A latest study introduces a surfactant-based method for the selective recovery of fine active materials from high-temperature water electrolyzers. By employing cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), researchers modified the surface characteristics of materials such as NiO, YSZ, and ZrO₂, enabling the efficient separation of these components. The findings demonstrate that NiO can be selectively recovered in the organic phase, while the other particles remain in the aqueous phase. In contrast to traditional, energy-intensive metallurgical methods, this approach minimizes chemical consumption and promotes a more sustainable circular economy. The study also suggests potential optimizations, such as increasing the number of phase separation stages for enhanced recovery. Additionally, magnetic separation techniques are proposed for materials like perovskite LSM. This work was published in Industrial Chemistry & Materials on 9th July 2024.

New research reveals that livestock management is as important as climate in determining coverage of woody species in arid zones 

In a recent Nature Communications article, ICFO and an international team of researchers present the integration of a detector system and a polaritonic platform in the same 2D material, enabling for the first time the detection of 2D polaritonic nanoresonators with spectral resolution. The device is suitable for miniaturization and shows record levels of lateral confinement and high-quality factors simultaneously.