Meteorites have told Imperial researchers the likely far-flung origin of Earth's volatile chemicals, some of which form the building blocks of life.
Astrobiology
Jan 27, 2023
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330
An artificial intelligence program may enable the first simple production of customizable proteins called zinc fingers to treat diseases by turning genes on and off.
Biotechnology
Jan 26, 2023
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34
Researchers at TU Berlin have developed a new material from the class of microporous, metal-organic framework (MOF) compounds. On the one hand, such compounds can store small molecules and gases such as hydrogen, CO2 or even ...
Analytical Chemistry
Dec 14, 2022
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145
Nearly two years after Japanese mission Hayabusa2 returned to Earth, samples from asteroid Ryugu continue to reveal valuable information about the history of the early solar system.
Planetary Sciences
Dec 12, 2022
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237
While lithium metal is an ideal anode for next-generation high-energy-density batteries, there are challenges to be addressed before it can reach its full potential. A research team has conducted a study of lithium deposition ...
Analytical Chemistry
Dec 8, 2022
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13
Chemistry is increasingly making use of the trick plants can do with photosynthesis: driving chemical reactions that run poorly or do not occur spontaneously at all with light energy. This requires suitable photocatalysts ...
Bio & Medicine
Nov 11, 2022
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131
Imagine that you have an unhealthy interest in your neighbors' lives. Unable to ask them directly, you rifle through their rubbish bins. You find the bones of cooked chickens and try and work out what else they eat.
Archaeology
Nov 4, 2022
2
212
A new method to ensure consistency and quality in rubber manufacturing, developed by a research team from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Eastman, is likely to show real-world impact on material sustainability ...
Materials Science
Oct 28, 2022
0
32
Osaka Metropolitan University researchers have created intermetallic alloy nanoparticles of palladium and zinc with an alternating arrangement of zinc and palladium atoms. The intermetallic alloy is more corrosion-resistant ...
Analytical Chemistry
Oct 18, 2022
0
8
A team of researchers from Tsinghua University, working with a colleague from Jilin University, has developed a new 3D nanoprinting technique that uses semiconducting quantum dots. In their paper published in the journal ...
Zinc (pronounced /ˈzɪŋk/, from German: Zink and also known as spelter) is a metallic chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a first-row transition metal in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is chemically similar to magnesium because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2. Zinc is the 24th most abundant element in the Earth's crust and has five stable isotopes. The most exploited zinc ore is sphalerite, or zinc sulfide; the largest exploitable deposits are found in Australia, Canada and the United States. Zinc production includes froth flotation of the ore, roasting and final extraction using electricity.
Brass, which is an alloy of copper and zinc, has been used since at least the 10th century BC. Impure zinc metal was not produced in large scale until the 13th century in India, while the metal was unknown to Europe until the end of the 16th century. Alchemists burned zinc in air to form what they called "philosopher's wool" or "white snow." The element was probably named by the alchemist Paracelsus after the German word Zinke. German chemist Andreas Sigismund Marggraf is normally given credit for discovering pure metallic zinc in a 1746 experiment. Work by Luigi Galvani and Alessandro Volta uncovered the electrochemical properties of zinc by 1800. Corrosion-resistant zinc plating of steel is the major application for zinc. Other applications are in batteries and alloys, such as brass. A variety of zinc compounds are commonly used, such as zinc chloride (in deodorants), zinc pyrithione (anti-dandruff shampoos), zinc sulfide (in luminescent paints), and zinc methyl or zinc diethyl in the organic laboratory.
Zinc is an essential mineral of "exceptional biologic and public health importance". Zinc deficiency affects about 2 billion people in the developing world and is associated with many diseases. In children it causes growth retardation, delayed sexual maturation, infection susceptibility, and diarrhea, contributing to the death of about 800,000 children worldwide per year. Enzymes with a zinc atom in the reactive center are widespread in biochemistry, such as alcohol dehydrogenase in humans. Consumption of excess zinc can cause ataxia, lethargy and copper deficiency.
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