Chemistry
Computer models show how deep carbon could return to Earth's surface
March 21, 2013 9:17 am | News | CommentsComputer simulations of water under extreme pressure are helping geochemists understand how carbon might be recycled from hundreds of miles below the Earth's surface. Carbon compounds are the basis of life, provide most of our fuels and contribute to climate change. The cycling of carbon through the oceans, atmosphere, and shallow crust of the Earth has been intensively studied, but little is known about what happens to carbon deep in the Earth.
AB SCIEX enhances software to drive micro LC
March 20, 2013 10:10 am | News | CommentsNew software and service offerings to simplify and accelerate the integration of micro liquid chromatography (LC) technology into regulated bioanalytical laboratories was introduced this week by AB SCIEX. The new software module supports 21CFR Part 11 and the new IQ/OQ/PQ service to the Eksigent line of LC solutions gives research organizations a new validated approach to micro LC
Researchers use simple sonochemical method to synthesize zinc oxide nanostructures
March 20, 2013 7:51 am | News | CommentsA research team from the U.S., Iran, and Malaysia has produced of zinc oxide nanostructures by using zinc acetate as the initiator through a new, fast, and simple sonochemical method. The chemicals required for the synthesis of zinc oxide include zinc acetate salt, sodium hydroxide, and ammonia solution without the need to other structure controlling agents or surfactants. It does not require high temperature or highly toxic materials.
Synthesized DNA catalysts do the work of protein enzymes
March 19, 2013 3:37 pm | News | CommentsIdeally, researchers would like to be able to design and build new catalysts from scratch that can do exactly what they want. However, designing—or even modifying—protein enzymes is a very difficult task. Illinois chemists have overcome the issues with size and complexity by using an artificially synthesized DNA sequence to do a protein’s job, creating opportunities for DNA to find work in more areas of biology, chemistry and medicine than ever before
Honeycomb nets from bismuth cubes
March 19, 2013 8:07 am | News | CommentsResearchers from Dresden have discovered a new material that conducts electric currents without loss of power over its edges and remains an insulator in its interior. The material is made out of bismuth cubes packed in a honeycomb motif that is known from the graphene structure. As opposed to graphene, the new material exhibits its peculiar electrical property at room temperature, giving it promise for applications in nanoelectronics.
Study: One can affect an atom’s spin by adjusting the way it is measured
March 18, 2013 4:31 pm | News | CommentsJust as our eyes observe the world by absorbing the photons—light particles—scattered in our direction by objects, researchers at the Weizmann Institute have observed the process of spin collapse in atoms by measuring scattered photons. In recent research results, they showed that the direction that a photon takes as it leaves the atom is the direction that the spin adopts when superposition—multiple realities that exist only so long as the system is not observed or measured in any way—collapses.
Researchers synthesize negative-charge carrying molecular structures
March 18, 2013 4:24 pm | News | CommentsUniversity of Oregon chemists have synthesized organic molecular structures that move both positive and negative electrical charges—a highly desired but often difficult combination to achieve in current efforts to create highly flexible electronic devices and other new-age technologies.
Ocean plankton sponge up nearly twice the carbon currently assumed
March 18, 2013 10:38 am | News | CommentsAccording to new research, models of carbon dioxide in the world’s oceans need to be revised. Trillions of plankton near the surface of warm waters are far more carbon-rich than has long been thought global marine temperature fluctuations could mean that tiny microbes digest double the carbon previously calculated.
Scientists create flexible mineral inspired by deep-sea sponges
March 15, 2013 11:10 am | News | CommentsImitating the structural elements found in most sea sponges, researchers in Germany have created a new synthetic hybrid material that is extremely flexible yet has a mineral content of almost 90%. They recreated the sponge’s spicules using natural calcium carbonate and integrated a protein of the sponge. The invention is even more flexible than its natural counterpart.
Research shows chemical reaction in real time
March 15, 2013 7:57 am | News | CommentsThe ultrafast, ultrabright X-ray pulses of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) have enabled unprecedented views of a catalyst in action, an important step in the effort to develop cleaner and more efficient energy sources. Scientists at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory used LCLS, together with computerized simulations, to reveal surprising details of a short-lived early state in a chemical reaction occurring at the surface of a catalyst sample.
Mars rover shows planet could have supported life
March 13, 2013 12:26 pm | by Alicia Chang, AP Science Writer | News | CommentsDrilling into a rock near its landing spot, the Curiosity rover has answered a key question about Mars: The red planet long ago harbored some of the ingredients needed for primitive life to thrive. Topping the list is evidence of water and basic elements that teeny organisms could feed on, scientists said Tuesday.
Study: Glaciers contribute significant iron in Atlantic Ocean
March 11, 2013 4:24 pm | News | CommentsAll living organisms rely on iron as an essential nutrient. In the ocean, iron’s abundance or scarcity means all the difference as it fuels the growth of plankton. A new study from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution identifies an unexpectedly large source of iron to the North Atlantic—meltwater from glaciers and ice sheets, which may stimulate plankton growth. This source is likely to increase as melting of the Greenland ice sheet escalates under a warming climate.
Graphene researchers create superheated water that can corrode diamonds
March 11, 2013 10:11 am | News | CommentsA team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has successfully altered the properties of water, making it corrosive enough to etch diamonds. This strange result was achieved by attaching a layer of graphene on diamond and heated to high temperatures. Water molecules trapped between them become highly corrosive, as opposed to normal water.
New technique identifies chemicals at the nanometer scale
March 11, 2013 8:56 am | News | CommentsUntil now, atomic force microscopy-based measurements of chemistry and chemical properties of materials were generally not possible. Researchers at the University Illinois report that they have measured the chemical properties of polymer nanostructures as small as 15 nm, using a new technique called atomic force microscope infrared spectroscopy (AFM-IR).
Scientists improve transgenic “Enviropigs”
March 8, 2013 3:48 pm | News | CommentsA research team in Europe has developed a new line of transgenic "Enviropigs." Enviropigs have genetically modified salivary glands, which help them digest phosphorus in feedstuffs and reduce phosphorus pollution in the environment. After developing the initial line of Enviropigs, researchers found that the line had certain genes that could be unstable. The new line of pigs is called the Cassie line, and it is known for passing genes on more reliably.
Improved colloidal quantum dots to make solar cells more efficient
March 8, 2013 10:04 am | by Terry Lavender, University of Toronto | News | CommentsA research group at the University of Toronto has recently described a new technique to improve efficiency in what are called colloidal quantum dot photovoltaics. The method depends on a characteristic of quantum dots: Their light-absorption spectrum can be changed simply by changing the size of quantum dot. By adjusting this property to the infrared portion of the spectrum, efficiency is improved.
Long-predicted atomic collapse state observed in graphene
March 8, 2013 9:59 am | News | CommentsWorking with microscopic artificial atomic nuclei fabricated on graphene, a collaboration of researchers have imaged the “atomic collapse” states theorized to occur around super-large atomic nuclei. This is the first experimental observation of a quantum mechanical phenomenon that was predicted nearly 70 years ago and holds important implications for the future of graphene-based electronic devices.
God particle: Confirmation is “achingly close”
March 7, 2013 3:19 pm | by Seth Borenstein, AP Science Writer | News | CommentsPhysicists in Italy said Wednesday they are achingly close to concluding that what they found last year was the Higgs boson, the elusive "God particle." They need to eliminate one last remote possibility that it's something else. That “something else” is a graviton, another subatomic particle associated with gravitational fields, not mass.
Evidence found that comets could have seeded life on Earth
March 6, 2013 2:08 pm | by Robert Sanders, UC Berkeley | News | CommentsChemists have recently shown that conditions in space are capable of creating complex dipeptides—linked pairs of amino acids—that are essential building blocks shared by all living things. The discovery opens the door to the possibility that these molecules were brought to Earth aboard a comet or possibly meteorites, catalyzing the formation of proteins (polypeptides), enzymes and even more complex molecules, such as sugars, that are necessary for life.
High sensitivity detection method found for mercury in water
March 6, 2013 10:48 am | News | CommentsA research group in Japan has recently discovered that it is possible to detect diluted ionic mercury in water with more than 10 times higher sensitivity than with the conventional spectroscopy method. Ionic mercury is a harmful substance when dissolved in rivers and lakes, even in trace amounts. In contrast to the conventional spectroscopic detection method, the infrared spectroscopy detection method was used for this method.
Metal-organic framework offers efficient carbon capture
March 5, 2013 2:31 pm | by Vickie Chachere, University of South Florida | News | CommentsChemists at the University of South Florida and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia have discovered a more efficient, less expensive and reusable material for carbon dioxide capture and separation. The highly efficient mechanism utilizes a previously underused material—known as SIFSIX-1-Cu—that attracts carbon atoms.
MIT researchers develop solar-to-fuel roadmap for crystalline silicon
March 5, 2013 11:12 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsBringing the concept of an “artificial leaf” closer to reality, a team of researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology has published a detailed analysis of all the factors that could limit the efficiency of such a system. The new analysis lays out a roadmap for a research program to improve the efficiency of these systems, and could quickly lead to the production of a practical, inexpensive and commercially viable prototype.
Analytical theory may bring improvements to lithium-ion batteries
March 5, 2013 10:58 am | by Emil Venere, Purdue University | News | CommentsA new analytical theory has been developed at Purdue University that shows how to design experiments to study ways of controlling dendrite growth on electrodes in lithium-ion batteries. Using this approach, the researchers have shown theoretically how to control or eliminate the formation of these dendrites, which cause lithium-ion batteries to fail. The advance could help improve safety and might enable the batteries to be charged within a matter of minutes instead of hours.
New Fischer-Tropsch catalyst invented in Amsterdam
March 5, 2013 9:38 am | News | CommentsThe Fischer-Tropsch process is used for producing fuels from synthesis gas, which in turn is made from natural gas, biomass, or coal. Large reserves of shale or natural gas now changing the world energy market have raised interest in this technology, but prior reactors have been too bulky. Inspired by patents from the 1960s audio cassette recording industry, University of Amsterdam chemists have recently developed a new Fischer-Tropsch catalyst that is significantly cheaper and more scalable.
Nanotubes generate huge electric currents from osmotic flow
March 4, 2013 7:44 am | by Thorsten Naeser, Max-Planck-Institute of Quantum Optics | News | CommentsThe salinity difference between freshwater and saltwater could be a source of renewable energy. However, power yields from existing techniques are not high enough to make them viable. A team led by physicists in France has discovered a new means of harnessing this energy. Their method of osmotic flow through boron nitride nanotubes generates electric currents with 1,000 times the efficiency of any previous system.
