https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. With a new electrochemical synthesis via an electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR), achieving carbon-free ammonia production is closer to reality through work from Drs. Abdoulaye Djire and Perla Balbuena, chemical engineering professors at Texas A&M University, and graduate students David Kumar and Hao En Lai. A topic outlined in their recent paper published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society introduces NRR, which produces ammonia in a cleaner and simpler way by using renewable electricity. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-proton-mnene-ammonia-production-food.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 28 Jan 2026 15:50:51 EST news688837802 Organic chemistry is packed with rules about structure and reactivity, especially when it comes to making and breaking chemical bonds. The rules governing how these bonds, which hold atoms together in molecules, form and the shapes they give molecules are often thought to be absolute, but UCLA organic chemists are pushing the boundaries of the possible. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-year-undermining-bredt-scientists-cage.html Analytical Chemistry Sat, 24 Jan 2026 10:10:01 EST news688230519 Ozone that protects us from the sun's harmful UV rays, when in an indoor space, reacts with oils present on skin, wall paint, or even cooking oil to produce chemicals that negatively impact cardiovascular health. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-indoor-ozone-reaction-products-blood.html Environment Wed, 14 Jan 2026 10:20:02 EST news687606428 By fine-tuning the surroundings of single cobalt atoms, researchers reveal how tiny design changes can steer oxygen reactions toward cleaner and more efficient hydrogen peroxide production. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-atomic-sustainable-hydrogen-peroxide-electrosynthesis.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 12 Jan 2026 16:15:47 EST news687456902 The rapid accumulation of plastic waste is currently posing significant risks for both human health and the environment on Earth. A possible solution to this problem would be to recycle plastic waste, breaking it into smaller molecules that can be used to produce valuable chemicals. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-plastic-valuable-chemicals-atom-catalysts.html Nanomaterials Sat, 20 Dec 2025 10:00:01 EST news685283654 While scientists have long known that iron oxide minerals help lock away enormous amounts of carbon—sequestering it from the atmosphere—a new Northwestern University study now reveals exactly why these minerals are such powerful carbon traps. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-iron-minerals-hidden-chemistry-soils.html Earth Sciences Mon, 15 Dec 2025 15:08:30 EST news685033682 When ultraviolet light hits ice—whether in Earth's polar regions or on distant planets—it triggers a cascade of chemical reactions that have puzzled scientists for decades. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-quantum-expose-hidden-chemistry-ice.html General Physics Thu, 20 Nov 2025 17:16:04 EST news682881361 In 2024, TU Wien presented the world's first nuclear clock. Now it has been demonstrated that the technology can also be used to investigate unresolved questions in fundamental physics. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-nuclear-clock-technology-enables-unprecedented.html General Physics Mon, 27 Oct 2025 13:18:03 EDT news680789881 You'd think there's nothing surprising left to discover about water. After all, researchers have been studying its properties for centuries. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-chilling-discovery-flexibility-ice-nanoscale.html Nanophysics Thu, 25 Sep 2025 11:01:09 EDT news678016864 Rice University researchers used a focused electron beam to pattern device functions with submicron precision directly into an ultrathin crystal. The approach produced traces narrower than the width of a DNA helix that glow with bright blue light and conduct electricity, showing it could be used to manufacture compact on-chip wiring and built-in light sources. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-scientists-electrons-pattern-sources-wiring.html Nanophysics Wed, 24 Sep 2025 13:33:40 EDT news677939615 Imagine a child with eczema who scratches a patch of irritated skin. A tiny opening forms, invisible to the eye. Into that breach slips a common bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-doom-staph-bacteria-latch-human.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 03 Sep 2025 14:00:05 EDT news676106881 Photosynthesis is nature's way of turning sunlight into chemical energy. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-harness-nature-era-green-chemistry.html Biochemistry Mon, 11 Aug 2025 15:29:47 EDT news674144974 Researchers at the University of Basel have repurposed a natural enzyme so that it catalyzes a highly challenging chemical reaction. Their approach opens new possibilities for synthesizing complex molecules—such as pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals—in a more environmentally friendly and efficient way. The findings are published in the journal Nature. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-enzyme-enables-precise-complex-molecules.html Biochemistry Wed, 30 Jul 2025 12:40:07 EDT news673097425 Speeding up chemical reactions is key to improving industrial processes or mitigating unwanted or harmful waste. Realizing these improvements requires that chemists design around documented reaction pathways. Now, a team of Penn State researchers has found that a fundamental reaction called oxidative addition can follow a different path to achieve the same ends, raising the question of whether this new order of events has been occurring all along and potentially opening up new space for chemical design. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-unexpected-electron-hydrogen-metals-reshapes.html Materials Science Wed, 23 Jul 2025 03:02:30 EDT news672458538 A team at EPFL and the University of Arizona has discovered that making molecules bigger and more flexible can actually extend the life of quantum charge flow, a finding that could help shape the future of quantum technologies and chemical control. Their study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-bigger-molecules-quantum-longer.html Quantum Physics Wed, 04 Jun 2025 10:19:28 EDT news668251155 A paper titled "Functional implications of unusual NOS and SONOS covalent linkages found in proteins," by Matthew D. Lloyd, Kyle S. Gregory, and K. Ravi Acharya, from the University of Bath Department of Life Sciences, has been published in Chemical Communications. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-covalent-bond-links-lysine-cysteine.html Materials Science Tue, 03 Jun 2025 16:23:06 EDT news668186583 Scientists at EPFL and AstraZeneca have developed a method to map the atomic-level structure of amorphous drugs, demonstrated on a GLP-1 receptor agonist candidate for diabetes and obesity treatment. Their work appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-atomic-amorphous-diabetes-drug-reveals.html Biochemistry Wed, 14 May 2025 10:15:04 EDT news666436502 With six Nobel Prizes in the category, organometallic chemistry has been a widely explored field since the 1950s. Yet, the discovery of new classes of organometallic compounds remains a rare occurrence. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-synthesis-technique-class-planar-organometallic.html Analytical Chemistry Sat, 03 May 2025 06:50:01 EDT news665401662 The willingness of the 4f orbitals of lanthanide metals to participate in chemical reactions is as rare as their presence in Earth's crust. A recent study, however, witnessed the 4f orbital in a cerium-based compound actively participate in bond formation, triggering a unique chemical reaction. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-unexpected-role-4f-orbital-covalency.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 25 Apr 2025 07:50:01 EDT news664776324 Researchers at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, have shed light on the structure of supercritical water. In this state, which exists at extreme temperatures and pressures, water has the properties of both a liquid and a gas at the same time. According to one theory, the water molecules form clusters, within which they are then connected by hydrogen bonds. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-supercritical-decoded-analysis-molecular-clusters.html Soft Matter Mon, 17 Mar 2025 15:50:04 EDT news661445401 A research team led by the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has discovered "berkelocene," the first organometallic molecule to be characterized containing the heavy element berkelium. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-scientists-heavy-metal-molecule-berkelocene.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 11 Mar 2025 12:09:04 EDT news660913741 Boron, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen: these four elements can form chemical triple bonds with each other due to their similar electronic properties. Examples of this are the gas carbon monoxide, which consists of one carbon and one oxygen atom, or the nitrogen gas in the Earth's atmosphere with its two nitrogen atoms. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-triple-bond-boron-carbon.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 04 Mar 2025 09:20:04 EST news660302402 Covalent bonding is a widely understood phenomenon that joins the atoms of a molecule by a shared electron pair. But in nature, patterns of molecules can also be connected through weaker, more dynamic forces that give rise to supramolecular networks. These can self-assemble from an initial molecular cluster, or crystal, and grow into large, stable architectures. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-interface-flexibility-scientists-key-mechanism.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 13 Feb 2025 12:06:04 EST news658670761 Researchers at Leipzig University have developed a new process for reversing the polarity of chemical compounds, also known as umpolung, for the precise synthesis of pharmaceuticals. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-technique-flips-chemical-polarity-drug.html Biochemistry Tue, 21 Jan 2025 10:34:04 EST news656678041 A chemical reaction can convert two polluting greenhouse gases into valuable building blocks for cleaner fuels and feedstocks, but the high temperature required for the reaction also deactivates the catalyst. A team led by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory has found a way to thwart deactivation. The strategy may apply broadly to other catalysts. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-catalyst-greenhouse-gases-cleaner-fuels.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 26 Nov 2024 13:15:29 EST news651849324 The original plan of the research groups of Dr. habil. Christian Hering-Junghans and Prof. Torsten Beweries at the Rostock LIKAT was to develop a phosphorus-based ligand. However, the syntheses led to a different substance than expected, namely a triazabutadiene. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-chance-paths-reaction-chemists.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 12 Nov 2024 08:59:04 EST news650624341 For the first time, EPFL researchers have exclusively observed molecules participating in hydrogen bonds in liquid water, measuring electronic and nuclear quantum effects that were previously accessible only via theoretical simulations. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-spectroscopy-method-reveals-quantum-secrets.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 25 Oct 2024 11:02:35 EDT news649072951 Physicists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have achieved controlled conformational arrangements in nanostructures using a flexible precursor and selenium doping, enhancing material properties and structural homogeneity. Their method advances on-surface synthesis for the design and development of engineered nanomaterials. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-physicists-high-nanostructures-selenium-doping.html Nanophysics Mon, 16 Sep 2024 09:27:04 EDT news645697622 A critical chemical bond can be assembled using dinitrogen (N2)—a molecule freely available in the air around us—chemists at RIKEN have shown in a new article published in Nature. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-chemists-industrially-important-alkyl-amines.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 05 Sep 2024 11:26:03 EDT news644754362 Collagen, a protein found in bones and connective tissue, has been found in dinosaur fossils as old as 195 million years. That far exceeds the normal half-life of the peptide bonds that hold proteins together, which is about 500 years. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-chemists-dinosaur-collagen-survived-millions.html Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 04 Sep 2024 09:58:08 EDT news644662684