Energy & Sustainability

Our Energy and Sustainability researchers are committed to developing new technologies for an environmentally sustainable future. Current topics of interest include green chemistry, atmospheric chemistry, studies on the effect of environmental agents on human health, and the development of environmentally friendly methods for chemical synthesis.

A graduate student conducts research at a fume hood.

Related News

This illustration shows the nano-mechanical devices the researchers developed. Inspired by neurons, they can perform computing tasks with high energy efficiency.

Nanoscale mechanics could enable brain-inspired computing

A new device uses reconfigurable motion to mimic the firing behavior of a neuron, which could lead to more efficient computing.

MIT researchers have developed a new way to extract pure hydrogen gas from ammonia and other hydrogen carrier molecules. Their strategy, which uses electricity to speed up the extraction, reduces the temperature and energy required to recover hydrogen from these molecules.

An electrochemical approach turns ammonia into pure hydrogen

An MIT team has demonstrated a more efficient way to extract pure hydrogen gas from hydrogen carrier molecules.

Department of Chemistry seeks Assistant Professor Candidates

To receive full consideration, completed applications must be received by October 1, 2026.

Outstanding Teachers to be honored with Department of Chemistry awards for Teaching, Graduate Grading, Research, and Leadership

These awards are given annually in recognition of outstanding contributions to teaching by Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Researchers.

At left: A conceptual illustration of a nanostructured scintillator converting X-ray radiation into visible light with high spatial resolution and spectral information. At right: A micrograph of an electrochemical reactor that produced liquid copper through electrometallurgy using a molten sulfide electrolyte. The inset illustrates the chemical complexity of the electrolyte.

MIT selected to lead new NSF materials research center

The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center unites experts to advance medical imaging, sustainable metal production, and electronics.

A false-color electron microscope image shows the devices. Using the new scalable fabrication technique, researchers fabricated more than 1,000 devices using sub-nanometer molecular layers.

Turning molecules into reliable electronic devices

A new fabrication platform integrates molecules into electronic devices, opening the door to emerging computing technologies.

“The fact that ozone depletion would have happened as early as the late 1950s, which is much earlier than I would have thought, just absolutely blew my mind,” says Susan Solomon.

Scientists find ozone depletion began decades before discovery of ozone hole

Researchers determined that carbon tetrachloride, used as a dry-cleaning and degreasing agent as early as the 1930s, was at the root of early ozone loss.

Susan Solomon, the Lee and Geraldine Professor of Environmental Studies at MIT, has been named the 2026 Tang Prize in Sustainable Development laureate, in recognition of her research and leadership in atmospheric and climate sciences that has helped shaped global policy.

Susan Solomon named 2026 Tang Prize laureate

Solomon’s research has helped lay steps towards recovery of the ozone layer and demonstrated the lasting impacts of carbon emissions on Earth’s climate.