https://phys.org/chemistry-news/ en-us The latest news stories on chemistry, biochemistry, polymers, materials science from Phys.org University of Sydney researchers have made a breakthrough by directly observing hydrogen in the tiny spaces between the atoms in metal alloys. The world-first observation of hydrogen dissolving in these 'metal crystal lattices' offers fresh insights into why hydrogen can weaken metals and how more hydrogen-resistant materials might be developed. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-reveal-hydrogen-dissolved-tiny-gaps.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 04 Nov 2026 19:20:06 EST news713034421 Wearable health-monitoring devices are becoming increasingly important for personalized health care, but conventional patches often rely on substrates that restrict airflow, trap sweat and cause skin discomfort during prolonged use. These limitations can also interfere with the reliable collection and analysis of sweat, highlighting the need for breathable materials that support both comfortable wear and accurate sensing. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-traditional-korean-paper-breathable-patch.html Biochemistry Wed, 04 Nov 2026 17:00:09 EST news713032021 Researchers have developed a multifunctional fire-protective coating that not only shields materials from extreme heat but also provides an early warning of fire and can be recycled into new flame-retardant materials at the end of its life. The work, published in Polymer Degradation and Stability, demonstrates a strategy for combining fire safety, sustainability and circularity within a single material system. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-bio-based-smart-coating-combines.html Biochemistry Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:20:24 EST news713012668 Researchers from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have developed a carbon dioxide (CO₂) sensor that combines high sensitivity with a wider measurement range. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-sensor-combines-high-sensitivity-wider.html Materials Science Wed, 04 Nov 2026 14:40:01 EST news713010520 Natural materials, ranging from butterfly wings to mother-of-pearl, can exhibit an array of optical effects. In trying to reproduce these effects, scientists have found it challenging to use biodegradable, sustainable raw ingredients while also achieving the high levels of reflectivity required for certain applications. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-nature-glass-crafting-mirrors.html Biochemistry Wed, 04 Nov 2026 12:20:01 EST news713010421 Electron spin is a quantum property that makes electrons behave like tiny magnets. It can influence how electrons interact with each other and how chemical reactions take place. But what does this have to do with producing fertilizers, making cleaner fuels or improving energy technologies? What connects all these processes is the use of catalysts, materials that help chemical reactions happen faster and more efficiently. By controlling electron spin, scientists may be able to improve how these catalysts work, opening up new possibilities for more efficient chemical processes. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-catalysts-roadmap-smarter-chemical-reactions.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 04 Nov 2026 10:20:06 EST news713004303 Chinese researchers have developed a new way to improve sodium–sulfur battery performance by changing the atomic structure of a catalyst. Led by professors Wang Hui and Zheng Fangcai from the High Magnetic Field Laboratory at the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the study is published in Angewandte Chemie. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-asymmetric-atomic-sodiumsulfur-battery.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 03 Nov 2026 18:40:05 EST news712925338 Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are known as "forever chemicals" because of the impact they make on the environment and human bodies. Much of modern manufacturing relies on these substances for safe packaging, fire protection and waterproof coatings. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-natural-coatings-chemicals.html Biochemistry Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:20:04 EST news712930921 Dialing up the power on electricity-driven chemical reactions doesn't guarantee that they'll be more efficient, suggests a new study, a finding that gets researchers closer to creating the ideal conditions for sustainable chemical manufacturing. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-power-payoff-reveals-bottleneck-cleaner.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 03 Nov 2026 16:00:01 EST news712930741 A research team led by professors Xu Guowang and Liu Xinyu from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in collaboration with researchers from Dalian University of Technology, has developed a high-coverage lipidomics workflow and integrated it with transcriptomics to investigate lipid accumulation and compositional changes in Rhodosporidium toruloides under nitrogen limitation. The study was recently published in Food Chemistry. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-oil-yeast-reveals-stages-fat.html Biochemistry Tue, 03 Nov 2026 14:20:10 EST news712915346 Hundreds of millions of metric tons of plastics are produced every year, and most of them end up sitting in landfills or polluting natural environments after use. These plastics endure for dozens to hundreds of years. But some scientists are on the lookout for solutions to this problem. And now, one team of researchers might have found a potential solution in bee nests. Their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that a natural plastic made by bees may offer design lessons for plastics that degrade naturally in far less time. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-bee-linings-plastics-soil.html Biochemistry Tue, 03 Nov 2026 13:30:01 EST news712933595 Conventional chemotherapy treatments often attack not only cancer cells but also healthy tissue, leading to severe side effects such as hair loss or nausea. The team led by Dr. Thomas Ward from the Department of Chemistry and the Swiss Nanoscience Institute (SNI) at the University of Basel is therefore pursuing an approach that uses artificial metal compounds as catalysts that specifically bind to tumor cells and then convert so-called prodrugs into the active ingredient at the tumor site. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-iridium-catalyst-chemotherapy-drug-cancer.html Biochemistry Tue, 03 Nov 2026 13:20:16 EST news712914622 While ammonia (NH₃) is best known for its role in fertilizer production, it is attracting attention as a carbon-free hydrogen carrier, potentially offering a practical way to store and transport clean fuel. Despite this promise, NH₃ synthesis still depends on high-temperature, high-pressure processes that are difficult to scale up sustainably. The reason behind this is the extremely strong bond between nitrogen atoms in nitrogen gas (N₂), which requires a lot of energy to break. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-molecular-dinitrogen-anions-pave-temperature.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 02 Nov 2026 16:20:08 EST news712846992 Ruthenium (Ru) is a valuable metal used in catalysts to speed up chemical reactions in many industrial processes. It can help improve efficiency and reduce the energy needed for chemical production. However, because it is rare and expensive, scientists are looking for ways to make better use of it. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-ruthenium-atom-catalysts.html Materials Science Mon, 02 Nov 2026 15:40:08 EST news712842460 More than just a precious gemstone for jewelry, diamond has properties that make it attractive for several next-generation, high-performance technologies. Its high thermal conductivity can help move heat away from semiconductor devices, while its wide bandgap is promising for high-power electronics. Moreover, its transparency in the visible light range makes diamond useful for demanding optical applications. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-ultrashort-laser-pulses-slice-lab.html Materials Science Mon, 02 Nov 2026 15:20:10 EST news712835000 Many have voiced concerns that artificial intelligence will take jobs away from humans. But assistant professor of chemistry Zhongyue (John) Yang, along with his former doctoral student Qianzhen Shao (now a postdoc at Stanford) and other team members, has created an AI tool that aims to elevate the work that scientists do—not replace them. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-chemists-ai-tool-human-ingenuity.html Analytical Chemistry Sat, 31 Oct 2026 15:00:01 EDT news712327561 A research team has designed and synthesized a molecular cage with an internal cavity by connecting two curved π-conjugated molecules face-to-face at three points. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-molecular-armor-planar-molecules.html Analytical Chemistry Sat, 31 Oct 2026 08:00:01 EDT news712244725 How handy would it be if you could make your tattoos invisible for a job interview in the morning, and reveal them again for a party in the evening? This sounds like science fiction, but it may soon be reality. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-chemists-tattoos-science.html Materials Science Fri, 30 Oct 2026 17:00:04 EDT news712584140 Finding new drugs requires screening vast numbers of compounds to identify those that interact with a biological target. DNA-encoded libraries (DELs) help researchers explore these large collections by attaching a short DNA sequence to each molecule, acting as a molecular barcode that allows compounds with promising properties to be identified. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-chemical-reaction-options-dna-encoded.html Biochemistry Fri, 30 Oct 2026 15:20:06 EDT news712582201 Nitrogen dioxide is a harmful gas that requires sensitive detection. Researchers used intense light pulses lasting 10 milliseconds to make molybdenum disulfide flakes and anchor isolated metal atoms in one step. Adding platinum improved the material's room-temperature response to nitrogen dioxide, reaching 100.8% at 400 parts per billion and a detection limit of 17.2 parts per billion. This approach could support advanced gas sensors and applications in catalysis and energy technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-scientists-millisecond-sensitive-gas-sensors.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 30 Oct 2026 11:20:15 EDT news712572361 A newly published study advances our knowledge of how microplastics may age in the environment and whether they stick to other contaminants as they do so. Microplastics (MPs) are tiny plastic pieces that measure less than 5 millimeters (about 0.2 inches) in length. The study looked at the aging of MPs made of three common polymer chemicals—polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate and polypropylene—to see if they changed as they aged and how that affected nearby contaminants. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-lab-aged-microplastics-enable-interactions.html Polymers Thu, 29 Oct 2026 22:20:01 EDT news712505882 Chemical reactions are often understood as molecules crossing a high-energy saddle point, known as a transition state, before following a downhill pathway toward a product. Conventional quantum chemical calculations typically trace this single pathway to determine how a reaction proceeds. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-reveal-hidden-pathways-chemical-reactions.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 29 Oct 2026 19:00:01 EDT news712499221 A reaction on a single electrode can tell scientists a remarkable amount about the chemical nature and number of analytes involved. The challenge comes when they want to distinguish many reactions on the same electrode. After more than a decade of trying to overcome that limitation, Ravi Saraf and his Nebraska Engineering graduate students have demonstrated a way to quantify many reactions on the same electrode without sacrificing extraordinary sensitivity. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-multiple-reactions-electrode-extraordinary-sensitivity.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 29 Oct 2026 18:40:01 EDT news712499641 Silicones are widely used in industry, medicine and everyday products due to their exceptional thermal and chemical stability. However, it is precisely these properties that have made recycling silicones extremely problematic in the past. Researchers at the Institute of Chemistry at TU Berlin have now succeeded in breaking down the polymer chains of silicone molecules into their basic building blocks. The resulting molecule dimethyldichlorosilane can then be reused as a starting material for the production of new silicone compounds. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-chemical-recycling-silicone-reusable-blocks.html Polymers Thu, 29 Oct 2026 18:10:01 EDT news712507742 Many chemical processes that sustain modern society depend on molecules binding to metal surfaces. The production of synthetic fertilizer, for example, relies on heterogeneous catalysis, in which gases react on the surface of a solid catalyst. Yet, until now, an important question has remained unresolved: How much of the metal surface actually participates in determining the strength of a chemical bond on the surface? https://phys.org/news/2026-10-molecule-atoms-platinum-bonds-surface.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 29 Oct 2026 14:00:01 EDT news712485842 Over a century ago, the Haber-Bosch process, a two-step reaction for the synthesis of ammonia (NH₃), an irreplaceable chemical for the fertilizer industry, prevented the world from going into a serious food crisis. Today, however, the same method consumes about 1% of global energy and contributes more than 1% of annual anthropogenic CO₂ emissions. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-catalyst-proton-highways-tackle-hurdle.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 29 Oct 2026 13:00:08 EDT news712490573 "Ammonia was first used as a fuel during World War II, when gasoline was hard to get hold of," explains David Emberson, associate professor at NTNU's Department of Marine Technology. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-hydrogen-ammonia-life.html Materials Science Thu, 29 Oct 2026 09:20:05 EDT news712477949 Two nearly identical materials have completely different chemical behavior. Research teams at the University of Vienna and TU Wien studied catalysts that use the energy of sunlight to produce ammonia. Surprisingly, when the three iron atoms that form tiny triangles in these catalysts are replaced by chromium atoms, the chemical reaction no longer takes place. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-atomic-magnetism-reveals-iron-chromium.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 28 Oct 2026 19:00:01 EDT news712420921 Chemical reactions have their own "impatient molecules." Unable to stay still even for a moment, they latch onto other molecules indiscriminately. Researchers have now found that even these molecules change where they "sit" and how far they roam depending on who their neighbors are. The findings are expected to help scientists make better medicines and materials by directing reactions only to the desired sites. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-radical-paths-ray-snapshots-reveal.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 28 Oct 2026 17:20:13 EDT news712419782 To limit further climate change, researchers are exploring technologies that can convert atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) into useful products. In collaboration with BOKU University in Vienna (Austria), researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) have demonstrated that electrochemical and microbial processes can be combined to capture CO₂ and produce itaconic acid, a bio-based chemical used in industry. According to the researchers, this new process demonstrates how CO₂ emissions can be converted into sustainable bio-based products, with the potential to produce a wider range of valuable chemicals by using different microorganisms. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-yeast-paired-electricity-chemical-biodegradable.html Biochemistry Wed, 28 Oct 2026 13:20:10 EDT news712410781