��ɫ��Ƶ News - Dept. of Chemistry

Dr. Alison Bain (PhD’21) named to C&EN’s 2025 Talented 12

webfull — Fri, 23 May 2025 18:04:43 +0000

Congratulations to Dr. Alison Bain, who completed her PhD in the Preston Group at ��ɫ��Ƶ in 2021, on being selected for Chemical & Engineering News’s Talented 12 list for 2025. Now an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Oregon State University, Dr. Bain continues to develop state-of-the-art optical trapping techniques to study aerosols at the single-particle level. Her research centres on how fundamental physical and chemical properties of aerosols shape climate, air quality, and other pressing environmental issues. This honour recognises Dr.

Published: 23 May 2025

A HoLDI mass spectrometry platform for airborne nanoplastic detection

webfull — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 18:11:04 +0000

· There are no established protocols for nanoplastic detection within complex environmental matrices.

· Mass spectrometry (MS) analysis of environmental nanoplastics is impeded by methodological constraints.

· Ariya's lab, namely Zi Wang, present a versatile platform evolved from matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) MS for airborne nano/microplastic research.

· The 3D-printed hollow-laser desorption/ionization (HoLDI) target enables efficient, high-throughput analysis of aerosols collected on simple substrates without pre/post-treatments.

Published: 25 March 2025

Novel method to transform greenhouse gases into valuable chemicals ranked among year’s top breakthroughs

webfull — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 15:24:34 +0000

A groundbreaking discovery by ��ɫ��Ƶ researchers is among the top scientific advances of 2024, according to Québec Science magazine.

The scientists developed a novel method to transform two greenhouse gases—methane and carbon dioxide—into valuable chemicals using sunlight. This innovation could help reduce emissions and provide a more sustainable way to produce certain industrial products.

Published: 9 January 2025

MC2 in Cordoba U

webfull — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 13:13:13 +0000

Representing ��ɫ��Ƶ’s Chemistry Department, the MC² facility, and the QCAM-FRQNT strategic cluster, Petr Fiurasek was honored to be invited to the University of Córdoba to deliver two lectures. One presentation was part of the advanced characterization course for physics master’s students. Beyond the scientific discussions, the visit aimed to foster collaboration between the University of Córdoba and Quebec universities through MITACS and various mobility programs

Published: 29 November 2024

Eric McCalla Na-ion battery research is in the news

webfull — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 15:56:33 +0000

The Eric McCalla lab's work improving Na-ion battery cathodes has been highlighted in a nice article and video by Patrick de Bellefeuille from MétéoMédia.

Published: 26 November 2024

Matt Harrington receives the 2024 Award for Excellence in Materials Research Chemical Institute of Canada

webfull — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 14:44:07 +0000

The Award for Research Excellence in Materials Chemistry is presented to a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant who has made an outstanding contribution to materials chemistry while working in Canada. Congratulations to Professor Matthew J. Harrington of ��ɫ��Ƶ on being the recipient of this award. https://buff.ly/48ZBMhp

Published: 26 November 2024

Thomas C. Preston awarded grant from Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

webfull — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 15:20:42 +0000

Funding to support research on atmospheric aerosol particles and the emergence of life on Earth

Professor Thomas C. Preston -- jointly appointed to the departments of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and Chemistry -- has been awarded a grant of USD$800,000 by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The grant will support Professor Preston’s research on atmospheric aerosol particles, with the goal of advancing understanding of the origin of life's building blocks on early Earth.

Published: 27 September 2024

New sustainable catalyst: Fast, selective, reductive conversion of CO2!

webfull — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 18:48:36 +0000

Anthropogenic climate change drastically affects our planet, with CO₂ being the most critical gaseous driver. Here, we present a fast, effective, and sustainable route for coupling diverse alcohols, amines and amides with CO₂ via heterogenization of a natural metal-based homogeneous catalyst through decorating on functionalized graphene oxide. Combined synthetic, experimental, and theoretical studies unravel mechanistic routes to convergent 4‑electron reduction of CO₂ under mild conditions.

Published: 24 September 2024

Highly functionalized all-cellulose nanocomposites via bacteria-enabled in-situ modifications

webfull — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 13:28:23 +0000

Dr. Seyed Mohammad Amin Ojagh, from Prof. van de Ven's research group and his colleagues, introduced a novel class of highly functionalized nanocellulose-based materials for diverse applications, recently published in the Chemical Engineering Journal. This study involved the in-situ modification of bacterial cellulose (BC) with hairy nanocellulose (HNC), resulting in nanocomposites with enhanced physicochemical properties compared to BC alone.

Published: 12 September 2024

From Windy City to wilderness champion

webfull — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 15:46:46 +0000

In the heart of Lanaudière, Quebec, a 233-hectare tract of wilderness stands as a living testament to the resilience of nature and the generous stewardship of ��ɫ��Ƶ chemistry professor Linda Reven.

Published: 5 August 2024