https://phys.org/chemistry-news/ en-us Phys.org provides the latest news on chemistry, biochemistry, polymers, materials science The future economy based on renewable and sustainable energy sources might utilize battery-powered cars, large-scale solar and wind farms, and energy reserves stored in batteries and chemical fuels. Although there are examples of sustainable energy sources in use already, scientific and engineering breakthroughs will determine the timeline for widespread adoption. https://phys.org/news/2020-09-molecules-renewable-energy-future.html Materials Science Fri, 04 Sep 2020 13:23:32 EDT news518444607 As anyone who has ever straightened their hair knows, water is the enemy. Hair painstakingly straightened by heat will bounce back into curls the minute it touches water. Why? Because hair has shape memory. Its material properties allow it to change shape in response to certain stimuli and return to its original shape in response to others. https://phys.org/news/2020-09-wool-like-material.html Materials Science Thu, 03 Sep 2020 16:45:57 EDT news518370346 Researchers at the Center for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE), IISc, have developed a low-cost, drop-on-demand printing technique capable of generating a wide range of droplet sizes using a variety of inks. Apart from traditional printing, it could also potentially be useful for 3-D printing of living cells, ceramic materials, electronic circuits and machine components. https://phys.org/news/2020-09-low-cost-drop-on-demand-technique.html Materials Science Thu, 03 Sep 2020 12:13:02 EDT news518353978 IBM has announced on its blog page the development of an AI/cloud-based chemistry lab named RoboRXN. Its purpose is to help chemists develop new materials in a faster and more efficient way than the current trial-and-error process. https://phys.org/news/2020-09-ibm-ai-based-chemistry-lab.html Biochemistry Materials Science Thu, 03 Sep 2020 10:24:48 EDT news518347479 Demand continues for plastics and solvents made from petrochemicals, which are mainly produced by refining oil despite diminishing global oil reserves, driving forward the search for new ways to produce the chemicals we need. https://phys.org/news/2020-09-methane.html Materials Science Thu, 03 Sep 2020 07:55:43 EDT news518338540 Scientists are looking at luminescent transparent films for use in energy-efficient displays (such as LED screens) and other applications, and the possibilities it opens up for advancing methodologies in several fields of biological and electronics research. However, although multicolor-emitting transparent solid films have been developed, finding efficient ways to tune the color and intensity of light emissions has been challenging. https://phys.org/news/2020-09-modulating-emissions-transparent.html Materials Science Wed, 02 Sep 2020 12:10:06 EDT news518267402 An international team of researchers led by Kyushu University and Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has demonstrated stable, continuous lasing at room temperature for over an hour from a class of low-cost materials called perovskites, finally overcoming a phenomenon that has so far prevented such long operation. https://phys.org/news/2020-09-stable-lasing-low-cost-perovskites-room.html Materials Science Wed, 02 Sep 2020 11:00:08 EDT news518260828 As you drift into unconsciousness before a surgery, general anesthetic drugs flowing through your blood are putting you to sleep by binding mainly to a protein in the brain called the γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptor. Now UT Southwestern scientists have shown exactly how anesthetics attach to the GABAA receptor and alter its three-dimensional structure, and how the brain can tell the difference between anesthetics and the psychoactive drugs known as benzodiazepines—which also bind to the GABAA receptor. The findings were published online today in the journal Nature. https://phys.org/news/2020-09-anesthetics-benzos-receptors-brain.html Biochemistry Wed, 02 Sep 2020 11:00:07 EDT news518245944 A new and quicker method of diagnosing diseases in patients has been created by researchers at the University of Leeds. https://phys.org/news/2020-09-method-illnesses-coronavirus-cystic-fibrosis.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 02 Sep 2020 10:38:43 EDT news518261919 Powerful atomic-resolution instruments and techniques at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) are revealing new information about the interaction of uranium dioxide (UO2) with water. These new insights will improve the understanding of how spent nuclear fuel will degrade in deep geologic repository environments. https://phys.org/news/2020-09-exploring-oxidative-pathways-nuclear-fuel.html Materials Science Wed, 02 Sep 2020 09:37:38 EDT news518258253 The key to efficiently harvesting energy from sunlight could be to find the right combinations of light-capturing materials. Researchers at KAUST have discovered that a form of iron oxide makes an excellent co-catalyst for a promising photocatalytic material called gallium nitride. https://phys.org/news/2020-09-photocatalysts-partner.html Materials Science Wed, 02 Sep 2020 07:40:49 EDT news518251244 Shaama Sharada calls carbon dioxide—the worst offender of global warming—a very stable, "very happy molecule." https://phys.org/news/2020-09-sunlight-emissions-materials.html Materials Science Tue, 01 Sep 2020 17:00:21 EDT news518198343 Diagnostic devices that are used at home or in doctors' offices are often not sensitive enough to detect small amounts of a virus that might be present in samples from asymptomatic patients, which can occur in early stage COVID-19. In Biomicrofluidics,, scientists report a membrane-based invention that can concentrate the virus content of a sample of urine or saliva, allowing it to be detected. https://phys.org/news/2020-09-small-amounts-virus-early-infections.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Tue, 01 Sep 2020 11:00:04 EDT news518162212 In our everyday life it's not uncommon to see the same material in different states. Take for example water: it's a liquid at ambient temperature, we can convert into ice when cooled below 0°C and it becomes a gas when heated above 100°C. The passages between these different states of matter are called phase transitions. https://phys.org/news/2020-09-desorption-polymer-chains.html Polymers Tue, 01 Sep 2020 10:44:04 EDT news518175842 Florida State University researchers have developed a new material that could be used to make flexible X-ray detectors that are less harmful to the environment and cost less than existing technologies. https://phys.org/news/2020-08-x-ray-technology.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Mon, 31 Aug 2020 16:23:21 EDT news518109797 A team of scientists from the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center has developed the first drug-like compounds to inhibit a key family of enzymes whose malfunction is associated with several types of cancer, including an aggressive form of childhood leukemia. https://phys.org/news/2020-08-scientists-drug-like-compounds-inhibit-elusive.html Biochemistry Mon, 31 Aug 2020 15:44:32 EDT news518107466 Researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and the RAS Institute for Theoretical and Applied Electromagnetics have discovered what makes vanadium dioxide films conduct electricity. Published in Physical Review B, their findings will enable thermal imaging devices with a sensitivity and reaction rate superior to those of the currently existing analogs. https://phys.org/news/2020-08-scientists-reveal-secret-material-infrared.html Materials Science Mon, 31 Aug 2020 15:31:25 EDT news518106683 Researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, have developed a molecule that absorbs energy from sunlight and stores it in chemical bonds. A possible long-term use of the molecule is to capture solar energy efficiently and store it for later consumption. The current results have been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS). https://phys.org/news/2020-08-molecule-solar-energy.html Materials Science Mon, 31 Aug 2020 13:04:16 EDT news518097850 Electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) is a promising approach to convert CO2 into useful chemicals. https://phys.org/news/2020-08-manganese-single-atom-catalyst-boosts-electrochemical.html Materials Science Mon, 31 Aug 2020 10:19:38 EDT news518087975 Ammonia (NH3) is a colorless, gaseous and water-soluble compound used in several sectors, including agriculture, the energy sector, and a variety of industries. For over a century, the main way of producing large quantities of ammonia has been via the Haber-Bosch process, which entails the use of high pressure to produce a chemical reaction that enables the direct synthesis of ammonia from hydrogen and nitrogen. https://phys.org/news/2020-08-strategy-electrochemical-reduction-nitrate-ammonia.html Materials Science Mon, 31 Aug 2020 07:35:02 EDT news518078093 As new infectious diseases emerge and spread, one of the best shots against novel pathogens is finding new medicines or vaccines. But before drugs can be used as potential cures, they have to be painstakingly screened for composition, safety and purity, among other things. Thus, there is an increasing demand for technologies that can characterize chemical compounds quickly and in real time. https://phys.org/news/2020-08-downsize-technology-fingerprinting-drugs-chemicals.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Fri, 28 Aug 2020 14:23:58 EDT news517843433 New biomaterials developed at the University of Bayreuth eliminate risk of infection and facilitate healing processes. A research team led by Prof. Dr. Thomas Scheibel has succeeded in combining these material properties which are highly relevant to biomedicine. These nanostructured materials are based on spider silk proteins. They prevent colonization by bacteria and fungi, but at the same time proactively assist in the regeneration of human tissue. They are therefore ideal for implants, wound dressings, prostheses, contact lenses, and other everyday aids. The scientists have presented their innovation in the journal Materials Today. https://phys.org/news/2020-08-infection-biomaterials-spider-silk.html Materials Science Fri, 28 Aug 2020 11:49:58 EDT news517834193 In materials science, conducting and semiconducting materials can be embedded in insulating polymeric substrates for useful biointerface applications. However, it is challenging to achieve the composite configuration directly using chemical processes. Laser-assisted synthesis is a fast and inexpensive technique used to prepare various materials but their applications in the construction of biophysical tools and biomedical materials remain to be explored. In a new report, Vishnu Nair and a research team in chemistry, molecular engineering, physics and atom probe tomography at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University, U.S., used laser writing to convert portions of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) into nitrogen-doped cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC). They facilitated electrochemical and photoelectrochemical activity between the two surfaces by connecting the dense 3C-SiC surface layer to the PDMS matrix using a spongy graphite layer. They developed two-dimensional (2-D) silicon carbide patterns in PDMS and freestanding 3-D constructs. Nair et al. established the function of laser-produced composites by applying flexible electrodes for isolated heart pacing and photoelectrodes for local peroxide delivery to smooth muscle sheets. The work is now published on Science Advances. https://phys.org/news/2020-08-laser-nitrogen-doped-silicon-carbide-biological.html Materials Science Fri, 28 Aug 2020 11:10:01 EDT news517831579 A surface displays structural colors when light is reflected by tiny, regular structural elements in a transparent material. Researchers have now developed a method to make structural colors from cellulose-based polymers by using coated droplets that exist in a surrounding fluid—so-called liquid marbles. The system readily responds to environmental changes, which makes it interesting for applications in bio-based sensors and soft photonic elements, according to the study published in the journal Angewandte Chemie. https://phys.org/news/2020-08-self-assembly-responsive-photonic-biobased-materials.html Materials Science Fri, 28 Aug 2020 08:52:21 EDT news517823497 NIMS, HUE and HUSM have developed a method of easily and cheaply producing an adhesive structure capable of repeated attachment and detachment. The design of this structure was inspired by the adhesive spatula-shaped hairs (setae) found on the footpads of flies, while the method of producing it was hinted at by seta formation in fly pupae. These environmentally sound technologies could potentially contribute to a more sustainable society. https://phys.org/news/2020-08-low-cost-footpad-like-adhesive-capable-attachmentdetachment.html Materials Science Fri, 28 Aug 2020 07:41:46 EDT news517819302 Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Ohio State University discovered a new microbial pathway that produces ethylene, providing a potential avenue for biomanufacturing a common component of plastics, adhesives, coolants and other everyday products. https://phys.org/news/2020-08-sulfur-scavenging-bacteria-key-common-component.html Biochemistry Materials Science Thu, 27 Aug 2020 14:00:08 EDT news517736997 With the race for renewable energy sources in full swing, plants offer one of the most promising candidates for replacing crude oil. Lignocellulose in particular—biomass from non-edible plants like grass, leaves, and wood that don't compete with food crops—is abundant and renewable and offers a great alternative source to petroleum for a whole range of chemicals. https://phys.org/news/2020-08-microbes-biomass-conversion-possibilities.html Biochemistry Thu, 27 Aug 2020 14:00:07 EDT news517752971 A collaboration between two labs at Princeton University's Department of Chemistry has yielded a striking new platform that allows chemists to reinterpret the rules of stereochemistry and stereocontrol with important implications for the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries. https://phys.org/news/2020-08-platform-stereocontrol.html Materials Science Thu, 27 Aug 2020 14:00:05 EDT news517737224 Ethylene, a key feedstock in the chemical industry, often includes traces of acetylene contaminants, which need to be removed. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, researchers describe a robust and regenerable porous metal–organic framework that captures acetylene with extraordinary efficiency and selectively. Its synergistic combination of tailor-made pore sizes and chemical docking sites makes the material especially efficient, the study says. https://phys.org/news/2020-08-acetylene-ethylene-ultramicroporous-metalorganic-frameworks.html Materials Science Thu, 27 Aug 2020 10:12:28 EDT news517741943 Nature has worked for eons to perfect surface textures that protect, hide and otherwise help all kinds of creatures survive. https://phys.org/news/2020-08-heat-free-technology-metallic-replicas-rose.html Materials Science Thu, 27 Aug 2020 09:27:42 EDT news517739259