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. In a new publication in the journal Nature Chemistry, chemists in professor Holger Braunschweig's team at the University of Würzburg, supported by computational work from the team of professor Ashwini K. Phukan at Tezpur University in India, detail their discovery of a method for preparing and isolating a range of surprisingly stable oxoboranes—a challenge that has stood for over 60 years. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-year-chemists-isolate-elusive-molecules.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 28 Oct 2026 10:00:06 EDT news712398602 Semiconductors with wider bandgaps could pave the way for smaller, more efficient electronics that can handle far higher voltages, but the wider this gap becomes, the harder it is to control how well a material conducts electricity. Now, a team led by Darrell Schlom at Cornell University has shown that adding silicon to thin films of aluminum gallium oxide can keep this control intact at bandgaps wider than any semiconductor before it. Their research has been published in Nature. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-sapphire-grown-semiconductor-bandgap.html Condensed Matter Thu, 22 Oct 2026 07:00:04 EDT news711713518 A faster way of finding the best diamond-based materials for quantum computers has been developed by a researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). The new approach has already identified promising materials for practical quantum sensors and computers that could one day transform scientific research as a whole. The research was recently published in the journal ACS Central Science and has already garnered attention from other experts in the field. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-faster-molecular-simulations-diamond-defects.html Condensed Matter Tue, 13 Oct 2026 17:20:01 EDT news711121441 Researchers from the University of Bath have developed fluorescent molecular probes that can detect changes in glucose levels inside living animals, giving scientists new ways of visualizing sugar uptake and studying diabetes, cancer and other metabolic diseases in whole organisms in real time. The findings are published in the journal Advanced Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-fluorescent-sensors-diabetes-action.html Biochemistry Wed, 30 Sep 2026 18:00:01 EDT news709992734 Is there life elsewhere, or is Earth unique in the universe? This is one of humanity's great unanswered questions. One way to approach this mystery is to investigate how life began here on Earth. Our research explores the conditions in which a mixture of molecules somehow transformed from chemistry into biology. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-sugar-meteorites-survival-early-earth.html Astrobiology Wed, 30 Sep 2026 12:20:06 EDT news709980361 When light or sound bounces around inside an oddly shaped room, its reflections can quickly become difficult to predict. But new research led by scientists at the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center (CUNY ASRC) shows that waves can behave very differently when they travel through a special class of materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-chaos-oddly-cavity.html General Physics Mon, 28 Sep 2026 05:00:03 EDT news709561441 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 A team of researchers led by the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) developed an approach that enabled them to directly observe how electrons interact with defects in advanced semiconductor devices in unprecedented detail. The team's methodology included an innovative simulation tool that enabled accurate theoretical interpretations of its experimental observations. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-images-defects-electrons-stable-wigner.html Condensed Matter Thu, 17 Sep 2026 17:00:01 EDT news708866221 When a material heats up, its electrical resistance often rises. The harder question is what, exactly, is getting in the way. The electrons carrying the current may be scattered by vibrations of the material's atomic lattice, known as phonons. They may also collide with one another. Frustratingly, a conventional temperature test warms the electrons and the lattice together, so the effects arrive tangled in the same resistance measurement. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-hot-electrons-reveal-electronic-collisions.html Condensed Matter Wed, 16 Sep 2026 19:40:01 EDT news708787802 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 A research team at the University of Vienna led by physicist Jani Kotakoski demonstrates how the shape of nanopores in hexagonal boron nitride—the electrically insulating counterpart to graphene, also known as "white graphene"—can be precisely controlled at the atomic level. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-white-graphene-reshaped-atomic-scale.html Nanophysics Thu, 10 Sep 2026 12:00:08 EDT news708252122 From targeted cancer treatments to self-healing materials and microscopic robots, many emerging technologies depend on molecules that can be controlled with light. Researchers at Tohoku University have now developed a way to make these light-responsive molecules much more sensitive to visible light by using a molecular antenna. The breakthrough gives scientists better control over molecular photoswitches remotely and potentially expands their use in medicine and advanced materials. The findings are published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-molecular-antennae-sensitive.html Biochemistry Wed, 09 Sep 2026 17:40:01 EDT news708183301 An international team led by researchers from the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil has developed an innovative method to identify stars that have consumed the planets around them. The technique detects variations in the abundance of beryllium, a relatively rare chemical element, and could open a new window into studying the evolution of planetary systems. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-beryllium-stars-swallowed-rocky-planets.html Astronomy Wed, 09 Sep 2026 17:30:01 EDT news708191461 Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is usually discussed as something the world needs to get rid of. Activities such as the burning of fossil fuels for daily use, including electricity and transportation, and industrial applications release significant amounts of CO₂, and the gas enters the atmosphere. Researchers are now asking whether this road could have a roundabout. What if CO₂, which is at the center of the climate crisis, could be turned into something useful and put back into the industrial cycle? https://phys.org/news/2026-09-metal-2d-catalysts-extra-electrical.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 02 Sep 2026 19:40:01 EDT news707583901 Restructuring a molecule without rebuilding it from scratch is an increasingly important goal in modern organic chemistry. Skeletal editing is an approach that helps chemists explore new chemical structures and simplify the synthesis of molecules with potential pharmaceutical applications. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fuse-strategy-route-molecular-skeletal.html Biochemistry Sun, 30 Aug 2026 17:00:03 EDT news707112646 Despite all the advertisements for engagement rings and necklace gifts, natural diamonds are imperfect. Their carbon atoms are arranged in a cubic lattice, but they nonetheless contain several types of crystallographic defects due to impurities that occasionally replace a carbon atom. The most common types of impurities are nitrogen and boron; "Type I" diamonds contain nitrogen impurities, which can be isolated or clustered, at concentrations of up to 1%, and make up about 95% of all natural diamonds. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-diamond-clock-combines-temperature-driven.html General Physics Fri, 28 Aug 2026 10:40:01 EDT news707129885 Electrons, particles that carry a negative electric charge, typically move through materials. At low densities and temperatures, however, the electrical repulsion between them can overpower their tendency to move, prompting them to arrange themselves into ordered patterns known as Wigner crystals. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-reveals-internal-motion-electron-crystals.html Condensed Matter Fri, 28 Aug 2026 09:00:03 EDT news706964413 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 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 in China predict that stacking two microscopic layers of boron could set a new record for superconductivity. Superconductors are materials that conduct electricity with zero resistance. Traditional types need temperatures close to absolute zero to work, requiring complex and expensive cooling equipment. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-boron-layers-superconductivity-theoretical.html Condensed Matter Fri, 07 Aug 2026 15:20:01 EDT news705241771 Super-thin superconducting materials, which are only one or a few atoms thick, have unique properties scientists can leverage to produce more compact, scalable, and efficient quantum devices. But these fragile materials degrade so rapidly in air that they are difficult to study or manufacture. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-air-stable-ultrathin-superconductors-scalable.html Superconductivity Wed, 05 Aug 2026 19:00:01 EDT news705161101 Efficient heat management in solids is key to advancing the next generation of electronics. However, wave-like heat movement—known as phonon focusing—had been observed only at extremely low, or cryogenic, temperatures, limiting its study and practical use. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-room-temperature.html Condensed Matter Thu, 23 Jul 2026 17:30:01 EDT news704041322 Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have become a standard in modern devices with incredible contrast and sleek designs. While initially an expensive luxury, OLEDs are gradually becoming more financially accessible as the technology improves. Now, researchers at the Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM) at Nagoya University and the Institute for Advanced Study at Kyushu University have combined quantum chemistry with machine learning to identify new materials for blue OLEDs for incorporation in next-generation ultra-high-definition displays. Their research was published in Angewandte Chemie on July 21, 2026. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ai-quantum-chemistry-combine-efficient.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 22 Jul 2026 16:20:01 EDT news703945861 Graphene has long been regarded as one of the most promising materials for future electronics, but its relatively weak electron interactions have limited its potential for applications such as high-temperature superconductivity. Now, researchers from Tohoku University have overcome a major obstacle by creating a stable version of the long-sought "boron graphene" on the surface of a three-dimensional crystal, revealing a new quantum state that could lead to more energy-efficient electronic devices. The findings were published in Science Advances on July 2, 2026. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-scientists-stable-boron-graphene-uncover.html Condensed Matter Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:20:10 EDT news703407615 Researchers at the College of Design and Engineering at the National University of Singapore have identified a key design principle for building reliable electronics from materials only one atomic layer thick, giving engineers a clearer way to control unwanted electrical leakage in future ultra-small devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-nanoscale-gaps-reveal-atom-thin.html Nanomaterials Wed, 15 Jul 2026 13:00:05 EDT news703328944 Progress in chemistry is often gradual, with some of its most important advances taking years—sometimes decades—to unfold. A case in point is the discovery of a novel "ferrocenophane" from the class of compounds known as "sandwich molecules"—so named because of their particular structure. In a ferrocenophane, the "bread slices" are two carbon rings that enclose an iron atom as the sandwich "filling." A team of chemists at Saarland University has now succeeded in developing a highly unusual bent sandwich molecule that opens up new possibilities for designing iron-containing materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-chemists-elusive-carbon-bridged-sandwich.html Materials Science Mon, 13 Jul 2026 11:40:06 EDT news703154968 Nitrenes are the ghosts of synthetic chemistry, formed in an instant and gone just as quickly, rearranging into something entirely different. These highly reactive intermediates are widely used in synthesis, yet remain notoriously difficult to study because they rapidly transform into more stable structures through a process called 1,2-migration. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-chemists-capture-elusive-borylnitrene-crystal.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 06 Jul 2026 09:00:10 EDT news702543159 Researchers have developed a novel class of nanotube membranes that enable ultrafast ion transport. The findings open new pathways for high-efficiency clean energy generation, lithium recovery and molecular separation. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-nanotube-membranes-reveal-unusually-fast.html Nanomaterials Sat, 20 Jun 2026 14:00:04 EDT news701017579 In a paper published in Science Advances, researchers at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in collaboration with the University of Minnesota and Kyung Hee University have found a new way to control quantum light sources, which is one of the key elements needed before quantum technologies can be used reliably in real-world systems. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-tiny-quantum-sources-atomically-thin.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 19 Jun 2026 14:00:06 EDT news701077501