Chemistry
Featured Topics in Materials: Materials Testing | Liquids | Rheology | Carbon Nanotubes & Graphene | Powders | all topics
Filter by: News | Articles | New to Market | Tools & Technology | Videos | Podcasts | Journal Articles | White Papers
18 hours ago | News
Using
forensic-style chemical analysis, scientists in the U.K. and Germany
have directly linked seismic observations of the deadly 1980 Mount St.
Helens eruption to crystal growth within the magma chamber, the large
underground pool of liquid rock beneath the volcano. Building direct
links between observations at the surface and processes occurring
underground has been an ongoing problem for volcanologists.
18 hours ago | News
Natural
pigments contain colorful molecules known as poryphyrins, which lend
vibrant colors through macrocyclic chemical structure that link several
small rings together in an “aromatic” framework. Sometimes, however,
synthesis causes the aromaticity to disappear. Researchers in Japan now
report a new way to manipulate the peculiar aromatic properties of
macrocycles.
19 hours ago | News
Scientists from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, and Germany have figured out a key part of the industrial process for making methanol. It’s an important step toward improving the process—and eventually realizing the goal of turning a potent greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, into fuel.
May 24 | News
The
contention of a major but controversial new theory to explain
nanocrystal growth is that nanoparticles can act as “artificial atoms,”
forming molecular-type building blocks that can assemble into complex
structures. The conclusion is based on recent observations of growing
nanorods made by Lawrence Berkeley National Laoratory researchers using
transmission electron microscopy and advanced liquid cell handling
techniques.
May 24 | News
Researchers
at the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory have invented a simple,
inexpensive dip-and-dry treatment can convert ordinary silk into a
fabric that kills disease-causing bacteria—even the armor-coated spores
of microbes like anthrax—in minutes.
May 22 | News
Electron
microscopes are often used to study fossils, which are first coated in
an ultra-thin layer of gold to help reveal details. However, removing
this layer often involves harsh chemicals like cyanide. Chemists in the
U.K. have developed a new method using ionic liquid to remove the
plating without destroying fossil features.
May 18 | News
A
new study, using experimentation with a highly advanced spectrometer
for molecular rotational spectroscopy, has removed some of the mystery
about the elusive structure of water. For the first time, researchers
have a physical picture of what water molecules put together look like,
and it turns out they adopt three different geometries.
May 18 | News
An
international team of researchers has discovered how adding trace
amounts of water can tremendously speed up chemical reactions—such as
hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis—in which hydrogen is one of the
reactants, or starting materials. Previous research had indicated this
phenomenon, but until now the true importance of water to its effect has
eluded chemists.
May 11 | News
A
French-American collaboration has developed a new combination of
polymers that makes it possible to design ultra-thin films capable of
self-organization with a 5-nm resolution. These hybrid copolymers are
based on sugars and oil-based macromolecules. Previous attempts using
nothing but oil-based molecules were limited to 20 nm in thickness.
May 9 | News
A
detailed description of development of the first practical device that
mimics the process of photosynthesis has recently been published in an
American Chemical Society journal. Unlike earlier devices, which used
costly ingredients, the new device is made from inexpensive materials
and employs low-cost engineering and manufacturing processes.
