https://phys.org/chemistry-news/ en-us The latest news stories on chemistry, biochemistry, polymers, materials science from Phys.org A global symbol of parties and celebrations but an environmental headache, the humble balloon is undergoing a green revolution thanks to U.K. researchers. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-humble-balloon-green-makeover.html Materials Science Sun, 23 Aug 2026 05:40:03 EDT news706681775 Ammonia is one of the most important chemicals produced in the world, ranking second only to sulfuric acid in the total volume produced each year. It is used mostly to make fertilizer, which is essential to feeding the world's population. Yet its production accounts for up to 2% of the world's energy consumption and about 1.5% of greenhouse gas emissions, so the search has been underway for ways to produce ammonia more sustainably. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-catalysts-fossil-fueled-ammonia-production.html Analytical Chemistry Sat, 22 Aug 2026 17:00:04 EDT news706462942 If you want to describe a particular color, you could look to the Pantone color wheel to find its exact hue, saturation and brightness, and how it compares with other colors. But nothing like that has existed for complex odors. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-complex-odors-easier-machine.html Biochemistry Fri, 21 Aug 2026 17:00:01 EDT news706536961 Long polymer chains are everywhere: in synthetic materials, soft matter, biological systems such as chromosomes, and mathematical models of filaments and knots. When many such chains are densely packed, they form what physicists call a polymer melt. In this crowded environment, each chain is constrained by the others around it. These entanglements are central to the behavior of polymeric materials, but they also make the systems extremely difficult to simulate. As chain length increases, the time needed to obtain a new independent configuration grows very rapidly. For very large systems, conventional simulations can therefore become computationally prohibitive. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-monte-carlo-method-simulations-densely.html Polymers Fri, 21 Aug 2026 15:40:04 EDT news706536061 Scientists have redefined how the key blood-clotting protein fibrinogen behaves when it contacts air, overturning two decades of scientific consensus on wound healing. It is the culmination of more than a decade of international collaboration by Dr. Richard Campbell of The University of Manchester, Professor Juan Ruso of the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain and Dr. Natalia Hassan of the Metropolitan Technological University in Chile. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fibrinogen-discovery-reshapes-wounds.html Biochemistry Thu, 20 Aug 2026 18:20:03 EDT news706445083 Rice University researchers have developed a way to stabilize diamond during high-temperature and low-pressure processing, creating a strong bulk composite and discovering that high-speed collisions can rapidly transform diamond into graphite. Their study is published in Materials Today. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-hypersonic-impact-rapidly-diamond-graphite.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 20 Aug 2026 16:00:06 EDT news706448761 Researchers from the University of Osaka have developed a new class of chiral semiconducting polymers that can generate highly spin-polarized electrical currents. The team's unique molecular design allows the polymers to self-assemble into helical structures that efficiently filter electron spins, offering a promising platform for future spintronic devices and clean-energy technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-kind-polymer-electron.html Polymers Thu, 20 Aug 2026 14:20:04 EDT news706446002 A paper published in the journal Science lays out a roadmap for broadening access to the process of discovering molecular tools that can benefit society, including medicines, materials and a wide range of everyday consumer products. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-blocc-chemistry-automate-molecular-discovery.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 20 Aug 2026 14:00:09 EDT news706368781 Lithium titanate (LTO, Li4Ti5O12) is a well-established battery material that in its pristine state is a poor conductor of lithium ions. It develops high ionic conductivity only during charging, when additional lithium ions and electrons are incorporated into the material. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-oxygen-vacancies-fast-lithium-ion.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 20 Aug 2026 13:40:01 EDT news706445461 Reducing carbon dioxide emissions from industrial processes and energy production remains one of the major technological challenges in addressing climate change. Membrane-based gas separation offers an energy-efficient alternative to conventional separation technologies, but identifying membranes that allow gases to pass through rapidly while also separating them effectively has long presented a major materials-design challenge. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ai-screens-membrane-combinations-carbon.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 19 Aug 2026 15:20:04 EDT news706359481 Polymers used for light-based 3D printing are very stable because of their chemical structure, but they are typically hard to recycle. A research team led by Professor Dr. Eva Blasco, a researcher at the Institute for Molecular Systems Engineering and Advanced Materials (IMSEAM) at Heidelberg University, has designed a polymer material that can be disassembled into its individual components when needed. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-metastable-3d-ink-enables-loop.html Polymers Wed, 19 Aug 2026 13:00:08 EDT news706357321 Proteins form complex three-dimensional shapes and can join together to create larger structures. Researchers want to use these properties to make artificial materials. However, arranging proteins and synthetic molecules together with a high level of structural precision is no easy task. This is partly because of the lack of large, clearly defined contact surfaces between the two components. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-foldamerprotein-pair-precise-blocks-artificial.html Biochemistry Wed, 19 Aug 2026 12:40:01 EDT news706354444 Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) are omega-3 fatty acids known to have beneficial effects and are popular as functional foods and dietary supplements. They are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs); the primary source of these PUFAs for humans is fish oil. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-reusing-liquid-pickle-omega-fatty.html Biochemistry Wed, 19 Aug 2026 09:52:25 EDT news706351922 University of Birmingham scientists have developed a new material that changes from a gel to a liquid-like state under ultraviolet light and can be rebuilt using heat or dismantled by acid. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-switchable-smart-gel-pave-gen.html Polymers Tue, 18 Aug 2026 16:50:04 EDT news706286522 In the living world, roughly a third of all proteins we know rely on metals to function. Zinc helps enzymes break down molecules, iron helps carry oxygen in the blood, calcium helps relay signals in cells and potassium flows through channels that help keep our hearts beating. But despite the important role they play, scientists have long struggled to pinpoint exactly where metal ions bind in a protein to get the job done. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-deep-approach-rapidly-metals-proteins.html Biochemistry Tue, 18 Aug 2026 16:40:05 EDT news706272722 Developing new materials to tackle pressing global issues is a gap-filled process that can leave potential climate solutions lost in unread academic papers and forgotten dissertations. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-materials-capture-methane.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 18 Aug 2026 14:20:04 EDT news706270381 In a study published in Macromolecules, researchers introduce a novel polymer that could simplify how materials are applied, removed and recycled by eliminating several complex processing steps used today. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-plastic-gas-reforms-cooled.html Polymers Tue, 18 Aug 2026 13:40:06 EDT news706270321 Copper sulfide (CuS) catalysts continuously reconstruct their surface during electrochemical CO2 reduction, reports a study from the Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan. By uncovering the mechanism behind the dynamic surface changes that occur during potential-step electrolysis, the researchers revealed how sulfur and oxygen play distinct roles in catalyst activity and product selectivity, paving the way for improved CO2 conversion technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-dynamic-surface-reconstruction-copper-sulfide.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 18 Aug 2026 11:20:08 EDT news706266721 Sugars, or glycans, play a crucial role in biology—from cell signaling and recognition to interactions with pathogens. Changes in glycosylation are also associated with diseases including cancer. But studying glycans poses a major challenge: because many glycans are highly water-soluble, or hydrophilic, they cannot easily cross the cell membrane and must be modified with a hydrophobic moiety—a water-repelling chemical group—and prepared and delivered using potentially harmful solvents. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-scientists-method-sugars-cells.html Biochemistry Fri, 14 Aug 2026 13:40:04 EDT news705931261 Scientists from the University of Manchester's Department of Chemistry, Centre for Radiochemistry Research and Photon Science Institute, led by Professor Steve Liddle, have uncovered why a rare class of metal clusters appears to behave differently in experiments and theoretical calculations, resolving a debate about the nature of chemical aromaticity and revealing a previously overlooked type of magnetic response. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-magnetic-mystery-thorium-clusters.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 13 Aug 2026 15:40:05 EDT news705843396 Researchers have developed a potential new approach against the highly drug-resistant hospital fungus Candida auris. They discovered that a synthetic sugar molecule that is a natural part of the fungus's cell wall, but is not present in humans, could underpin a future vaccine, develop protective antibodies and form the basis of a prototype rapid diagnostic test. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-sugar-molecule-dangerous-hospital-fungus.html Biochemistry Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:20:01 EDT news705835595 A new joint study from Constructor University and Princeton University in the Journal of the American Chemical Society focuses on PC645, a protein complex that contributes to cryptophyte algae's ability to photosynthesize efficiently using specialized light-harvesting pigments that can capture energy from dim, blue-green underwater light. During photosynthesis, the pH inside the algae can fluctuate significantly, affecting how they manage light energy. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-nature-dimmer-algae-photosynthesis-ph.html Biochemistry Thu, 13 Aug 2026 10:20:03 EDT news705831782 Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have developed a simpler way to produce a fast-growing class of targeted cancer therapies, a discovery that could make the medicines easier to manufacture consistently while driving the development of new treatment options. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-sugar-swap-production-cancer-therapies.html Biochemistry Wed, 12 Aug 2026 16:30:01 EDT news705769201 Most glues need a dry surface to stick properly. Bonding materials underwater is challenging because water forms a thin film on any surface, so instead of an adhesive touching a material directly, it touches a layer of water, which weakens the bond. But scientists from China have now created a superglue that repels water and forms a strong, recyclable bond within seconds, as they report in a paper published in Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-recyclable-bonds-underwater-seconds-years.html Polymers Wed, 12 Aug 2026 09:00:01 EDT news705663880 Capturing carbon or storing hydrogen to combat global warming requires compressing gases into sponge-like porous materials. Until now, gas molecules were thought to adsorb in a disordered manner throughout the pores. But what if invisible gas molecules could be lined up in regular order—like ice crystals or LEGO bricks? https://phys.org/news/2026-08-porous-material-disordered-gas-molecules.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 11 Aug 2026 18:20:05 EDT news705678721 Researchers from the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, including Dr. Zachary Birch-Price and professor Anthony Green, have developed a new family of engineered enzymes that can create several different types of chemical bonds used to build complex molecules. This work demonstrates how artificial enzymes can be adapted to carry out a broad range of carbon-carbon (C-C) and carbon-nitrogen (C-N) bond-forming reactions with high selectivity, offering new possibilities for biocatalysis. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-enzymes-forge-carbon-nitrogen-bonds.html Biochemistry Mon, 10 Aug 2026 18:20:05 EDT news705595261 Biofilms—bacterial communities encased in a sticky, polymer-rich matrix—can be difficult to treat because that matrix slows antibiotics and drug-carrying particles. With help from salt, though, Yale researchers have found a way to steer these particles into some biofilms and even deform the biofilm itself in certain cases. The study is published in Soft Matter. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-salt-drug-particles-deeper-difficult.html Biochemistry Mon, 10 Aug 2026 11:40:05 EDT news705580741 The high cost of platinum is one of the main barriers to the wider adoption of hydrogen fuel cells. Now, researchers at IMDEA Materials Institute have developed a catalyst that delivers the same performance while using 75% less of this expensive metal. The study, published in Electrochimica Acta, demonstrates a breakthrough made possible by applying controlled mechanical compression to the catalyst. This modifies its atomic-scale structure, enabling it to achieve energy efficiency comparable to that of pure platinum. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-catalyst-platinum-hydrogen-fuel-cells.html Analytical Chemistry Sun, 09 Aug 2026 14:00:01 EDT news704994481 For the first time, researchers have discovered that the same silver (Ag) nanocatalyst operates at different reaction sites depending on whether a solid oxide cell is generating electricity or producing hydrogen. This finding introduces a new design principle for improving the performance of next-generation solid oxide cells. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-silver-nanocatalysts-reaction-sites-power.html Materials Science Sat, 08 Aug 2026 02:50:52 EDT news705376221 Oxygen provides the driving force for many vital chemical reactions. Two well-known examples include respiration, the process that allows living things to break down food to release its energy, and combustion, reactions that produce heat and light. But oxygen has an unusual electronic configuration that tends to slow reactions with organic matter, so reactions often need help to get started. In nature, specialized proteins called enzymes can activate oxygen on demand by first rearranging its electrons. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-cleaner-chemical-reactions-oxygen.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 07 Aug 2026 18:20:01 EDT news705328021