https://phys.org/chemistry-news/materials-science/ en-us The latest news on chemistry and materials science Liquid hydrogen (LH₂) is attractive for long-distance energy transport because of its high volumetric energy density. But even well-insulated tanks cannot completely prevent heat from entering. As the liquid warms, hydrogen evaporates and pressure builds, leading to boil-off losses during storage and transport. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-rethinking-liquid-hydrogen-storage-metal.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 29 Sep 2026 18:40:01 EDT news709916342 Pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, and agrochemicals are produced industrially using a wide range of chemical reactions. These processes need to become more efficient, less expensive, and more sustainable. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-driven-nickel-catalyst-chemical-bonds.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 29 Sep 2026 18:00:07 EDT news709915682 Researchers at Oregon State University have developed a new family of materials that use light to produce hydrogen from water, opening the door to new ways of converting the sun's rays into clean energy. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-family-materials-efficiently-sunlight-energy.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:40:01 EDT news709912773 Most sensors can measure only one thing at a time, like a thermometer for temperature or a pressure gauge for pressure. Measuring two properties accurately from the same surface at the same moment usually means using two separate instruments—adding cost and complexity to the process. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-molecule-tunnel-accurate.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 28 Sep 2026 19:20:02 EDT news709828502 Bioimaging technologies, such as fluorescence imaging (FI) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are powerful tools in basic research and clinical medicine. But they have drawbacks. FI allows researchers to visualize cells and other biological processes at high resolution, but it lacks imaging depth. MRI can capture images deep within the body, but it lacks the single-cell resolution provided by FI. Furthermore, MRI contrast agents contain paramagnetic metals, such as gadolinium, that can potentially cause adverse side effects. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-metal-free-molecules-deep-red.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 28 Sep 2026 02:00:01 EDT news709561322 The atoms of the 5th element of the periodic table often find themselves in the company of each other, forming allotropes with a rich variety of structural motifs, each carrying a unique set of chemical and physical properties. Despite the long catalog, most boron allotropes do not simultaneously possess high electrical conductivity and plasticity, but a recent study has expanded the portfolio. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-flexible-boron-million-electrically.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 25 Sep 2026 09:20:01 EDT news709544948 Orthogonally arranged π-electronic systems that combine electron-donating and electron-accepting units display distinctive electronic and photophysical behavior. Fine-tuning their electronic structure offers a way to control photoinduced electron transfer. Building on this idea, complexing boron with 1,3-diketones and 9-oxidophenalenone may produce electron-deficient cationic π-electronic systems. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-counterions-molecular-materials-electronic-behaviors.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 24 Sep 2026 19:20:04 EDT news709470841 When landfills and wastewater treatment plants create methane as a byproduct, much of it is simply burned and its value is lost. But the gas is an energy-rich resource that could be recycled as a fuel, chemical feedstock or bioproduct. Capturing and converting waste methane offers an opportunity to recover energy and create useful products from an otherwise wasted gas stream. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-3d-scaffolds-methane-chemical-power.html Biochemistry Thu, 24 Sep 2026 17:00:01 EDT news709468381 Brazilian researchers have developed a biodegradable, starch-based sensor that changes color when moisture enters food packaging. With the addition of cobalt chloride, the sensor changes from blue to pink as moisture levels rise and back to blue as they fall. Consumers and manufacturers could use it to monitor the quality and crispness of foods such as cookies with the naked eye or a cellphone camera, without complex equipment. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-starch-based-sensor-moisture-food.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 23 Sep 2026 18:20:08 EDT news709398721 New York University researchers have trained an AI model to learn chemical patterns associated with stability in drug-like molecules and accurately predict where their hydrogen atoms should be positioned. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-scans-million-compounds-hours.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 23 Sep 2026 05:00:02 EDT news709220221 A new way of measuring how materials interact at the atomic level could help scientists develop better-performing, longer-lasting batteries. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ray-method-anion-behavior-path.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 22 Sep 2026 16:20:01 EDT news709309621 Hydrogen—the lightest atom—does the heavy lifting when it comes to important chemical reactions. It can be stored and released as clean fuel, and its movements help catalysts build medicines, fertilizers and materials. One way hydrogen is available for use is through a hydride—a hydrogen (H) atom bound to a metal. Yet with standard tools, this metal-bound atom can be hard to find in the structure. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-microcrystal-electron-diffractometer-hidden-hydrogen.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 22 Sep 2026 13:20:05 EDT news709291087 A type of transformation best known for hardening steel and enabling shape-memory alloys may also occur in a much softer class of materials, according to new research from Rice University. Researchers in the departments of chemistry and chemical and biomolecular engineering and at the Smalley-Curl Institute at Rice have shown that an organic semiconductor can transform from a liquid crystal into a solid crystal through a rapid, highly coordinated process resembling a martensitic transformation—a phenomenon traditionally associated with changes between two solid crystalline structures. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-liquid-crystal-page-steel-phase.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 22 Sep 2026 10:00:07 EDT news709288082 The molecular culprit behind harmful algal blooms and some groundwater contamination is the same thing that has kept civilization fed for millennia: a stable form of nitrogen called nitrate. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-iron-complex-stubborn-pollutant-powered.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 22 Sep 2026 05:00:02 EDT news709219621 A new study has found a sustainable and scalable way to improve the durability of plant-based packaging; it's a discovery that researchers say could help curb the environmental footprint of plastic. Researchers used advanced plasma technology to apply layered, protective coatings to the surface of cellulosic nanofibril (CNF) films, with the goal of reducing water absorption and improving moisture resistance. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-plasma-technology-based-packaging-plastic.html Biochemistry Mon, 21 Sep 2026 16:40:07 EDT news709216360 Radicals, atoms or molecules that readily react with other substances to form new bonds, are useful tools for building complex substances such as pharmaceuticals. But even when a radical is generated efficiently, the reaction cannot continue unless the catalyst returns to its original state. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ligand-radical-generation-catalyst-regeneration.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 21 Sep 2026 15:00:01 EDT news709213681 Crystals are usually thought of as rigid and brittle. Yet some molecular crystals can bend, jump, twist or even change shape when exposed to light. Understanding how tiny molecular movements inside an ordered crystal can produce such large visible motions is an important challenge for developing responsive materials that could eventually be used in actuators, sensors and other miniature devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-tiny-molecular-scissors-reveal-crystals.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 21 Sep 2026 09:00:08 EDT news709199101 Korean researchers have developed a method to strengthen biodegradable plastics using hemp hurd, an agricultural byproduct. The approach is expected to be applicable to other large-volume agricultural residues, including soybean stalks and rice straw. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-hemp-cellulose-tougher-biodegradable-plastics.html Polymers Fri, 18 Sep 2026 13:00:04 EDT news708948721 Much of organic chemistry, including the type used to create and alter medicinal drugs, relies on modifying carbon bonds. Rice University's Julian West has been developing a less expensive, faster and more environmentally friendly way to catalyze these reactions, with a breakthrough published in the journal Nature Catalysis. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-iron-sulfur-purple-greener-carbon.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 16 Sep 2026 17:30:02 EDT news708789961 Crystals are usually imagined as rigid objects with flat faces and straight edges. A research team led by the University of Osaka has recently created a porous crystal that grows into a spring-like helix. The team also found that the crystal can change shape as solvent molecules move in and out of its internal spaces. Their findings are published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-porous-crystals-enable-chemically-responsive.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 16 Sep 2026 12:20:06 EDT news708769741 Carbon dioxide (CO₂) can be harmful to the environment in large amounts but can be used in the production of fuels and other useful chemicals. Doing so isn't easy, though. Now, Yale researchers have developed a new way to combine electrocatalysis and plasma to efficiently and practically generate a number of valuable products from the gas. The results are published in Nature Catalysis. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-plasma-electricity-methanol-butane-chemicals.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 15 Sep 2026 18:40:01 EDT news708705361 Chemical separation can be energy-intensive when molecules have similar sizes and properties. Researchers from Shibaura Institute of Technology, Japan, have now developed an interlayer adaptive crystal that changes its spacing to recognize specific molecules. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-crystal-capture-similar-molecules.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 15 Sep 2026 16:00:08 EDT news708693421 Ice is cheap, abundant and surprisingly strong. But it has one major weakness: Cracks can race through it, causing it to shatter without warning. Now, scientists have developed a new material that could overcome that problem. Called BioPykrete, the reinforced ice is about 10 times stronger than ordinary ice and can absorb roughly 70 times more energy before breaking. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-scientists-super-ice-ten-stronger.html Biochemistry Tue, 15 Sep 2026 11:40:09 EDT news708689043 A new recycling technique could help tackle a major challenge: breaking down some of the toughest plastics without generating large amounts of waste. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-tough-vehicle-plastics-dissolve-reusable.html Polymers Mon, 14 Sep 2026 20:00:01 EDT news708621518 Researchers at Uppsala University have analyzed the color pigments in a historical painting signed "L daVinci." Most of the pigments are consistent with materials used during the Renaissance, while a more recent pigment appears to be linked to later alterations. The study demonstrates how materials science can provide new pieces of the puzzle behind the history of a work of art. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-davinci-analysis-reveals-renaissance-pigments.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 14 Sep 2026 15:20:10 EDT news708609613 Researchers from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in collaboration with researchers from the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry of CAS, have developed a coumarin-linked covalent organic framework (COF) that enables high-efficiency photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen production. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-longer-lifetime-catalyst-solar-hydrogen.html Analytical Chemistry Sun, 13 Sep 2026 09:00:08 EDT news708353091 While chemical bonds usually determine the structure and properties of a material, bonds between neighboring metal atoms can also change as temperature or other conditions change. These changes can lead to unusual electronic and magnetic behaviors. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-unusual-bonds-magnetism-vanadium-material.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 11 Sep 2026 15:20:04 EDT news708344402 Fluorinated waste, like that found in firefighting aqueous film-forming foam, can act as a significant environmental pollutant. Recently, James Tour's lab at Rice University developed a method to capture fluoride from these waste streams and recycle it into a useful reagent, silver fluoride, that could be used in other manufacturing processes. This process is published in Nature Chemical Engineering. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-electrical-pulses-pfas-valuable-silver.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 11 Sep 2026 13:00:07 EDT news708340878 For more than a century, pharmaceutical companies have relied on flat structures called aromatic rings, which can help drugs bind to target sites in the body. They include benzene rings and other flat, nitrogen-containing rings. But there are limits to their usefulness. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-blue-chemistry-3d-drug-blocks.html Biochemistry Fri, 11 Sep 2026 06:40:01 EDT news708267421 Imagine this. You pick up a contact lens from its container and—yikes!—it falls on the bathroom floor. Before you know it, your cat pounces, claws out. By the time you wrestle it back, the lens looks like a tiny chew toy. And then, just like that—the scratches fade away and the ripped edge seals itself up. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-fully-recyclable-hydrogel-minutes.html Polymers Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:40:09 EDT news708263342