Fifty years after he won the Nobel, Lipscomb’s insights into boranes continue to pay dividends
From fundamental bonding theory to practical applications, William Lipscomb’s influence can still be felt across chemistry
Batteries that break down in the body could power ingestible medical devices
Magnesium–molybdenum battery powers wireless trackers and stimulation capsules for days before safely breaking down in the gut
New boron allotrope is up to 10 million times more conductive than any other
Imma-B60 produced by innovative strategy that might enable discovery of new allotropes of other elements
Hats off for new, lower temperature route to unzip plexiglass for recycling
Hydrogen atom transfer agents key to solvent-free method to produce pristine monomers from old acrylic
Elemental sulfur found in mammalian cells for first time
Meet diamondiyne, the new diamond-like carbon allotrope predicted 35 years ago
Colchicine total synthesis embraces electrochemistry
Biomimetic foaming photopolymers offer new waterproof, white material
Record protein imaging resolution could be bridge to quantum crystallography
Simple technique makes it easier to access and exploit hydrogen radicals
Highlights
NMR spectroscopy from its origins to hyperpolarisation and beyond
From Richard Ernst’s Nobel prize-winning techniques to hyperpolarisation and in-situ battery analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy continues to reinvent itself
Twisting 2D nanomaterials unlocks exotic quantum phases of matter
From superconductivity to fractional charge, strange and exotic states emerge when 2D nanomaterial bilayers are twisted into moiré superlattice structures. Chemists are joining force with physicists to explore a strange twisted world
The chemistry helping to unravel the Bayeux Tapestry’s secrets
As the Bayeux Tapestry comes to the British Museum, scientists reveal how chemistry and imaging technology are unlocking its hidden history
Cracking the ubiquitin code to unlock new drug targets
The approval of the first Protac cancer drug marks a turning point in medicine – but scientists are only beginning to decode the complex molecular language that makes it possible
The sticky problem of detecting fake honey
Nobody knows how much of the honey we buy is pure or adulterated, as detecting fraud remains surprisingly difficult. Nina Notman examines why finding fake honey is so analytically challenging — and what researchers are doing about it.
Topics
Molecular dyes outside of the sRGB colour gamut present a challenge for digital chemistry
Researchers warn that colour clipping could mean camera-based reaction monitoring setups misinterpret measurements, with implications for increasingly automated laboratories
Benchmark flaws may be distorting AI drug-discovery leaderboards
Audit identifies subtle but consequential issues, such as conflicting labels and train–test leakage, in numerous benchmark datasets
One-electron bonds may be more common than chemists thought
Researchers identify one-electron behaviour in systems traditionally described as covalent, ionic and dative bonding
Protein wrappers designed by AI solve membrane proteins’ solubility problem
AI model fills in the gaps in crystal structures by placing missing hydrogen atoms
Could AI research assistants speed up scientific discovery?
New record set by quantum computing as it models its largest protein yet
Stripped down bacterium functions with one less amino acid than the rest of life on Earth
Is this painting of a Roman emperor a lost Leonardo da Vinci?
Pigment analysis sheds light on Renaissance painting mystery
Embodying polymer chemistry with a purpose by upcycling plastics and trapping PFAS
For Frank Leibfarth, focussing on reactivity and selectivity helps him bridge the gap between fundamental and applied research
Was the ‘Baghdad battery’ really two cells?
A new study suggests it had an ‘outer’ cell that reacted with air to supply a higher voltage. But was it a battery at all?
Prehistoric humans hunted with poisoned arrows thousands of years earlier than thought
Deadly plant alkaloids discovered on 60,000-year-old arrowheads
Pfizer’s green chemistry team turns 25
What began as a grassroots initiative has become embedded across Pfizer’s research and manufacturing operations, helping reshape processes from Viagra to Paxlovid
Handbook of practical advice will help chemistry departments reduce environmental impact, save money
Collection of real-life examples aims to balance environmental and financial concerns
How depolymerisation could enable infinite reuse of plastics
Nina Notman discovers how a type of chemical recycling – depolymerisation – could increase recycling rates, reduce plastic waste and enable a more circular economy
Modified nitrile rubber gets new lease of life as carbon capture material
Two teams are exploring scaling up processes that could tackle the 800,000 tonnes of glove waste created every year
Sunlight-driven process upcycles polystyrene waste and elemental sulfur into valuable organic compounds
Products could be used as building blocks for semiconductor materials
Green chemistry and sustainable manufacturing in India
Pathways, policies and the role of chemists in building a circular chemical economy
‘They don’t see a sustainable future for research’: US science coming under increasing pressure
Chemistry World spoke to Wayne Jones, director-at-large of the American Chemical Society, about falling funding, graduates’ employment prospects and a need to rethink how chemistry is funded
Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences hit by Russian drone, killing two
Academy is now calling on the scientific community to ‘stand united’ against Russian attacks on science
Doctoral student who fatally shot his UNC Chapel Hill adviser found not guilty due to insanity
Three years after materials scientist’s killing, the culprit has been committed to a psychiatric hospital indefinitely
China’s scientific rise is being driven by returning expertise – especially chemists
Top performing chemists are increasingly likely to go back to China, analysis find
Growing confidence of Africa’s chemical societies brings chemistry’s benefits to continent
Chemistry organisations on the continent are looking to professionalise and get involved in setting standards in their home countries