Electrochemistry News Items & Facts - May 2026

Every day, we all use battery powered devices at home, drive vehicles, eat packaged foods, and drink clean water. These are a few examples of the countless aspects of our modern lifestyles which are reliant on electrochemistry - broadly defined as the study of how electricity interacts with materials.

As an electrochemistry instrumentation company, Admiral Instruments proudly serves our customers who are among the millions of scientists, engineers, & technicians around the world using potentiostats and battery cyclers to uncover new ways electrochemistry may benefit us all.

To celebrate how electrochemistry has shaped the past, touches our present-day lives, and influences the future, every month Admiral Instruments posts five notable news articles, publications, & trivia somehow related to electrochemistry. Click on each entry to read more from the source article!

Electrochemistry News Items & Facts for May 2026:

1. Tetrataenite, a unique iron-nickel compound only found in meteorites historically, was recently synthesized in a lab environment for the first time and has the potential to replace rare earth elements.
   

2. A new biosensor based on a genetically modified version of the naturally occurring protein lanmodulin is the first ever manganese-specific sensor sensitive enough to be used in biological studies such as photosynthesis and immune response.
   

3. Flow batteries cost around $800/kWh to build, but a new tubular flow battery configuration based on chemical separation technology can shrink the module size by 75%, thus reducing cost.
   

4. Researchers recently made a “plastic” flexible integrated circuit comprised of indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) with an 81% yield, making the process economically viable (at least in theory!).
   

5. Zinc carbon batteries, which are non-rechargeable, were developed in the late 1800s and provide between 1.4V and 1.7V of DC electric power that gradually declines to 0.9V during use.