PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Using a data-driven approach to synthesize single-atom catalysts that can purify water

2025-02-19
(Press-News.org) All humans need clean water to live. However, purifying water can be energy-intensive, so there is great interest in improving this process. Researchers at Tohoku University have reported a strategy using data-driven predictions coupled with precise synthesis to accelerate the development of single-atom catalysts (SACs) for more robust and efficient water purification.

SACs are one of the most crucial catalysts. They play a pivotal role in enhancing efficiency in diverse applications including chemical industries, energy conversion, and environmental processes. For water purification in particular, SACs can overcome the limitations of traditional heterogeneous catalysts such as the kinetics, catalytic selectivity, and stability - paving a promising way for the advancement of efficient and sustainable water purification technologies.

However, the development of SACs frequently employs time-consuming trial-and-error methods, and the typical synthesis methods often lack a high level of control. To avoid a process that essentially involves taking shots in the dark, researchers took a data-driven approach where they rapidly and accurately predicted which SACs would have the best performance before even starting to make them. They compared 43 metals-N4 structures comprising transition and main group metal elements using a hard-template method.

Following this strategy, they determined that the best candidate was a well-designed Fe-SAC with a high loading of Fe-pyridine-N4 sites (~3.83 wt%) and highly mesoporous structure. It successfully exhibited ultra-high decontamination performance (rate constant of 100.97 min-1 g-2).

"The optimized Fe-SAC can also continuously operate for 100 hours," remarks Associate Professor Hao Li of WPI-AIMR, "To our knowledge, this represents one of the best performances of wastewater purification on Fenton-like catalysts - which are reagents used for water purification - reported so far."

Density functional theory calculations revealed that the underlying mechanism was that the SAC reduced the energy barrier of the rate-determining step, which is intermediate O* formation. This resulted in the highly selective generation of singlet oxygen, which has been shown to break down pollutants to help purify water.

To make sure the data-driven prediction had accurately selected this "best" candidate, the research team looked at five other metals-N4 structures (i.e., Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Mn) with different theoretical activities. They confirmed that Fe-SAC truly exhibited the most excellent Fenton-like performance among the five selected SACs, agreeing well with the data-driven prediction.

The close integration of a data-driven method with a precise synthesis strategy provides a novel paradigm for the rapid development of high-performance catalysts for environmental fields, and other fields that involve sustainable energy and catalysis. Moving forward, they aim to develop an efficient and user-friendly workflow for the rapid and effective design of catalysts.

Those interested in incorporating the method into their own work can view the experimental data and computational structures in the Digital Catalysis Platform (DigCat): the largest experimental catalysis database reported to date, developed by the Hao Li Lab. The findings were also published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition on January 31, 2025.

The article processing charge (APC) was supported by the Tohoku University Support Program.

 

About the World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI)

The WPI program was launched in 2007 by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to foster globally visible research centers boasting the highest standards and outstanding research environments. Numbering more than a dozen and operating at institutions throughout the country, these centers are given a high degree of autonomy, allowing them to engage in innovative modes of management and research. The program is administered by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).

See the latest research news from the centers at the WPI News Portal: https://www.eurekalert.org/newsportal/WPI
Main WPI program site:  www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-toplevel

 

Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR)
Tohoku University
Establishing a World-Leading Research Center for Materials Science

AIMR aims to contribute to society through its actions as a world-leading research center for materials science and push the boundaries of research frontiers. To this end, the institute gathers excellent researchers in the fields of physics, chemistry, materials science, engineering, and mathematics and provides a world-class research environment.

AIMR site: https://www.wpi-aimr.tohoku.ac.jp/en/

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Repeated invasions shape NZ’s bird life

Repeated invasions shape NZ’s bird life
2025-02-19
New University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka research shows Aotearoa has been increasingly accepting new bird species from around the world since the start of the Ice Age, offering clues into future migration patterns. Since the Ice Age drastically changed the Aotearoa landscape from widely forested to grass and shrubland, researchers set out to determine which of our living and recently extinct birds are a result of existing lineages that adapted to their environment tens of millions of years ago and which are the descendants of comparatively recent invaders. Using mitogenome data from nearly all living and recently extinct New Zealand mainland bird species, researchers ...

Wild fish can recognize individual divers

Wild fish can recognize individual divers
2025-02-19
For years, scientific divers at a research station in the Mediterranean Sea had a problem: at some point in every field season, local fish would follow them and steal food intended as experimental rewards. Intriguingly these wild fish appeared to recognize the specific diver who had previously carried food, choosing to follow only them while ignoring other divers. To find out if that was true, a team from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPI-AB) in Germany conducted a series of experiments while wearing a range of diving gear, finding ...

New therapy reduces reoffending in male offenders with antisocial personality disorder

2025-02-19
A new psychological therapy designed by a team of UCL-led researchers has been found to reduce rates of violence and aggression among male offenders with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). The study, published in The Lancet Psychiatry and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), investigated whether aggression and antisocial behaviours could be improved by a modified form of mentalisation-based treatment (MBT). Mentalisation-based treatment is a type of therapy that helps people to understand their own thoughts and feelings, ...

We are no longer living longer, UEA study shows

2025-02-19
The rise in human life expectancy has slowed down across Europe since 2011, according to research from the University of East Anglia and partners. A new study, published today in The Lancet Public Health, reveals that the food we eat, physical inactivity and obesity are largely to blame, as well as the Covid pandemic. Of all the countries studied, England experienced the biggest slowdown in life expectancy. It means that rather than looking forward to living longer than our parents or grandparents, ...

Study on new telerehabilitation stroke therapy model led by UTHealth Houston for underserved community in the Texas Rio Grande Valley

Study on new telerehabilitation stroke therapy model led by UTHealth Houston for underserved community in the Texas Rio Grande Valley
2025-02-18
A new at-home telerehabilitation care service for stroke patients will be offered to residents of Cameron County in the Rio Grande Valley as part of a randomized clinical trial led by researchers from across UTHealth Houston. Investigators from UTHealth Houston School of Public Health in Brownsville, UTHealth Houston Institute for Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases, and McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics at UTHealth Houston will create and test software delivered through a website to patients who have recently ...

Study reveals genes that may help predict prostate cancer outcomes

2025-02-18
A recent study published in the Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology explored genetic predictors of prostate cancer progression to help identify its clinical outcomes. Conducted by researchers from the D’Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), the University of São Paulo (USP), and the São Paulo Cancer Institute (ICESP), the study focused on the role of the androgen receptor (AR), its variant AR-V7, and the p160 gene family. Prostate cancer: a complex and deadly disease Prostate cancer is one of the leading causes of death among ...

Obesity surgery tourism – only approved centres should be carrying out recognised procedures to avoid further tragedies

2025-02-18
Obesity surgery (also known as bariatric and metabolic surgery) is one of the most common reasons for people to do so called ‘medical tourism’ – where they travel to another country to have the procedure carried out at usually a much lower price than in their home country. However, such procedures can sometimes be botched and lead to infections, temporary or permanent injuries and/or scarring, and in the worst cases, be fatal. Regarding Europe, there is currently no published data evaluating how to improve the safety of obesity surgery medical tourism. Seeking this type of obesity ...

Medicaid telehealth reimbursement policies are exacerbating workforce shortages in safety net clinics, study finds

2025-02-18
A new study published in JAMA Network Open finds that low Medicaid telehealth reimbursement in New York State may be exacerbating a workforce crisis at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), particularly among mental health care practitioners. The challenge compounds existing financial instability at FQHCs and barriers to telehealth access among low-income New Yorkers who rely on safety-net care.  The study, led by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, highlights several possible solutions, including payment parity ...

Texas McCombs faculty research hits historic high

2025-02-18
AUSTIN, Texas -- McCombs’ faculty research leaped 10 spots to No. 10 worldwide in the Financial Times’ release of its Global MBA Rankings for 2025, a historic high for McCombs reaching back to 1999.  The top spot for research went to the University of Pennsylvania, with Columbia University and the University of Chicago tying for second place. Faculty Research is the third weightiest component (10%) of the 21 used in the MBA ranking, behind percentage of salary increase (16%) and salary three years post-graduation ...

Multiple sclerosis: Cell-catching implant helps identify successful treatment in mice

2025-02-18
    Images   A sponge-like implant in mice helped guide a treatment that slowed or stopped a degenerative condition similar to multiple sclerosis in humans. It also gave University of Michigan researchers a first look at how primary progressive multiple sclerosis, the fastest-progressing version of the disease, attacks the central nervous system early on.    If administered early, the nanoparticle-based treatment prevented mice from developing symptoms such as paralysis. If given after the first symptoms emerged, it reduced symptom scores by half compared to untreated ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

New way to find “aged” cells marks fresh approach for research into ageing

From blood sugar to brain relief: GLP-1 therapy slashes migraine frequency

Variability in heart rate during sleep may reveal early signs of stroke, depression or cognitive dysfunction, new study shows

New method to study catalysts could lead to better batteries

Current Molecular Pharmacology impact factor rises to 2.9, achieving Q2 ranking in the Pharmacology & Pharmacy category in 2024 JCR

More time with loved ones for cancer patients spared radiation treatment

New methods speed diagnosis of rare genetic disease

Genetics of cardiomyopathy risk in cancer survivors differ by age of onset

Autism inpatient collection releases genetic, phenotypic data for more than 1,500 children with autism

Targeting fusion protein’s role in childhood leukemia produces striking results

Clear understanding of social connections propels strivers up the social ladder

New research reveals why acute and chronic pain are so different – and what might make pain last

Stable cooling fostered life, rapid warming brought death: scientists use high-resolution fusuline data reveal evolutionary responses to cooling and warming

New research casts doubt on ancient drying of northern Africa’s climate

Study identifies umbilical cord blood biomarkers of early onset sepsis in preterm newborns

AI development: seeking consistency in logical structures

Want better sleep for your tween? Start with their screens

Cancer burden in neighborhoods with greater racial diversity and environmental burden

Alzheimer disease in breast cancer survivors

New method revolutionizes beta-blocker production process

Mechanism behind life-threatening cancer drug side-effect revealed

Weighted vests might help older adults meet weight loss goals, but solution for corresponding bone loss still elusive

Scientists find new way to predict how bowel cancer drugs will stop working – paving the way for smarter treatments

Breast cancer patients’ microbiome may hold key to avoiding damaging heart side-effects of cancer therapies

Exercise-induced protein revives aging muscles and bones

American College of Cardiology issues guidance on weight management drugs

Understanding the effect of bedding on thermal insulation during sleep

Cosmic signal from the very early universe will help astronomers detect the first stars

With AI, researchers find increasing immune evasion in H5N1

Study finds hidden effects of wildfires on water systems

[Press-News.org] Using a data-driven approach to synthesize single-atom catalysts that can purify water