Metals
The latest chemistry news and research on metals, including metallurgy, alloys and corrosion, from the Royal Society of Chemistry's magazine, Chemistry World
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OpinionCritical metals supply strained
Conflict - both military and political - is having profound effects on supplies of a wide range of materials
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BusinessMilitary demand strains metal supply chains
Conflict and trade disputes have disrupted global supplies of specialist metals like hafnium, antimony and rare earths
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BusinessCongo’s cobalt conundrum
DRC government is intervening to revive prices and stabilise supply chains
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ResearchMetal layers just a few angstroms thick display unusual electronic properties
2D metals created for first time by pressing samples between two sapphire anvils
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NewsFusion-grade steel made on industrial scale in a UK first
Material can survive high temperatures and intense neutron radiation
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OpinionWood’s metal and the evolution of fusible alloys
Invented by American dentist Barnabas Wood (1819–1875), whose life is shrouded in mystery
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BusinessOpposition to lithium mines hampers green technology supply chain
Europe and US seek to escape Chinese dominance in critical minerals
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ResearchSunlight-powered device harvests lithium from salty water
Low-energy device is a ‘step forward’ for sustainable lithium mining
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ResearchAlloys made direct from metal oxides offer more sustainable route to advanced materials
New approach to metallurgy is less energy intensive with a smaller carbon footprint
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ResearchWater-splitting reaction reversal could extract lithium more sustainably and cheaply
Environmentally-friendly electrochemistry could cut extraction costs by 40%
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ResearchLayered material displays strength of ceramic with toughness of metal
Lattice-matching prevents brittleness usually associated with ceramics
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BusinessWorkers killed in two US incidents, with several others hospitalised
H2S exposure at a sugar refining plant and a fire at a metal hardening plant each led to one worker death
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FeatureOne of these vials is contaminated with nanoplastics. Chemistry can tell us which one
Nina Notman talks to the scientists finding where nanoplastics come from and where they end up
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ResearchWhy are there metal particles in never-used cannabis vapes?
Findings cast doubt on past research showing metals are solely released by e-cigarettes when the devices’ coils are heated
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OpinionHigh entropy or just complex?
Several elements mixed in a single crystal phase isn’t necessarily a high entropy material
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FeatureMarvellous mixtures of metals
High entropy alloys, with anywhere from five or more different metals, have unusual properties and could find use in a variety of high-tech applications. Clare Sansom reports
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FeatureThe archaeologists saving Africa’s ironworking heritage
The fires of traditional African iron smelters burned out a century ago and now the researchers dedicated to uncovering their stories are disappearing from the continent too, writes Hayley Bennett
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FeatureThe liquid metals giving catalysis a new phase
They’re not like solid metals or like other liquids, but scientists are starting to understand and exploit them. James Mitchell Crow reports