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. Enzymes are biology's tiny chemists. They help build, break and rearrange molecules quickly and precisely. In the lab, scientists have long put enzymes to work making useful chemicals. But nature's enzymes cannot do every reaction a researcher might want. Sometimes scientists need an enzyme to take on a job it did not evolve to do. That's where enzyme engineering comes in—researchers make changes to an enzyme, test how those changes affect what the enzyme does and look for versions that work better. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-synfit-enzyme-traits.html Biochemistry Fri, 06 Nov 2026 13:00:03 EST news713191261 It would greatly benefit the environment and climate if nylon—chemically known as polyamide—could be produced on a large scale from plastic waste in the future, rather than from petroleum, as has been the norm until now. At LIKAT in Rostock, chemists pursuing this approach have succeeded in selectively converting polyethylene—the main component of all plastic waste—into dicarboxylic acids, which can serve as chemical precursors for nylon. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-method-upcycling-polyethylene-suitable-mass.html Materials Science Fri, 06 Nov 2026 11:20:09 EST news713180937 Fermions are among the most important particles in physics and include both everyday electrons and more exotic variants. Chiral fermions, like gloves, come in left- and right-handed versions and were proposed over a century ago. While high-energy neutrinos—the leading candidates for massless chiral fermions—proved to have mass, nearly (semi-) metallic solid-state crystals were discovered 15 years ago to host electronic versions of massless chiral fermions. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-uncovers-chiral-topological-phases-metals.html Condensed Matter Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:20:21 EST news713028301 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 Creating better-performing materials comes down to having more control over their structure at the smallest possible scale. One particularly effective way to accomplish that is using nanoparticles, which have highly customizable shapes and sizes and have already shown promise in applications across energy, medicine and electronics. https://phys.org/news/2026-11-flexible-connectors-enable-materials-built.html Nanomaterials Mon, 02 Nov 2026 10:40:11 EST news712833724 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 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 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 Researchers at Kyushu University have developed a photocatalytic system that can selectively capture reacting molecules and hold them close to the active sites that absorb energy from light. This innovation addresses a long-standing challenge of having the photocatalyst maintain a high reaction rate even when the reacting molecules are present at very low concentrations. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-counteranion-captures-reactants-boost-driven.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 27 Oct 2026 18:10:01 EDT news712335541 Since the production of graphene in 2004, two-dimensional materials have been sparking scientific and technological interest. As they are only a few atomic layers thick, or even just a single atomic layer, they can exhibit special electronic, magnetic or chemical properties—which make them particularly interesting for applications such as electronics, catalysis and energy storage. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-nanostructures-classic-layered.html Nanophysics Tue, 27 Oct 2026 16:30:02 EDT news712334221 Making complex molecules often means joining smaller chemical building blocks together, a process facilitated by catalysts, compounds that make such reactions possible or speed them up without being consumed themselves. Many widely used reactions also require chemists to modify their starting molecules before joining them. These added chemical "handles" make the molecules reactive, but preparing them means extra steps and, often, additional waste. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-reusable-palladium-catalyst-enables-chemical.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 27 Oct 2026 15:40:08 EDT news712319329 Researchers have used artificial intelligence to identify promising catalysts using only the scientific knowledge that was available years before their actual discovery. Their findings could accelerate the search for more efficient hydrogen production and other valuable chemical processes. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-restricted-pre-ai-flags-hydrogen.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 26 Oct 2026 10:00:01 EDT news712224421 Researchers at AIST have demonstrated the synthesis of nanoporous carbonaceous materials and carbonaceous materials with layered nanostructures through a simple process involving the chemical modification of common sugars such as sucrose and fructose. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-chemically-sugars-enable-nanostructure-formation.html Nanomaterials Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:40:08 EDT news711981001 Catalysts spur chemical reactions used across industries, from producing fuels and medicines to manufacturing chemicals and treating pollutants. Improving their performance requires understanding where and how reactions happen on their surfaces. However, conventional measurements average the activity of many catalyst particles, concealing local differences that could hold clues to designing more effective materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-fluorescent-reaction-reveal-catalyst-conditions.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 20 Oct 2026 15:50:06 EDT news711728102 Nearly all metabolic processes require protons—positively charged hydrogen atoms. Although these are abundant in the cellular fluid, the biocatalysts involved depend on mechanisms for efficiently capturing protons and transporting them to the site where catalysis occurs. Enzymes from microorganisms can produce hydrogen (H₂) by combining electrons with protons. These so-called hydrogenases are so efficient that one biocatalyst can capture nearly 10,000 protons per second. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-molecular-pendulum-shuttles-protons-enable.html Biochemistry Mon, 19 Oct 2026 15:40:02 EDT news711642301 Australian researchers and international collaborators have demonstrated a solar-driven approach to convert glycerol, a low-value byproduct of biodiesel production, into hydrogen and higher-value chemicals. Using advanced techniques at the Australian Synchrotron, they revealed how the catalyst changed while it was working. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-sunlight-biodiesel-byproduct-life-hydrogen.html Materials Science Fri, 16 Oct 2026 17:40:01 EDT news711373459 Sustainable packaging is only the beginning. What a medicine is made from—and how its ingredients are produced—matters just as much. Yet the synthesis of compounds for pharmaceutical research can still depend on fossil feedstocks, high temperatures, strong oxidants and metals that raise costs and complicate purification. Two recently published studies from Colmenares' group at IPC PAS demonstrate that cleaner chemistry can begin at the level of a single chemical bond. The studies are published in the journal Ultrasonics Sonochemistry and Chemistry—A European Journal. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-ultrasound-reveal-renewable-routes-compounds.html Biochemistry Fri, 16 Oct 2026 15:20:01 EDT news711378121 In biology, a group of enzymes called 2-oxoglutarate-dependent oxygenases is responsible for catalyzing a wide range of reactions that play a role in everything from how genetic code is used by cells to the synthesis of antibiotics. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-powerful-rays-reveal-unexpected-roles.html Biochemistry Tue, 13 Oct 2026 11:40:25 EDT news711103502 From a rigid molecular pair to flexible assemblies with moving domains, the enzymes that build sugar chains display strikingly different behaviors. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-high-microscopy-captures-sugar-enzymes.html Biochemistry Mon, 12 Oct 2026 16:40:01 EDT news711039840 Scientists have created a new family of materials whose behavior can be tuned by changing their metallic "recipe"—opening new possibilities for uses including gas storage and sensing. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-material-properties-tuned-metallic-recipe.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 09 Oct 2026 14:00:09 EDT news710766722 Researchers from the University of Oxford and international collaborators have revealed previously unseen rapid chemical stages in the formation of β-lactam antibiotics like penicillin, offering insights that can support future antibiotic development. The findings have been published in Nature Catalysis. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-molecular-movie-reveals-penicillin.html Biochemistry Fri, 09 Oct 2026 05:00:15 EDT news710668021 Nickel is a promising, cost-effective and robust catalyst for alkaline water electrolysis—a key technology for the climate-neutral production of hydrogen. However, the actual structure of the active surface of such nickel electrodes under reaction conditions had not yet been conclusively determined. A research team at Ulm University has now refuted a decades-old assumption: The catalytically active surface does not consist of nickel oxyhydroxide (NiOOH), as was previously widely assumed, but is nickel dioxide (NiO₂). The findings have been published in the journal Nature Catalysis. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-chemists-uncover-true-surface-nickel.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 08 Oct 2026 18:00:07 EDT news710681521 A cell sitting in fluid looks like one of the most passive things in biology. Nutrients drift toward it on the aimless currents of molecular motion, and now and then one bumps into the right spot on the cell's surface and gets pulled inside. This impression of the cell as a lottery run by chance, with the molecules wandering and the cell waiting, is a misconception. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-enzyme-molecular-movement-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 08 Oct 2026 17:20:02 EDT news710693222 Engineers have developed a new approach for turning ordinary water into a weapon against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, according to a study published in the journal Chem Catalysis. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-crystals-dna-molecules-potentially-curbing.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 30 Sep 2026 11:00:50 EDT news709920721 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 Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to discover new materials, but conventional data-driven approaches can struggle to explain their predictions, work reliably beyond their training data and remain consistent with physical laws. A new perspective proposes a framework called Physics-Grounded Materials AI (PhysMat AI), which integrates fundamental physical knowledge into the materials discovery process. The research is published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-physics-grounded-ai-framework-aims.html Materials Science Tue, 29 Sep 2026 17:20:12 EDT news709902576 Nanoparticles could someday provide a new way to help soldiers fight back against deadly nerve agents on the front lines. In a new study, Northwestern University scientists developed a nanoparticle-based compound that, when mixed into clothing dyes, could limit the impact of chemicals commonly found in pesticides, insecticides and nerve agents. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-wearable-nanotech-combat-nerve-agents.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 29 Sep 2026 08:40:02 EDT news709889641 Nanodiamonds are tiny diamond particles that usually measure mere millionths of a millimeter. They are extremely hard, stable and heat-resistant and highly adaptable for various purposes in medicine, new materials, catalysis and energy technology. By compressing plastic with lasers, researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the University of Rostock are now able to systematically produce high-purity, ultra-small diamonds with a narrow size distribution. This is impossible to achieve with conventional methods such as explosions. As a scalable technology, laser compression offers great potential for improved, clean and sustainable production of ultra-small nanodiamonds. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-laser-plastic-ultra-small-high.html Nanophysics Thu, 17 Sep 2026 17:40:06 EDT news708870182 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