Curved molecules store sunlight as chemical energy and release heat on demand
Curved molecules that absorb sunlight, store the energy, and re-release it as heat are pushing the boundaries in solar thermal storage technology.
Materials Science news
Heat and smart mixing boost enzymatic recycling of unsortable polyester plastics
Polyester plastics, commonly found in synthetic textiles and plastic components of home appliances, are notoriously difficult to recycle. In a study recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, ...
Successful synthesis of neutral N₆ opens door for future energy storage
Nitrogen finally joins the elite tier of elements like carbon that can form neutral allotropes—different structural forms of a single chemical element. Researchers from Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany, have synthesized ...
New bio-based hot glue made from industrial leftovers outperforms commercial adhesives
A new bio-based hot glue derived from a byproduct of the wood pulp industry beats traditional epoxy resins and commercial hot-melt glues in terms of adhesive performance.
Molecular modeling predicts fleeting phase where liquids rapidly switch between metal and nonmetal
A research team led by Prof. Pavel Jungwirth at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IOCB Prague) has uncovered a previously unknown phenomenon that emerges during the transformation ...
Analytical Chemistry
May 20, 2025
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Versatile fungi-based living material is tear-resistant and can even be safely eaten
Sustainably produced, biodegradable materials are an important focus of modern materials science. However, when working with natural materials such as cellulose, lignin or chitin, researchers face a trade-off. Although these ...
Biochemistry
May 13, 2025
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Innovative synthesis technique unlocks new class of planar organometallic compounds
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.
New catalyst allows asymmetric radical reactions using an engineered ligand
A team of chemists at Southern University of Science and Technology, working with a colleague from Zhejiang University, both in China, has engineered a metal–ligand complex that incorporates a reactive pocket to pre-organize ...
Compact catenane with tunable mechanical chirality created from achiral rings
Catenanes are organic compounds with ring-like molecules that are mechanically interlocked. The mechanical locking system in such molecules is so robust that they can only be disentangled via covalent bond cleavage. A recent ...
New study discovers unexpected role of 4f-orbital covalency in driving chemical reactivity
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 ...
