New bond discovered among spodium elements zinc, cadmium and mercury
Group 12 joins the σ-hole interaction family with spodium bonds
Mechanical force used to trigger isomerisation in 3D molecule
An atomically sharp scanning tunnelling microscope tip has been used to control the isomerisation of a butterfly-shaped compound
Bright blue radical lives on for months in chicken feed and urea solution
Deep eutectic solvents can tame methyl viologen radical used in self-dimming windows
Computational method challenges NMR metabolomics dogma
Macromolecule signal suppression without the loss of quantitative small molecule information finally achieved with mathematical trick
Unnatural reaction benefits from computational tool that teaches an old enzyme new tricks
Method could generate artificial enzymes that are more suitable for directed evolution
Ultrasound makes nano-waves, generating ‘green’ radicals
Chemical engineers use high-frequency soundwaves to dissociate water without catalysts or electrolytes
Solar powered chemical photoswitches can scavenge heat
Flipping between isomers allows harvesting and storage of ambient heat for months
Photo-rechargeable zinc-ion devices merge solar cell and battery tech
A low cost and stable battery that can recharge itself in sunlight could help make energy more accessible in developing rural areas
Catalyst takes its time to deliver both enantiomers in one pot synthesis
Discovery could enable access to both enantiomers of a drug in a single synthesis
Your new labmate does 700 reactions in eight days – and it’s a robot
Robotic chemist optimises water-splitting photocatalyst by working continuously for eight days even in complete darkness
‘Godzilla’s gym socks’ molecules' stench tamed by halogen bond
Russian researchers have found a way to eliminate the odour of some of the worst-smelling – but very useful – compounds in chemistry
First reaction on carbon nanobelts creates largest ever iptycene
Diels-Alder reactivity signals that carbon nanobelts could be useful building blocks for large macrocyclic carbon-based structures
Unprecedented biosynthetic transformation found to connect antibacterial polyketides from ant microbiome
Study identifies enzymes that convert flat fasamycins into three-dimensional formicamycins
Microfluidic electrochemistry delivers radical coupling breakthrough
Interelectrode gap engineered so that diffusion outpaces radical decomposition
Algorithm devises synthetic contingency plans for Covid-19 drug
Retrosynthesis software tool can identify multiple synthetic routes that use inexpensive and diverse starting materials while avoiding patented methods
Beautiful molecules ring up with a purpose
How Stephen Goldup used his experience in organic synthesis to find a supramolecular niche
Drone blows clouds of pollen laden bubbles that could help farmers out
Automated bubble-firing drones could pollinate crops when insects numbers are down
Solvated electrons’ metallic transition resolved with spectroscopy
First photoelectron spectra of electrolyte-to-metal transition in ammoniated electrons could lead to metallic water
Proteins pinpointed in cells at nanometre resolution
Combining fluorescence microscopy and electron tomography will reveal more about how cells work and how diseases disrupt them
Strange hexagonal form of table salt discovered
Predicted by an evolutionary algorithm, the first hexagonal sodium chloride was made on a diamond surface
New kind of heterocycle made in just one easy step
Simple synthesis makes once inaccessible class of fused seven-membered ring system
Molecular machine enables polyrotaxane synthesis with unprecedented precision
Artificial pumps can add up to 10 molecular rings onto polymer dumbbells in a controlled manner
New high pressure allotrope of nitrogen solves a chemical mystery
‘Black nitrogen’ shares similarities with other elements in its group on the periodic table – answering the question of why nitrogen normally doesn’t
Post-silicon age dawns as carbon nanotube transistors made in chip factories
Moore’s law could hold true for many years to come with a little help from nanotubes
Model maps solvent effects on non-covalent interactions
Tool will help experimental chemists pick the best solvent for their reaction
Method that yields oxygen-18-enriched alcohols set to bolster drug studies
Mitsunobu-based protocol is simple alternative to limited and lengthy methods
Molecular experiments hope to reveal new physics
Detecting extremely short-lived radium fluoride can explore standard model’s limits
Protein synthesis revolution on way as large peptides made in hours not days
Flow chemistry can now make peptide chains up to 164 amino acids long in one go