All articles by Michael Freemantle – Page 3

  • Ionic liquids concept illustration
    Feature

    Ionic liquids revisted

    2016-10-07T11:46:00Z

    Ionic liquids have flowed far and wide since they first bubbled to the surface in the late 1990s. Michael Freemantle reports

  • Picric acidiStock2259112300tb
    Podcast

    Picric acid

    2016-07-20T00:00:00Z

    A yellow dress, of the type worn by Jane Austen, sets Michael Freemantle exploring the chemistry of picric acid

  • Ammonium carbonatecredit RSC Ben Valsler300tb
    Podcast

    Ammonium carbonate

    2016-06-29T00:00:00Z

    Ever taken a whiff of smelling salts? For many years, the compound that contributed the pungent pong was ammonium carbonate

  • Part of the Union Carbide plant that caused the biggest Industrial disaster in 1984 in Bhopal - India on November 17, 2010
    Podcast

    Methyl isocyanate

    2016-06-15T00:00:00Z

    The 1984 accident at Bhopal, India, was the worst in the history of industrial chemistry. It involved a leak of methyl isocyanate

  • Coumarin 392214286
    Podcast

    Coumarin

    2016-05-18T00:00:00Z

    Michael Freemantle takes a stroll through ‘Jane Austen country’ to discover this week’s compound: Coumarin

  • Mauve textile
    Podcast

    Mauveine

    2016-03-30T00:00:00Z

    Michael Freemantle with a colourful account of the birth of synthetic organic chemistry

  • 0416CW_Feature_Potash_630m
    Feature

    Potash on a megascale

    2016-03-11T00:00:00Z

    A new mine could produce up to 20 million tonnes of potash each year and provide 1000 jobs – but it’s in a national park. Michael Freemantle reports

  • Men in gas masks
    Podcast

    Acrolein

    2016-02-09T00:00:00Z

    Michael Freemantle relates the history arolein, a poor tear gas with unexpected benefits

  • Man welding
    Podcast

    Calcium carbide

    2016-01-19T00:00:00Z

    Michael Freemantle tells us of discovery that lit the homes and put the food on the table of millions of people

  • A nurse tends to a World War I victim
    Podcast

    Diethyl ether

    2015-12-02T00:00:00Z

    Michael Freemantle awakens us to the history of diethyl ether

  • Old engraving of workers making mercury fulminate
    Podcast

    Mercury fulminate, Hg(CNO)2

    2015-11-18T00:00:00Z

    Michael Freemantle examines the explosive history and chemistry of mercury fulminate

  • Old photo of a man making guncotton
    Podcast

    Guncotton or nitrocellulose

    2015-10-28T00:00:00Z

    From an apron aflame to a popular propellant, Michael Freemantle tracks the history of guncotton

  • CW0915_Feature_WW1_Fig4_630m
    Feature

    The chemists’ war

    2015-08-10T00:00:00Z

    The first world war not only exploited known chemistry but also led to significant advances. Michael Freemantle explains