Latest Chemistry News

A new form of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy to study nanostructures
Monday, February 18, 2013 - 09:53

Making new insights into the nanoworld a reality! An international team working with scientists from the University of Stuttgart and the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart have put the conditions in place to examine proteins and other nanostructures with the help of nuclear spin spectroscopy. This is a method that reveals the structure of a material, however, on nanoscopic samples it previously involved enormous technical complexity.

 

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Synthetic molecule first electricity-making catalyst to use iron to split hydrogen gas
Monday, February 18, 2013 - 07:44

To make fuel cells more economical, engineers want a fast and efficient iron-based molecule that splits hydrogen gas to make electricity. Online Feb. 17 at Nature Chemistry, researchers report such a catalyst. It is the first iron-based catalyst that converts hydrogen directly to electricity. The result moves chemists and engineers one step closer to widely affordable fuel cells.

 

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A new model facilitates predictions about how nanoparticles form
Thursday, February 14, 2013 - 10:11

Scientists developed a model of how crystalline particles of a material form depending on their physical properties. Magnetite nanoparticles are used by some bacteria to orient themselves along the Earth’s magnetic field lines. Understanding how they grow could be helpful in generating nanoparticles with the desired properties.

 

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NIST Captures Chemical Composition with Nanoscale Resolution
Tuesday, February 12, 2013 - 17:11

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland have demonstrated that a new spectroscopy technique can simultaneously measure a material's topography and chemical composition with nanometer-scale spatial resolution.

 

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Beer’s bitter compounds could help brew new medicines
Tuesday, January 29, 2013 - 13:04

Researchers employing a century-old observational technique have determined the precise configuration of humulones, substances derived from hops that give beer its distinctive flavor.

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Bioinspired fibers change color when stretched
Monday, January 28, 2013 - 15:34

A team of materials scientists at Harvard University and the University of Exeter, UK, have invented a new fiber that changes color when stretched. Inspired by nature, the researchers identified and replicated the unique structural elements that create the bright iridescent blue color of a tropical plant’s fruit.

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