Ultrasound tops traditional synthesis in hunt for elusive golden polymer
Mechanochemical synthesis of fluorinated polyacetylene shows that mechanical force can tackle transformations that are near impossible with solvent-based chemistry
Hybrid resin offers new dimension in flow reactor printing
New resin enables chemical resistance, UV transparency and the potential for surface functionalisation
New, cheaper catalyst turns carbon dioxide into jet fuel
Researchers envisage extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to make ‘net-zero’ hydrocarbon fuel for jet engines
First flat tetravalent silicon stabilised by metals and aromaticity
Chemists make stable compound featuring a silicon atom that forgoes tetrahedral geometry
Beryllole is the first alkaline earth metal antiaromatic molecule
Metallacyclopentadiene is the first beryllium compound to engage in π system chemistry
DFT boosts machine-learning models of nucleophilic aromatic substitution reactions
Best of both worlds for computational organic chemistry predictions
Catalyst offers low temperature route to produce hydrogen
Molybdenum carbide catalysts with low loadings of platinum can perform water–gas shift reaction at just above room temperature
How many water molecules make a droplet?
Water molecules behave like bulk water when surrounded by a sea of 20 others
Colour-changing coating can diagnose damage to climbing ropes or safety equipment
Heat and friction changes appearance of metal-based coating
Electric fields flick the quantum-tunnelling switch in cold reactions
Reaction kinetics affected by direction of external electric field under cryogenic conditions
How tunnelling titanium turns a perfect crystal into a bad heat conductor
Quantum tunnelling is key to solving the mystery of why some defect-free crystals have such low thermal conductivities
Heavy-metal cluster sets size record for metal aromaticity
12 bismuth ring creates ‘substantial’ π aromaticity with only two aromatic electrons
Long-gone planets’ metal composition preserved as pollution around the dead stars that consumed them
Lithium pollution around white dwarf stars offers glimpse at the metal abundances on ancient rocky bodies
Mechanochemistry makes ammonia under mild conditions
Ball-milling process could reduce energy consumption associated with key fertiliser feedstock
Explosive imaging captures helium dimer’s wave function
Technique could provide insight into other exotic states
258-atom endless knot created with thiazole ligands
Closed loop structure resembles Celtic and Buddhist symbols
Explainer: How would UK science be affected by a no-deal Brexit?
Access to EU science schemes, freedom of movement and student places are all expected to be disrupted
Chemists tame shamanic addiction treatment
Animal experiments show modified structures remove ibogaine’s hallucinogenic and heart-harming effects
Microscopy technique enables detailed imaging of nucleation process
Phase-enhanced environmental SEM allows researchers to probe droplet and bubble formation
Fluorescent molecule breaks size record for green-emitting dyes
Study identifies 14-atom fluorophore with range of potential biological applications
Pasta-shaped structures explain chiral light emission in polymers
Enhanced molecular model could lead to thinner and more efficient OLED displays
Solar cells perovskite films made at record low cost and speed
‘First industrially relevant attempt’ to scale up perovskite solar cell manufacturing makes 12 meters of material per minute, with one meter costing only $0.25
Intricate supramolecular rosette demonstrates power of cooperative interactions
Rosette assembles inside porphyrin nanoring when all components are present
Rapid test can tell human from animal blood at crime scenes
Spectroscopy combined with statistics could provide answers in hit-and-run cases
The chemical motive for giant pandas’ smelly winter habits
Compounds in fresh manure can desensitise the giant mammals to cold weather
Conduit coated with bioink encourages damaged nerves to reconnect
New electro-conductive system is fully biodegradable
Google’s AI aces protein prediction competition
Deep-learning network AlphaFold2’s perfomance at predicting how proteins fold has caused great excitement in the scientific community
Mission accomplished for scientist who set out to bring astrobiology to Portugal
Zita Martins discusses her work searching for molecules related to the origin of life