Bio-inspired membrane unlocks potential to purify and extract water

Northwestern’s George Schatz in collaboration with U Chicago’s Chong Liu uncovered how tiny changes in ion composition can dramatically alter transport through artificial membranes, mimicking nature’s ion channels. Reported in Nature Communications, their findings could revolutionize water purification, resource recovery, and our fundamental understanding of ion behavior in living systems.

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Symmetrical crystals can absorb light asymmetrically

Chad Mirkin and Ted Sargent, with collaborators at Toyota Research Institute, used a first-of-its-kind “megalibrary” to rapidly discover a low-cost, earth-abundant catalyst rivaling iridium for clean hydrogen production — a breakthrough that could transform sustainable energy and materials discovery.

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Integrating sulfur into crystalline nanostructures fuels catalytic activity

Omar Farha's recent collaboration with Laura Gagliardi (U Chicago) developed a new way to integrate sulfur-based active sites into metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), unlocking enzyme-like catalytic performance for hydrogenation. Published in Nature Chemistry, the study opens new pathways for sustainable catalysis, energy efficiency, and MOF-based applications.

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