JET interior with superimposed plasma

A material future for fusion?

By

Nuclear fusion has been a dream for decades. Kit Chapman finds out about the latest developments that could help it fulfil its promise

Robert Curl

Chemistry Nobel laureate Robert Curl dies at 88

By

Curl’s passing means that all three scientists who won the 1996 chemistry Nobel prize for discovering fullerenes are gone

Structure

Record-breaking rotaxane prepared on polymer bead

By

Polystyrene beads decorated with 1014 rotaxane molecules

News

Mortar and pestle

Botanists, chemists and historians come together to recreate ancient alchemy of making mercury

2022-07-05T09:02:00+01:00

Fourth century BC alchemical methods for obtaining metallic mercury from the mineral cinnabar revisited

Novartis headquarters

Novartis cutting up to 8000 jobs

2022-07-04T13:54:00+01:00

Restructure splits commercial activities geographically instead of by treatment area

Superfund cleanup site

US reinstates Superfund taxes to clean up 1300 contaminated sites

2022-07-01T14:20:00+01:00

Levy on 42 chemicals and their derivatives aims to revive neglected cleanup programme

Spraying pesticide

European commission proposal seeks to cut EU pesticide use in half by 2030

2022-06-29T13:17:00+01:00

Ambitious targets will rely on roll-out of integrated pest management techniques and extra payments to farmers

Jordan explosion

At least 13 dead in massive chlorine release in Jordan

2022-06-28T14:47:00+01:00

Tanker of gas fell during loading at the port of Aqaba, injuring hundreds

Research

Structure

Perfectly planar stable silicon clusters with six contacts predicted

2022-07-01T08:56:00+01:00

Hexacoordinated systems theorised to remain stable, even with protecting ligands

Firefighter

Highly stable aerogel could protect firefighters and spacecraft from extreme heat

2022-07-01T08:30:00+01:00

Amorphous structure studded with nanocrystals survives stress and strain that would break an ordinary aerogel

Still image showing a single-layer carbon allotrope

Graphene-like structure created from a fullerene

2022-06-30T13:30:00+01:00

2D material synthesised from nanocluster fullerene for the first time

Water

Water works as a monomer in polymer synthesis

2022-06-30T08:39:00+01:00

Water monomers form direct linkages in polymer backbones when used to synthesise polyethersulfones

Sound waves

Acoustic analysis is music to mechanochemical ears

2022-06-29T13:05:00+01:00

A new technique uses soundwaves to monitor ball-milling reactions

Voice of the Royal Society of Chemistry

Circle of hands

Belonging and connection – Building a better chemistry culture

Voice of

Plastics in the environment - illustration

How polluting is plastic?

Voice of

Recycling Webinar image index

Is chemical recycling of plastics the future?

Voice of

Yellow and orange cosmos flowers with blue sky in the background

Nature and mental wellbeing – Building a better chemistry culture

Voice of

  • Belonging and connection – Building a better chemistry culture

  • How polluting is plastic?

  • Is chemical recycling of plastics the future?

  • Nature and mental wellbeing – Building a better chemistry culture

Significant figures

Celebrating science's forgotten heroes

Masataka Ogawa

Masataka Ogawa and the search for nipponium

Elizabeth Fulhame

Elizabeth Fulhame, the 18th century chemistry pioneer who faded from history

William Knox Jr

William Knox, the only Black supervisor in the Manhattan Project

Margaret Melhase

Margaret Melhase Fuchs and the radioactive isotope

Prafulla Chandra Ray

PC Ray: A genius chemist who dreamed of a modern India

James West

Jim West’s marvellous microphone

A framed portrait of Marie Anne Paulze Lavoisier

Marie-Anne Paulze Lavoisier the invisible assistant

A framed image of June Lindsey

June Lindsey, another forgotten woman in the story of DNA

A framed portrait of James LuValle

James LuValle, a chemist who broke the colour barrier

A framed portrait of Evelyn Hickmans

The lifesaving work of Evelyn Hickmans

  • Masataka Ogawa and the search for nipponium

  • Elizabeth Fulhame, the 18th century chemistry pioneer who faded from history

  • William Knox, the only Black supervisor in the Manhattan Project

  • Margaret Melhase Fuchs and the radioactive isotope

  • PC Ray: A genius chemist who dreamed of a modern India

  • Jim West’s marvellous microphone

  • Marie-Anne Paulze Lavoisier the invisible assistant

  • June Lindsey, another forgotten woman in the story of DNA

  • James LuValle, a chemist who broke the colour barrier

  • The lifesaving work of Evelyn Hickmans

More...

Features

A seamstress fitting a pill-printed dress onto a woman using a DNA tape

Using genetics to personalise prescriptions

By

We’ve known for a long time that different people respond to certain drugs to very different extents, but now cheap DNA testing could make these disparities a thing of the past, as Ian Le Guillou reports

Petrol pumps with labels indicating synthetic fuels

Is synthetic petroleum the missing link in the route to net zero?

By

Weaning our economy off liquid fuels could be impossible, so can we make them without the carbon emissions? Rachel Brazil surveys the scene

Bioorthogonal chemistry

The bioorthogonal revolution

By

A set of reactions operating silently inside live cells or whole animals are lighting up chemical biology and inspiring new medicines, James Mitchell Crow finds

Self-forming shoe

3D printing adds another dimension

By

Nina Notman learns how 4D printing is opening the door to unique smart materials whose applications may only be limited by our imaginations

Upcoming webinars

Photo of a chemist sitting at a lab bench looking at data in front of their computer

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