Feature articles
More than pollution: secondary organic aerosols
Air pollution interferes with plant olfactory communication by accelerating the breakdown of volatile compounds. However, a recent study published in Science suggests that the effects of pollution are not as simple as they seem.
First step towards natural sunscreen
Researchers in Amsterdam have laid the first foundations for a sunscreen based on a molecule found naturally in the skin: urocanic acid. They have published extensive spectroscopic data in two papers in Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics.
Ball mill removes PFAS from wastewater
Many pharmaceutical residues and PFASs accumulate in the environment, including in our wastewater. A ball mill seems to be the solution in a Dutch pilot project.
One technology for all volumes
With a smaller version of its Kytero single-use centrifuge, GEA enables customers to apply the same separation technology during each stage of the track from R&D to full-blown commercial scale.
An ode to patience
Isabelle Kohler offers valuable tips to help early-career researchers stay patient while pursuing their professional dreams.
‘We all have our own career path’
According to KNCV Gold Medal winner Caroline Paul, biocatalysis offers many opportunities, but it is not by default more sustainable than chemical synthesis. ‘You do have to look at the numbers and make a fair comparison.’
A bigger and modular CT-scanner for safer EV batteries
Electric vehicle batteries are notorious for causing uncontrollable fires. Unfortunately, current battery management systems are unable to detect problems in time. Dutch start-up INNER has a solution: a CT machine the size of a battery pack that can do just that.
Methane pyrolysis: A balancing act on multiple levels
Researchers from Utrecht, Eindhoven and Delft are teaming up with several industrial partners in a five-year multilateral ARC CBBC project to carry out optimisation at both atomic and reactor scale of methane pyrolysis.
Functional coatings are the future
If you ask ARC CBBC researchers, future coatings will be able to adapt to light, temperature or chemicals and even be self-healing.
Elexel: Accelerating electrochemical innovation
Marie Brands just went for it. Driven by her passion for sustainability, she founded Elexel, an independent electrolyzer testing and scale-up service company. Though it is still in its early stages, she dreams big.
The rise of electrosynthesis
Electrosynthesis is gaining traction as an interesting method to enable sustainable production processes. For example, by creating relevant chemical building blocks from carbohydrates.
Towards the Refinery of the Future
Defining the future of the chemical industry is a good start, but realizing these visions will prove challenging. We asked Bas de Bruin, Guido Mul and Atsushi Urakawa, all of them PIs within ARC CBBC, to share their ideas on how we can turn that envisioned future into reality.
‘It is important to know the industrial conditions’
With the end of her PhD track in sight, Sofie Ferwerda explains how she navigates the worlds of academia and industry in her research, which includes a collaboration with BASF.
Circus
You won’t see editor-in-chief Esther Thole charging down a black slope. But when it comes to mindblowing science, she can stomach steep descents and sharp curves.
A passion for Green Chemistry
When you’re driven by something bigger than yourself, it’s hard to put your work down, says Thomas Freese (32).
Time for chemistry to change lanes
To keep pace with a rapidly changing world, the chemical industry will have to reinvent itself, says Bert Weckhuysen, scientific director of the ARC CBBC consortium.
Becoming a 21st century chemist
Combining transdisciplinary challenge-based education with design thinking creates a unique environment for students to learn skills that will help them navigate sustainability transitions.
Tricky protein modification with potential
Lysine crotonylation is an understudied yet very interesting post-translational modification which has great medical potential.
How to embrace feedback as an academic writer
Isabelle Kohler shares practical strategies to help early-career researchers and students not only survive feedback but also embrace it as a powerful tool for growth.
It’s not just about money
The government’s massive budget cuts are sparking deep concern across academia. In this column, Isabelle Kohler outlines the primary effects of these cuts on research, higher education, and innovation, with a specific focus on PhD students.
