https://phys.org/chemistry-news/materials-science en-us The latest news on chemistry and materials science Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have made a significant stride toward understanding a viable process for direct air capture, or DAC, of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This DAC process is in early development with the aim of achieving negative emissions, where the amount of carbon dioxide removed from the envelope of gases surrounding Earth exceeds the amount emitted. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-decode-aqueous-amino-acid-potential.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Fri, 01 Dec 2023 08:03:44 EST news620640221 Basic oxide catalysts contain oxygen ions with unpaired electrons that can be shared with other species to facilitate a chemical reaction. These catalysts are widely used in the synthesis of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and petrochemicals. There have been efforts to improve the catalytic power of these catalysts by improving their basicity or the ability to donate electrons or accept hydrogen ions. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-superbase-comparable-oxynitride-catalyst.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Thu, 30 Nov 2023 11:30:03 EST news620566201 Many people are familiar with the haunting images of wildlife—including sea turtles, dolphins and seals—tangled in abandoned fishing nets. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-durable-plastic-pollution-easily-degrades.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Thu, 30 Nov 2023 11:00:01 EST news620557101 New technology often calls for new materials—and with supercomputers and simulations, researchers don't have to wade through inefficient guesswork to invent them from scratch. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-google-deepmind-compounds-open-access-database.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:00:01 EST news620476392 Enzymes from microorganisms can produce hydrogen (H2) under certain conditions, which makes them potential biocatalysts for biobased H2 technologies. In order to make this hydrogen production efficient, researchers are trying to identify and eliminate possible limiting factors. These include formaldehyde, which occurs naturally as a metabolic product in cells and inhibits the particularly efficient [FeFe] hydrogenase. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-formaldehyde-inhibiting-hydrogen-producing-enzymes.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Wed, 29 Nov 2023 10:01:03 EST news620474461 Many of the most promising new pharmaceuticals coming along in the drug development pathway are hydrophobic by nature—that is, they repel water, and are thus hard to dissolve in order to make them available to the body. But now, researchers at MIT have found a more efficient way of processing and delivering these drugs that could make them far more effective. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-hydrogels-drugs-efficiently.html Biochemistry Materials Science Tue, 28 Nov 2023 16:57:04 EST news620413021 Today, petrochemical compounds and rare metals such as platinum and iridium are used to produce semiconductors for optoelectronics, such as organic LEDs for super-thin TV and mobile phone screens. Physicists at Umeå University in collaboration with researchers in Denmark and China, have discovered a more sustainable alternative. By pressure-cooking birch leaves picked on the Umeå University campus, they have produced a nanosized carbon particle with desired optical properties. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-pressure-cooking-birch-raw-material-semiconductors.html Biochemistry Materials Science Tue, 28 Nov 2023 15:51:03 EST news620409061 When entering public restrooms, it's hard not to dwell on what germs previous users have left behind in the toilet bowl. Imagine, instead, a self-cleaning system that doesn't require a brightly colored gel. Researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have developed a simple, transparent coating that makes surfaces like porcelain more water-repellent. They show how this surface treatment effectively prevents bacteria from sticking to the inside of a toilet bowl. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-slippery-toilet-bowl-treatment-bacteria.html Polymers Materials Science Tue, 28 Nov 2023 14:36:03 EST news620404561 Applying simple, ancient weaving techniques to newly recognized properties of organic crystals, researchers with the Smart Materials Lab (SML) and the Center for Smart Engineering Materials (CSEM) at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) have, for the first time, developed a unique form of woven "textile." These new fabric patches expand one-dimensional crystals into flexible, integrated, two-dimensional planar structures that are incredibly strong—some 20 times stronger than the original crystals—and resistant to low temperatures. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-first-of-its-kind-woven-material-flexible-crystals.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Tue, 28 Nov 2023 12:27:02 EST news620396821 As Americans gear up for winter, many will face one of their toughest foes: ice. From delaying flights to making roads slippery, ice accumulation on surfaces wreaks havoc in many ways. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-adieu-sticky-ice-grain-salt.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Tue, 28 Nov 2023 10:39:03 EST news620390341 In a development set to transform the chemical industry on a global scale, Professor Chang Ho Yoo in the Department of Chemistry at UNIST has successfully developed a highly efficient and stable carbonylation catalytic reaction using nickel catalysts. This achievement, published in Science, offers a promising alternative to the widely used rhodium catalysts in the acetyl process. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-unveils-nickel-based-catalysts-remarkable-economic.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Tue, 28 Nov 2023 10:13:58 EST news620388836 AMOLF researchers have used the special properties of perovskite semiconductors to develop a simple spray test to demonstrate the presence of lead. Perovskite is a material suitable for use in LEDs and solar cells, for example. A lead-containing surface shines bright green when it is sprayed with the test. This test is 1,000 times more sensitive than existing tests and the researchers found no false positive or false negative results. The study was published on November 27 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-hijack-solar-cell-technology-simple.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Mon, 27 Nov 2023 14:46:04 EST news620318761 A materials research team consisting of NIMS and Nagoya University has designed a novel two-step thermal aging schedule (i.e., non-isothermal aging or unconventional heat treatment) capable of fabricating nickel-aluminum (Ni-Al) alloys that are stronger at high temperatures than Ni-Al alloys fabricated using conventional thermal aging processes. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-ai-high-temperature-strength-nickelaluminum-alloys.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Mon, 27 Nov 2023 11:09:03 EST news620305741 Using impure CO2 from car exhaust, the team of Prof. Dr. Shoubik Das, Chair of Organic Chemistry I at the University of Bayreuth, presents a cost-effective synthetic route for γ-lactams. γ-Lactam is an organic chemical compound, which is an inhibitory neurotransmitter. This means that CO2, which is frequently produced anyway, can be put to good use. Valuable chemicals and pharmaceuticals can be combined with this CO2. The paper is published in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-approach-carbon-dioxide-car-exhaust.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Mon, 27 Nov 2023 10:51:03 EST news620304661 A small team of chemists from Nankai University, Nanjing Tech University and Shanxi University, all in China, working with a colleague from Universidad San Sebastián, in Chile, has, for the first time, created a fullerene-like molecule made entirely of metal atoms. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-fullerene-like-molecule-metal-atoms.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Sun, 26 Nov 2023 11:50:01 EST news620037736 In the 19th century, the market for ivory products increased to an alarming point. This high demand led to the search for artificial substitutes, but ivory properties were nearly impossible to replicate. The most important substitutes came from Alexander Parkes and John Wesley Hyatt, inventors of the first artificial plastics: Parkesine and celluloid. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-successful-substitutes-ivory-billiard-balls.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Fri, 24 Nov 2023 12:50:01 EST news620037832 Scientists from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have synthesized an oxygen-coordinated Fe single atom and atom cluster catalyst that exhibits superior electrocatalytic performance for hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production and biomass upgrading. The research is published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-approach-electrocatalytic-ho-production-biomass.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Fri, 24 Nov 2023 12:01:13 EST news620049670 Phosphorus chemist Prof. Jan J. Weigand from the Dresden University of Technology, in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team, has developed a method to introduce phosphorus and nitrogen atoms into polycyclic molecules. This method holds the potential to pave the way for the development of new materials with specific optoelectronic properties, ideal for applications in organic semiconductor technologies such as OLEDs and sensors. The results were published this week in Chem. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-optoelectronic-components-phosphorus.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Fri, 24 Nov 2023 10:51:36 EST news620045494 In a rare collaboration, two scientists, who are brothers working in unrelated disciplines, combined complementary expertise to tackle a chemical problem relating to the use of silicon in electronic devices. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-properties-silicon-hydrogen-deuterium-surface.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Fri, 24 Nov 2023 09:46:03 EST news620041561 New active pharmaceutical ingredients lay the foundations for innovative and better medical treatments. However, identifying them and, above all, producing them through chemical synthesis in the laboratory is no mean feat. To home in on the optimum production process, chemists normally use a trial-and-error approach: they derive possible methods for laboratory synthesis from known chemical reactions and then test each one with experiments, a time-consuming approach that is littered with dead ends. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-ai-pharmaceutical-ingredients.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Fri, 24 Nov 2023 09:18:13 EST news620039889 For 200 years, scientists have failed to grow a common mineral in the laboratory under the conditions believed to have formed it naturally. Now, a team of researchers from the University of Michigan and Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan have finally succeeded, thanks to a new theory developed from atomic simulations. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-scientists-succeed-dolomite-lab-dissolving.html Materials Science Thu, 23 Nov 2023 14:00:01 EST news619869461 Drugs to treat cancer are often very expensive to produce, resulting in high costs for the patients who need them. Thanks to pathbreaking research by UCLA chemists, led by organic chemistry professor Ohyun Kwon, the price of drug treatments for cancer and other serious illnesses may soon plummet. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-chemists-oxygen-copper-scissors-cheaper.html Biochemistry Materials Science Wed, 22 Nov 2023 14:25:03 EST news619885501 Guided by machine learning, chemists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory designed a record-setting carbonaceous supercapacitor material that stores four times more energy than the best commercial material. A supercapacitor made with the new material could store more energy—improving regenerative brakes, power electronics and auxiliary power supplies. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-carbon-material-energy-storage-advance-supercapacitors.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Wed, 22 Nov 2023 10:55:26 EST news619872921 Supramolecular polymers (SPs) are molecular assemblies composed of non-covalently bonded small molecules. They show high recyclability originating from their dynamic nature of monomer binding, which is different from covalent polymers with non-biodegradable nature. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-effective-approach-supramolecular-polymers-high.html Polymers Materials Science Tue, 21 Nov 2023 10:38:03 EST news619785481 Glass—whether used to insulate our homes or as the screens in our computers and smartphones—is a fundamental material. Yet, despite its long usage throughout human history, the disordered structure of its atomic configuration still baffles scientists, making understanding and controlling its structural nature challenging. It also makes it difficult to design efficient functional materials made from glass. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-discovery-regularity-hidden-silica-glass.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Tue, 21 Nov 2023 09:36:03 EST news619781761 Scientists at the University of Bristol have discovered why fulminating gold—the world's first known high explosive—produces a purple smoke when it detonates, solving a 400-year-old alchemy puzzle. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-year-old-mystery-early-explosive-purple.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Mon, 20 Nov 2023 16:49:17 EST news619721355 Oxidation is the process where atoms lose electrons during a chemical reaction. Among the radioactive elements, neptunium and plutonium are much harder to oxidize than uranium. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-radioactive-neptunium-plutonium-chemistry.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Mon, 20 Nov 2023 10:17:18 EST news619697835 Bio-based plastics such as polylactic acid (PLA) were invented to help solve the plastic waste crisis, but they often end up making waste management more challenging. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-plastic-anxiety.html Polymers Materials Science Fri, 17 Nov 2023 11:00:01 EST news619432338 Crystalline materials are made up of atoms, ions, or molecules arranged in an ordered, three-dimensional structure. They are widely used for the development of semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, photovoltaics, and catalysts. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-deep-previously-unknown-quasicrystalline-phase.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Fri, 17 Nov 2023 10:34:07 EST news619439641 The remarkable proton and oxide-ion (dual-ion) conductivities of hexagonal perovskite-related oxide Ba7Nb3.8Mo1.2O20.1 are promising for next-generation electrochemical devices, as reported by scientists at Tokyo Tech. The unique ion-transport mechanisms they unveiled will hopefully pave the way for better dual-ion conductors, which could play an essential role in tomorrow's clean energy technologies. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-unique-mechanisms-perovskite-oxide.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Fri, 17 Nov 2023 09:24:03 EST news619435441