Energy Impacts

Climate Innovation Collaboratory awards $1M to tackle key sustainability challenges

Daniel Morton — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 16:19:12 +0000

Climate Innovation Collaboratory awards $1M to tackle key sustainability challenges Daniel Morton Tue, 04/15/2025 - 10:19

April 2025

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On-Site temperature and irradiance forecast tuning for improved load prediction in buildings

Daniel Morton — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 19:38:57 +0000

On-Site temperature and irradiance forecast tuning for improved load prediction in buildings Daniel Morton Fri, 03/28/2025 - 13:38

ENERGY AND BUILDINGS, 2025, 337, 115642

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Overwintering fires can occur in both peatlands and upland forests with varying ecological impacts

Daniel Morton — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 19:33:48 +0000

Overwintering fires can occur in both peatlands and upland forests with varying ecological impacts Daniel Morton Mon, 03/24/2025 - 13:33

NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION, 2025

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Do Competitive Markets Clean Up the US Electricity Sector?: Evidence From the Southwest Power Pool

Daniel Morton — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 22:32:44 +0000

Do Competitive Markets Clean Up the US Electricity Sector?: Evidence From the Southwest Power Pool Daniel Morton Mon, 01/27/2025 - 15:32

THE ENERGY JOURNAL, 2025

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Decarbonization and electricity price vulnerability

Daniel Morton — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 18:06:12 +0000

Decarbonization and electricity price vulnerability Daniel Morton Tue, 01/07/2025 - 11:06

NATURE SUSTAINABILITY, 2025

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Pro-Carbon Policymaking in Renewable Portfolio Standards: An Empirical Assessment

Daniel Morton — Mon, 30 Dec 2024 17:07:27 +0000

Pro-Carbon Policymaking in Renewable Portfolio Standards: An Empirical Assessment Daniel Morton Mon, 12/30/2024 - 10:07

JOURNAL OF POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS AND POLITICAL ECONOMY, 2024, 5, 4, 659-684

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Catalyzing the Sustainable Decomposition of PFAS Forever Chemicals

Daniel Morton — Sat, 21 Dec 2024 00:30:44 +0000

Catalyzing the Sustainable Decomposition of PFAS Forever Chemicals Daniel Morton Fri, 12/20/2024 - 17:30

Daniel Morton

RASEI Fellow Niels Damrauer is part of a collaborative team that have developed a new light-driven C-F activation reaction, one that has the potential to help dismantle PFAS ‘forever chemicals’

Find out more

Read the Article

Highlight in The Conversation

C&EN Highlight

Colorado Arts and Science Magazine Highlight

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are synthetic compounds that have found widespread use in consumer products and industrial applications. Their water and grease resistant properties have been part of their attraction in their applications, but these are also the reason that they are now found practically everywhere in the environment, they are very difficult to decompose.

While many chemicals will decompose relatively quickly, studies have shown that PFAS are expected to stick around for up to 1000 years. While this durability is great in something like firefighting foams or non-stick cookware, it is not great when these compounds get into the environment.

This new article, published in Nature in November of 2024, describes the work of a collaborative team of theoretical and experimental chemists, who have developed a new photochemical reaction that could hold promise of speeding up the decomposition of PFAS. A recent highlight of this work, written by the graduate student and postdoctoral fellows who did the research, appeared in The Conversation.

Using a photocatalyst, that absorbs light to speed up a reaction, the researchers were able to ‘activate’ one of the carbon-fluorine bonds, one of the strongest bonds in organic chemistry. The photocatalyst absorbs light, transfers electrons to the fluorine containing molecules, which then breaks down the sturdy carbon-fluorine bond.

While this doesn’t decompose the whole molecule, it is essentially like finding a chink in the armor, it opens the door to degradation of the PFAS to harmless smaller molecules.

This study demonstrated this process on a small scale, and the researchers are looking at how to optimize this reaction so it is more robust and can be done on larger scales. This work is part of a National Science Foundation funded Center for Chemical Innovation called SuPRCat, a research community that will be looking at this challenge, among others.

If it is possible to break down these forever chemicals, it will help prevent these environmental pollutants being in our soil, rivers, and drinking water. Excited to see the next steps from the team!

December 2024

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Permafrost instability negates the positive impact of warming temperatures on boreal radial growth

Daniel Morton — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 03:24:57 +0000

Permafrost instability negates the positive impact of warming temperatures on boreal radial growth Daniel Morton Mon, 12/02/2024 - 20:24

PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 2024, 121, 50, e2411721121

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The importance of integrating energy justice into chemistry graduate student research and the associated pathways and barriers

Daniel Morton — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 03:11:21 +0000

The importance of integrating energy justice into chemistry graduate student research and the associated pathways and barriers Daniel Morton Mon, 11/25/2024 - 20:11

NATURE CHEMISTRY, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-024-01681-z

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Photocatalytic C–F bond activation in small molecules and polyfluoroalkyl substances

Daniel Morton — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 18:50:57 +0000

Photocatalytic C–F bond activation in small molecules and polyfluoroalkyl substances Daniel Morton Wed, 11/20/2024 - 11:50

NATURE, 2024

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