Materials – Page 28
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ResearchNMR monitors MOF assembly process
Technique adapted to interrogate nucleation and growth mechanism
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ResearchSnail slime central to sustainable strategy for making wound-healing gold nanoparticles
Nanoparticles made using mucus could be developed into acne treatments
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ResearchMoths draped in stealth acoustic cloak evade bat sonar
Two species have wing scales covered in a complex metamaterial
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BusinessTaking plastic out of performance paper coatings
SGMA’s silicate sol-gel is a sustainable alternative for packaging such as coffee cups
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ResearchInorganic ‘sponge’ made from seafood waste
New form of calcite can absorb water as well as contaminants like oil and dyes
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ResearchAncient Maya communities were first to use zeolite to purify water
2000 years ago, people in Tikal were using the world’s most advanced water purification systems
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NewsTen chemistry innovations that Iupac says could change the world
How chemistry can tackle plastic recycling, climate change and Covid-19 among other challenges
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ResearchTunable graphene oxide–polymer membrane mimics biological membranes
Composite material’s permeability and selectivity varies with pH
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ResearchRedox-less electron transfer in ‘weird’ material could allow powerful batteries
Models predict yttrium difluorocarbene could hold twice the charge of lithium-ion cells
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ResearchRippling polymer sheets flex like muscles
Two-dimensional Belousov–Zhabotinsky gels mimic the way organisms move
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ResearchSilanols explain the lethal toxicity of silica dust
After decades of ambiguity, scientists have finally discovered what makes silica toxic
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NewsMillions of microplastic particles released by some baby feeding bottles
Hot water is key variable responsible for release of large numbers of plastic particles
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ResearchPlastic waste upcycled to high-value chemicals in one-pot process
Polyethylene chains are broken down and aromatised to produce valuable alkylaromatic products
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BusinessStretching liquid crystals to the limit with LC AuxeTec
The unintuitive properties of LC AuxeTec’s materials mean they thicken when stretched, and could be exploited in body armour and skyscraper windows
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ResearchRoom temperature superconductivity finally claimed by mystery material
At high pressures carbon–hydrogen–sulfur compound becomes superconducting at 15˚C
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ResearchNew carbon allotrope predicted to hit bandgap sweet spot
Mixed hybridisations of carbon could see Me-graphene have a Poisson’s ratio close to zero
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ResearchChemistry Nobel predictions range from organometallic chemistry to DNA synthesis
Crispr is favoured by chemists while publication analysis forecasts winners working on nanocrystals, organometallic chemistry and supramolecular self-assembly
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FeatureRoom temperature superconductors
A dream since electricity was first harnessed humanity is tantalisingly close to achieving this goal
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ResearchSalt crystal grows legs to avoid slippery surface
Sodium chloride’s self-lifting crystallisation has been observed for the first time
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BusinessRosa Biotech gets biosensors on the nose
Protein barrel arrays mimic mammals’ olfactory system to distinguish many different molecules