar sources could make a significant dent in global CO2 emissions, new research has found.

Researchers at the Universities of Strathclyde and Maine examined more than 660 assessments of offshore renewable energy (ORE) potential in more than 3,000 locations worldwide. They found that tidal and solar consistently had more energy to offer than other sources such as wind and wave, but were the subject of far less research, and consequently, remained largely untapped.

Offshore solar energy, in particular, was found to be more reliable and less variable than other sources, making it ideal for energy mixes. Despite their lower theoretical potential, wind and wave energy accounted for three-quarters of the assessments examined by the researchers.

Read more | >

Every day, tons of CO₂ are released into the atmosphere, but what if we could transform it using clean energy? This is the question explored in a recent Politecnico di Milano study, which was featured on the cover of the journal ACS Catalysis. The research focuses on a process that transforms carbon dioxide and hydrogen into methane using carefully engineered nickel nanoparticles.

Entitled “Deciphering Size and Shape Effects on the Structure Sensitivity of the CO₂ Methanation Reaction on Nickel,” the study by Gabriele Spanò, Matteo Ferri, Raffaele Cheula, Matteo Monai, Bert M. Weckhuysen and Matteo Maestri investigates how the size and shape of nickel nanoparticles influence the rate at which is converted into methane.

Researchers at the Laboratory of Catalysis and Catalytic Processes (LCCP) at Politecnico di Milano’s Department of Energy are tackling a key climate challenge: reusing CO₂ to produce sustainable fuels. The LCCP is an internationally recognized leader in , driving forward practical solutions for cleaner energy.

Read more | >

A new perovskite solar cell (PSC) demonstrates remarkable resilience even in high heat conditions, thanks to an innovative protective film. The research team suggests that these findings represent a significant step toward commercialization by addressing thermal stability issues.

A research team, led by Professor Dong Suk Kim at the UNIST Graduate School of Carbon Neutrality, in collaboration with Professor Tae Kyung Lee from Gyeongsang National University (GNU), has successfully engineered a heat-resistant PSC capable of withstanding high-temperature encapsulation processes.

This innovative solar cell demonstrated a remarkable initial efficiency of 25.56% and maintained over 85% of its initial efficiency after operating under conditions of 85°C and 85% for up to 1,000 hours. The findings are published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science.

Read more | >

When Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai, an underwater volcano near Tonga in the South Pacific Ocean, erupted in 2022, scientists expected that it would spew enough water vapor into the stratosphere to push global temperatures past the 1.5 C threshold set by the Paris Accords. A new UCLA-led study shows that not only did the eruption not warm the planet, but it actually reduced temperatures over the Southern Hemisphere by 0.1 C.

The reason: The eruption formed smaller sulfate aerosols that had an efficient cooling effect that unexpectedly outweighed the warming effect of the water vapor. Meanwhile, the water vapor interacted with sulfur dioxide and other atmospheric components, including ozone, in ways that did not amplify warming.

While that’s good news, the study also suggests that efforts to reverse by loading the atmosphere with substances that react with solar radiation to send heat back out into space, an effort known as geoengineering, are potentially even riskier than previously thought and must take new complications into account.

Read more | >