News tagged with chemical energy

High-speed method to aid search for solar energy storage catalysts

Eons ago, nature solved the problem of converting solar energy to fuels by inventing the process of photosynthesis.

Chemistry / Materials Science

created May 25, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Availability of hydrogen controls chemical structure of graphene oxide

A new study shows that the availability of hydrogen plays a significant role in determining the chemical and structural makeup of graphene oxide, a material that has potential uses in nano-electronics, nano-electromechanical ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created May 22, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

From lemons to lemonade: Reaction uses carbon dioxide to make carbon-based semiconductor

(Phys.org) -- A materials scientist at Michigan Technological University has discovered a chemical reaction that not only eats up the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, it also creates something useful. And, by ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created May 21, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (89) | comments 33 | with audio podcast

Nanosheet catalyst discovered to sustainably split hydrogen from water

(Phys.org) -- Hydrogen gas offers one of the most promising sustainable energy alternatives to limited fossil fuels. But traditional methods of producing pure hydrogen face significant challenges in unlocking ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created May 10, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (15) | comments 57 | with audio podcast

Nanotechnology for solar energy conversion systems

EU researchers extensively characterised the self-organisation of nanotubes and developed novel compositions particularly appropriate to solar energy conversion applications.

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created May 25, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Rational design can improve hydrogen fuel cell efficiency

(PhysOrg.com) -- Hydrogen fuel cells, in which the chemical energy of hydrogen is converted into electricity, offer the potential for a wide variety of applications, especially in transportation and power ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Feb 29, 2012 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (12) | comments 0 | with audio podcast feature

Artificial light-harvesting method achieves 100% energy transfer efficiency

(PhysOrg.com) -- In an attempt to mimic the photosynthetic systems found in plants and some bacteria, scientists have taken a step toward developing an artificial light-harvesting system (LHS) that meets one ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Sep 01, 2011 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (40) | comments 22 | with audio podcast feature

Energy storage device fabricated on a nanowire array

In a vivid demonstration of the progress being made in miniaturizing energy storage devices, a team of engineers from Rice University in Houston, Texas, has fabricated an energy storage device where all essential ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Aug 01, 2011 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (14) | comments 0 | with audio podcast feature

High-performance capacitor could lead to better rechargeable batteries

(PhysOrg.com) -- In order to develop next-generation electric vehicles, solar energy systems, and other clean energy technologies, researchers need an efficient way to store the energy. One of the key energy ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Jan 26, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (32) | comments 9 | with audio podcast feature

Silicon nanohole solar cells aim to make photovoltaics cost-competitive

(PhysOrg.com) -- Due to the increasing demand for renewable energy sources, photovoltaic solar cells have advanced significantly over the past decade. Since 2002, photovoltaic production worldwide has been ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created May 07, 2010 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (26) | comments 13 | with audio podcast feature

Nature's billion-year-old battery key to storing energy

New research at Concordia University is bringing us one step closer to clean energy. It is possible to extend the length of time a battery-like enzyme can store energy from seconds to hours, a study published in the Journal of ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Apr 18, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (17) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Liquid batteries could level the load

The biggest drawback to many real or proposed sources of clean, renewable energy is their intermittency: The wind doesn’t always blow, the sun doesn’t always shine, and so the power they produce ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Feb 14, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (9) | comments 37 | with audio podcast

Amoeba offers key clue to photosynthetic evolution

(PhysOrg.com) -- The major difference between plant and animal cells is the photosynthetic process, which converts light energy into chemical energy. When light isn't available, energy is generated by breaking ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Feb 27, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Extracting fuels and chemicals from plant life

Concerns over increasing global energy demand and the environmental impacts of fossil fuels are motivating the world’s researchers to try to develop alternative, renewable sources of energy.

Chemistry / Materials Science

created May 21, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Novel alloy could produce hydrogen fuel from sunlight

Scientists from the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville have determined that an inexpensive semiconductor material can be "tweaked" to generate hydrogen from water using sunlight.

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Aug 30, 2011 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (15) | comments 16 | with audio podcast

Chemical thermodynamics

Chemical thermodynamics is the study of the interrelation of heat and work with chemical reactions or with physical changes of state within the confines of the laws of thermodynamics. Chemical thermodynamics involves not only laboratory measurements of various thermodynamic properties, but also the application of mathematical methods to the study of chemical questions and the spontaneity of processes.

The structure of chemical thermodynamics is based on the first two laws of thermodynamics. Starting from the first and second laws of thermodynamics, four equations called the "fundamental equations of Gibbs" can be derived. From these four, a multitude of equations, relating the thermodynamic properties of the thermodynamic system can be derived using relatively simple mathematics. This outlines the mathematical framework of chemical thermodynamics.

For more information about Chemical thermodynamics, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Related topics: energy , photosynthesis , fuel cell