Polyimide membranes for the purification of natural gas

Natural gas that contains larger amounts of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and carbon dioxide (CO2) is termed sour gas. Before it can enter a pipeline, it must be 'sweetened' by removal of its acidic impurities. Through fine tuning ...

Widening metal tolerance for hydrogels

Researchers seeking to develop self-healing hydrogels have long sought to mimic the natural ability of mussels to generate strong, flexible threads underwater that allow the mussels to stick to rocks.

Biomimetic strategy leads to strong, recyclable rubber

Inspired by nature, Chinese scientists have produced a synthetic analogue to vulcanized natural rubber. Their material is just as tough and durable as the original. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, they reveal the secret ...

A record-long polymer DNA negative

A fragment of a single strand of DNA, built of the nucleobases cytosine and guanine, can be imprinted in a polymer—this has been shown by chemists from Warsaw, Denton and Milan. The resulting artificial negative, with a ...

The world of plastics, in numbers

From its early beginnings during and after World War II, the commercial industry for polymers – long chain synthetic molecules of which "plastics" are a common misnomer – has grown rapidly. In 2015, over 320 million tons ...

A chemically functional phosphorus version of natural rubber

Goodyear's 1839 discovery of the vulcanization of natural rubber obtained from rubber trees marks the beginning of the modern rubber industry. A variety of synthetic rubber products were subsequently developed. In the journal ...

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