Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: Optics
Published

Colloids get creative to pave the way for next generation photonics      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have devised a way of fabricating a complex structure, previously found only in nature, to open up new ways for manipulating and controlling light.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Technology
Published

Electrocatalysis under the atomic force microscope      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A further development in atomic force microscopy now makes it possible to simultaneously image the height profile of nanometer-fine structures as well as the electric current and the frictional force at solid-liquid interfaces. A team has succeeded in analyzing electrocatalytically active materials and gaining insights that will help optimize catalysts. The method is also potentially suitable for studying processes on battery electrodes, in photocatalysis or on active biomaterials.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Nuclear Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Hitting nuclei with light may create fluid primordial matter      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new analysis supports the idea that photons colliding with heavy ions create a fluid of 'strongly interacting' particles. The results indicate that photon-heavy ion collisions can create a strongly interacting fluid that responds to the initial collision geometry and that these collisions can form a quark-gluon plasma. These findings will help guide future experiments at the planned Electron-Ion Collider.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: General
Published

A surprising way to trap a microparticle      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New study finds obstacles can trap rolling microparticles in fluid. Through simulations and experiments, physicists attribute the trapping effect to stagnant pockets of fluid, created by hydrodynamics. Random motions of the molecules within the fluid then 'kick' the microroller into a stagnant pocket, effectively trapping it.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Offbeat: Computers and Math Physics: General
Published

Viable superconducting material created, say researchers      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers report the creation of a superconducting material at both a temperature and pressure low enough for practical applications. In a new paper, the researchers describe a nitrogen-doped lutetium hydride that exhibits superconductivity at 69 degrees Fahrenheit and 10 kilobars (145,000 pounds per square inch, or psi) of pressure.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: Optics
Published

Enhancing at-home COVID tests with glow-in-the dark materials      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers are using glow-in-the-dark materials to enhance and improve rapid COVID-19 home tests.

Environmental: Ecosystems Mathematics: Statistics Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Plants and Animals Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General
Published

Can artificial intelligence help find life on Mars or icy worlds?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have mapped the sparse life hidden away in salt domes, rocks and crystals at Salar de Pajonales at the boundary of the Chilean Atacama Desert and Altiplano. Then they trained a machine learning model to recognize the patterns and rules associated with their distributions so it could learn to predict and find those same distributions in data on which it was not trained. In this case, by combining statistical ecology with AI/ML, the scientists could locate and detect biosignatures up to 87.5 percent of the time and decrease the area needed for search by up to 97 percent.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Batteries Energy: Technology
Published

Controlling electric double layer dynamics for next generation all-solid-state batteries      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Development of all-solid-state batteries is crucial to achieve carbon neutrality. However, their high surface resistance causes these batteries to have low output, limiting their applications. To this end, researchers have employed a novel technique to investigate and modulate electric double layer dynamics at the solid/solid electrolyte interface. The researchers demonstrate unprecedented control of response speed by over two orders of magnitude, a major steppingstone towards realization of commercial all-solid-state batteries.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: Optics
Published

The positive outlooks of studying negatively-charged chiral molecules      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The ability to distinguish two chiral enantiomers is an essential analytical capability for chemical industries including pharmaceutical companies, flavor/odor engineering and forensic science. A new wave of chiral optical methods have shown significant improvements in chiral sensitivity, compared to their predecessors, leading to potential analytical advantages for chiral discrimination.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Thermodynamics Physics: Optics
Published

Researchers propose a simple, inexpensive approach to fabricating carbon nanotube wiring on plastic films      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed an inexpensive method for fabricating multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) on a plastic film. The proposed method is simple, can be applied under ambient conditions, reuses MWNTs, and produces flexible wires of tunable resistances without requiring additional steps. It eliminates several drawbacks of current fabrication methods, making it useful for large-scale manufacturing of carbon wiring for flexible all-carbon devices.

Biology: Marine Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

Coral-friendly sunscreen provides better UV protection than existing options      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed a prototype for coral-reef-friendly sunscreens by using polymerization to create large molecules that still block UV radiation but are too big to penetrate our skin, coral, and algae. The polymeric UV filter was more effective at preventing sunburn in mice than existing sunscreens.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Computer Science: Quantum Computers Offbeat: Computers and Math Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Quantum chemistry: Molecules caught tunneling      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Quantum effects can play an important role in chemical reactions. Physicists have now observed a quantum mechanical tunneling reaction in experiments. The observation can also be described exactly in theory. The scientists provide an important reference for this fundamental effect in chemistry. It is the slowest reaction with charged particles ever observed.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Sustainable process for the production of vanillin from lignin makes further progress      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The demand for vanillin vastly outstrips the natural resources of this flavoring agent. A chemical process is thus used to produce the required large quantities of vanillin from petroleum, which is far less expensive than obtaining the substance from fermented genuine vanilla pods. Another alternative is to make vanillin from lignin, a waste product of the wood pulping industry. A team has now managed to further enhance their method of electrochemical production of vanillin from lignin in that they employ a 'green' oxidation method for this purpose.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

New purification method could make protein drugs cheaper      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers devised a way to purify protein drugs during manufacturing. Their approach, which uses nanoparticles to rapidly crystallize proteins, could help make protein drugs more affordable and accessible, especially in developing countries.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

New superacid converts harmful compounds into sustainable chemicals      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have succeeded in producing very special catalysts, known as 'Lewis superacids', which can be used to break strong chemical bonds and speed up reactions. The production of these substances has, until now, proven extremely difficult. The chemists' discovery enables non-biodegradable fluorinated hydrocarbons, similar to Teflon, and possibly even climate-damaging greenhouse gases, such as sulphur hexafluoride, to be converted back into sustainable chemicals.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Chaos on the nanometer scale      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Chaotic behavior is typically known from large systems: for example, from weather, from asteroids in space that are simultaneously attracted by several large celestial bodies, or from swinging pendulums that are coupled together. On the atomic scale, however, one does normally not encounter chaos -- other effects predominate. Now scientists have been able to detect clear indications of chaos on the nanometer scale -- in chemical reactions on tiny rhodium crystals.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Heterostructures support predictions of counterpropagating charged edge modes at the v=2/3 fractional quantum Hall state      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have tested models of edge conduction with a device built on top of the semiconductor heterostructure which consists of gold gates that come close together. Voltage is applied on the gates to direct the edge states through the middle of the point contact, where they are close enough that quantum tunneling can occur between the edge states on opposite sides the sample. Changes in the electrical current flowing through the device are used to test the theorists' predictions.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Fossil Fuels Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Plastic upcycling to close the carbon cycle      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new method to convert waste plastic to fuel and raw materials promises to help close the carbon cycle at mild temperature and with high yield.