https://phys.org/chemistry-news/ en-us The latest news stories on chemistry, biochemistry, polymers, materials science from Phys.org The production of many products used in everyday life and in industry, such as pharmaceuticals, plastics, and coatings, requires chemical catalysts, often expensive noble metals with limited availability. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) are now presenting the first air-stable iron compound, which enables the direct use of iron(I) for catalysis and, unlike previous methods, does not require strong reducing agents. A first test yielded active iron catalysts. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-sustainable-chemistry-iron-substitutes-noble.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 15 May 2026 16:20:01 EDT news698071973 A collaboration between electrical and chemical engineers at Newcastle University is responsible for a reversible glue that can change how we recycle electronic waste. The team has already demonstrated reversible adhesive technology with wide applicability in general packaging applications, but this new glue is electrically conductive. This means that it can join electronic components, just like solder does. Unlike solder, however, a simple wash with a green solvent like acetone, or using an alkaline solution, will allow the components to be separated for reuse or recycling. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-reversible-reshape-electronics-recycling-material.html Materials Science Thu, 14 May 2026 18:00:01 EDT news697991182 Silk threads can be fused into transparent, plastic-like materials that twist terahertz frequencies of light, according to research led by Imperial College London, University of Michigan Engineering and Tufts University. The findings could enable components of 6G networks to be made from upcycled silk. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-silk-strong-plastic-materials-6g.html Polymers Thu, 14 May 2026 15:07:22 EDT news697990021 In addition to serving as biochemical weapons for offense and defense, the venoms produced by ants in the subfamily Formicinae also fulfill additional roles. For example, the ants use it to protect their nests from pathogens. It has long been assumed that the primary constituent of these venoms, formic acid, was responsible for these functions. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-discovery-antimicrobial-peptides-ant-venom.html Biochemistry Thu, 14 May 2026 12:53:32 EDT news697981981 One of the first steps in addressing health concerns is measurement. For firefighters, one health concern is that their gear commonly contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also called "forever chemicals" because they don't break down naturally in the environment. Since 2021, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have been systematically measuring PFAS concentrations in firefighter equipment. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-pfas-firefighter-hoods-gloves-wildland.html Materials Science Wed, 13 May 2026 17:00:01 EDT news697904031 The selective conversion of alkenes into alcohols is a cornerstone of modern chemical synthesis, underpinning the production of pharmaceuticals, functional materials, and fine chemicals. However, conventional acid-catalyzed hydration reactions typically follow Markovnikov's rule, yielding secondary or tertiary alcohols. Achieving the complementary anti-Markovnikov hydration, where water adds to form primary alcohols, has long remained a challenge in organic chemistry. Although photocatalytic strategies have emerged as promising alternatives, they are limited only to activated substrates, leaving a significant gap in practical and sustainable solutions. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-copperii-complexes-efficient-anti-markovnikov.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 13 May 2026 16:37:55 EDT news697909021 Oxygen is a cornerstone of chemistry, largely because it is so good at building the organic molecules that make up our world. Some oxygen-based compounds called peroxides are famous for being highly reactive—they act like oxygen delivery trucks, transferring atoms to other molecules. This process is essential for everything from creating new medicines to industrial manufacturing. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-chemists-isolate-boronoxygen-molecule.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 13 May 2026 16:22:17 EDT news697908121 A research team at TU Wien has succeeded in modifying known materials in such a way that they possess new, desirable properties. These materials are expected to find application in the field of thermoelectricity. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-atomic-outfittery-substitution-thermoelectric-heusler.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 13 May 2026 15:48:21 EDT news697905721 Amines are a functional group characterized by the presence of a nitrogen atom bonded to one or more alkyl or aryl (aromatic ring) groups. Derived from ammonia, amines play crucial roles in biological systems and various industrial applications. In everyday life, they can be found in common products such as medicines and cosmetics, where they act as active ingredients or stabilizers. However, the production of amines typically relies on complex chemical processes that are often based on intermediates derived from fossil fuels or involve energy-intensive steps. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-sustainable-electrosynthesis-enables-production-amines.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 13 May 2026 15:35:50 EDT news697904761 An international team led by researchers at University of California San Diego and University of California, Riverside has developed a free, web-based platform designed to make public metabolomics data more accessible. By allowing users to search for chemical structures across billions of chemical spectra (the unique signatures of molecules) spanning thousands of studies, the tool has the potential to make "big-data" metabolomics as straightforward as a standard internet search. It can be used to discover new metabolites, track drug exposures and connect specific molecules to diseases or environmental sources. The study was published in Nature Biotechnology. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-molecules-chemistry-life.html Biochemistry Wed, 13 May 2026 15:28:19 EDT news697904356 When you hear the word "epoxide," what do you think? If anything, likely "glue." But epoxides are quite common in our everyday lives. You might be sitting on a foam seat cushion made from epoxides. There is a good chance the synthetic textiles in your clothing involve epoxides in their production. The same is true of the paint on your car and the printed circuit boards in your electronic devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-electrified-route-epoxides-pollution-common.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 13 May 2026 11:37:32 EDT news697890970 A research team led by Hee-jung Lee, senior researcher at Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), in collaboration with Professor Sunghwan Park of Kyungpook National University and Professor Mingyu Kim of Yeungnam University, has developed a technology that enhances CO₂ adsorption performance in metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) by up to 75% through precise laser-based control of their internal structure. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-laser-treatment-reshapes-mof-pores.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 13 May 2026 11:04:33 EDT news697889042 Oil and natural gas are vital constituents of our energy ecosystem that need to be transported across long distances. Although steel pipelines are the infrastructure used for this purpose, thereby serving as the lifeline for crucial energy distribution, they introduce the added challenge of corrosion. Steels typically rust when exposed to aggressive environments and are coated with various types of polymer coatings to delay, if not completely inhibit the onset of corrosion. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-technique-polymer-degradation-cathodic-overprotection.html Polymers Tue, 12 May 2026 17:40:03 EDT news697800625 Many creams and serums contain artificial ingredients that are harmful to the environment. Natural plant oils would be more sustainable but are difficult to process. ETH researcher Svitlana Mykolenko has developed a way of turning plant oils into stable gels without synthetic additives. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-video-gels-cosmetics-natural-oils.html Biochemistry Tue, 12 May 2026 17:20:02 EDT news697817978 The kingfisher's brilliant blue feathers were once used like paint to create works of art. The technique, known as tian-tsui, was popular during China's Qing Dynasty. And because tian-tsui uses delicate feathers, previous scientists struggled to study them using traditional analytical techniques. So, researchers reporting in ACS Omega developed new methods of investigating these featherworks without harming them. The team found that multiple bird species and layered pigments provided a one-of-a-kind palette. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-qing-featherwork-scans-reveal-multiple.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 12 May 2026 16:10:02 EDT news697819621 To what extent can self-activating catalysts enhance hydrogen production in electrolyzers? Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have investigated this question, and their findings were published in Advanced Energy Materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-catalysts-boost-hydrogen-output-reshaping.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 12 May 2026 15:20:01 EDT news697808561 In 2018, an artificial intelligence (AI) program called AlphaFold achieved a major breakthrough by placing first in the critical assessment of structure prediction, a competition for predicting the three-dimensional structures of proteins. It scored close to 90 on a 100-point scale for moderately difficult targets, marking a turning point in the use of AI for understanding protein structure and highlighting its potential applications. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-deepafm-decodes-protein-motion-noisy.html Biochemistry Tue, 12 May 2026 15:00:03 EDT news697807741 Living organisms sustain themselves through intricate metabolic processes that continuously convert energy and materials into useful functions. Inspired by these biological systems, researchers are now engineering synthetic materials that can replicate such dynamic behaviors. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-metabolism-hydrogels-replicate-heartbeat-motion.html Polymers Tue, 12 May 2026 12:20:05 EDT news697799252 A computational method combining generative AI with atomistic simulations can identify promising platinum alloy catalyst structures for hydrogen fuel cells, report researchers from Science Tokyo. Their approach addresses a longstanding challenge in catalyst design and consistently produces high-performing candidates from several material combinations. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-smarter-fuel-cell-catalysts-machine.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 11 May 2026 18:10:01 EDT news697738501 Understanding how protons move at the interface between polymers and electrode materials is essential for improving fuel cells and related energy devices. However, conventional impedance measurements under inert conditions have long masked these interfacial contributions, showing only a single, merged signal. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-hidden-proton-pathways-emerge-ultrathin.html Polymers Mon, 11 May 2026 18:00:08 EDT news697735381 Entropy gets a bad rap. Typically associated with randomness and chaos, it can also correlate with freedom and diversity. Cornell researchers have found that, thanks to the latter qualities, entropy can help bind certain pairs of molecules faster and more robustly—an approach that could have broad applications in drug development and assembling nanoparticles to form new materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-looped-polymers-stronger-faster-molecular.html Polymers Mon, 11 May 2026 17:10:02 EDT news697737001 Chemists at the University of Iowa have created a three-dimensional lattice that captures water from the air and stores it. In a new study appearing in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, researchers describe a millimeter-scale structure made of metal atoms connected by two types of organic molecules. When exposed to ultraviolet light, the material undergoes a chemical reaction that changes its shape, creating cavities throughout the lattice. Those cavities attract water molecules from the air and store them—like a multitude of tiny canteens. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-reshapes-metal-framework-harvest-airborne.html Materials Science Mon, 11 May 2026 16:40:03 EDT news697733439 Professor Kyungwho Choi's team of the School of Mechanical Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University, in collaboration with Professor Jinsoo Kim's team in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Kyung Hee University, have proposed a strategy that simultaneously overcomes the limitations of conventional hydrogel-based triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs)—namely low output performance, poor mechanical strength, and insufficient transparency—by utilizing biomimetic stevia. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-everyday-sweetener-powerful-transparent-stretchable.html Materials Science Mon, 11 May 2026 11:20:06 EDT news697713363 Circularly polarized light has properties that make it useful in a growing range of technologies, from next-generation 3D displays to bioimaging tools that can detect signals deep within living tissues. One way to produce this kind of light is with the help of chiral molecules—compounds that have a mirror-image form to which they cannot be perfectly superimposed. Among these, small organic molecules (SOMs) offer tunable emission wavelengths. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-luminescent-radicals-enable-bright-circularly.html Biochemistry Sat, 09 May 2026 14:00:03 EDT news697378455 A single-atom platinum catalyst lights ammonia at 200 °C and keeps it burning steadily at 1,100 °C with low NOx, generating high-grade, carbon-free heat for steel, cement and chemicals. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-catalyst-carbon-free-ammonia-steel.html Materials Science Sat, 09 May 2026 08:00:04 EDT news697378120 A joint research team from Nitto Boseki Co., Ltd. (Nittobo) and Tohoku University has revealed that polyionic liquids (PILs) can achieve high carbon dioxide (CO₂) adsorption when their counter anions are exchanged. This discovery provides a critical new design guideline for the development of high-performance CO2 recovery devices and gas separation membranes. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-anion-swap-sevenfold-capture-polyionic.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 08 May 2026 16:20:02 EDT news697458518 Battery acid from old cars, with a little help from a catalyst, can give plastic waste a new purpose, using it to drive the production of useful chemicals, powered by sunlight alone. A recent study by researchers at the University of Cambridge found a way to turn everyday plastics such as PET from water bottles, nylon, and polyurethane into useful chemical feedstocks. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-bottles-battery-acid-production-valuable.html Polymers Fri, 08 May 2026 12:40:01 EDT news697453249 University of Birmingham researchers have demonstrated a new method to break down toxic pollutants in wastewater, using sunlight and molecular-thin catalysts created using an innovative "mechanical" approach. Non-degradable dyes originating from industries such as textiles, cosmetics, food, pharmaceuticals, and printing, are among the most prominent sources of industrial pollution. Left untreated, they disperse in both land and water, leading to contamination that poses serious risks to human health and the environment. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-mechanical-method-sunlight-driven-wastewater.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 07 May 2026 18:30:02 EDT news697392421 Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) have developed a solid polymer coated with harmless viruses to detect the bacteria Salmonella enterica (S. enterica), an advance that could lead to new ways of finding contamination in the food supply. The work is published in the journal ACS Applied Bio Materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-harmless-viruses-salmonella-flexible-polymer.html Biochemistry Thu, 07 May 2026 18:20:01 EDT news697389961 Researchers from the Universities of Bath and Leeds (UK) have made a significant advance in the fight against malaria by uncovering a promising new potential target for drug discovery. The findings, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, provide a powerful new framework for designing more effective antimalarial drugs with fewer side effects. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-antimalarial-drug-uncovers-enzyme-potent.html Biochemistry Wed, 06 May 2026 19:20:02 EDT news697296241