Category: 6. Chemistry

  • January 2024 puzzles | Puzzle

    January 2024 puzzles | Puzzle

    There are four prize puzzles on this page: cryptic crossword; quick crossword; wordoku; and science scramble. For each puzzle, a winner will be selected from all the correct entries received and awarded a £25 UK book voucher. You can enter any or all of the prize draws, but each entrant is only eligible to win one of the individual…

  • How Sodium’s High Pressure Transformation Is Redefining Astrophysics

    How Sodium’s High Pressure Transformation Is Redefining Astrophysics

    Researchers have discovered that under extreme pressure, sodium’s electrons remain bonded to atoms, causing it to become a transparent insulator. This finding challenges previous theories and provides insights into the atomic behavior of matter in celestial bodies. Credit: SciTechDaily.com Scientists reveal how the element’s electrons chemically bond when under pressures like those found below Earth’s…

  • The Surprising Phenomenon of Kinetic Asymmetry

    The Surprising Phenomenon of Kinetic Asymmetry

    A team of researchers has uncovered a novel way that molecules can interact non-reciprocally without external forces, through a mechanism involving kinetic asymmetry. This discovery challenges traditional views on molecular interactions and could have profound implications for understanding life’s evolution and designing molecular machines. Credit: SciTechDaily.com Scientists have found that molecules can interact in a…

  • Sodium’s high-pressure transformation can tell us about the interiors of stars, planets

    Sodium’s high-pressure transformation can tell us about the interiors of stars, planets

    Travel deep enough below Earth’s surface or inside the center of the sun, and matter changes on an atomic level. The mounting pressure within stars and planets can cause metals to become nonconducting insulators. Sodium has been shown to transform from a shiny, gray-colored metal into a transparent, glass-like insulator when squeezed hard enough. Now,…

  • New Reversible Glue Promises To Change How We Recycle

    New Reversible Glue Promises To Change How We Recycle

    Engineers have developed a groundbreaking reversible glue, which promises to transform recycling processes. This environmentally friendly, water-based glue can easily detach labels from bottles, thus aiding in recycling and reducing landfill waste. Its development, in collaboration with Biffa, and its potential application across various industries, mark a significant advancement in adhesive technology. Engineers at Newcastle…

  • Unraveling the mysteries of fog in complex terrain

    Unraveling the mysteries of fog in complex terrain

    Of the world’s various weather phenomena, fog is perhaps the most mysterious, forming and dissipating near the ground with fluctuations in air temperature and humidity interacting with the terrain itself. While fog presents a major hazard to transportation safety, meteorologists have yet to figure out how to forecast it with the precision they have achieved…

  • Breakthrough in organic semiconductor synthesis paves the way for advanced electronic devices

    Breakthrough in organic semiconductor synthesis paves the way for advanced electronic devices

    A team of researchers led by Professor Young S. Park at UNIST’s Department of Chemistry has achieved a significant breakthrough in the field of organic semiconductors. Their successful synthesis and characterization of a novel molecule called “BNBN anthracene” has opened up new possibilities for the development of advanced electronic devices. Organic semiconductors play a crucial…

  • Novel electrification strategy enhances low-temperature NOx removal

    Novel electrification strategy enhances low-temperature NOx removal

    The procedure of electrified NOx storage–reduction. Credit: NIMTE Prof. Zhang Jian’s group from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, cooperating with Prof. Zhang Zhaoliang’s group from University of Jinan, has developed a novel electrification strategy to improve NOx pollutant removal performance at low temperatures. The study was…

  • Piezoelectric-enhanced p-n junctions in photoelectrochemical systems

    Piezoelectric-enhanced p-n junctions in photoelectrochemical systems

    by KeAi Communications Co. The formed built-in electric field and polarized-induced electric field at the interface of heterojunction to promote carrier separation. Credit: M. Ai et al Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is a potentially feasible strategy for converting solar energy to green hydrogen. However, current PEC systems suffer from relatively low charge separation efficiency and…

  • Breakthrough in nitrile activation is promising pathway for anticancer precursor synthesis

    Breakthrough in nitrile activation is promising pathway for anticancer precursor synthesis

    Credit: JACS Au (2023). DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.3c00532 A research team, affiliated with UNIST has unveiled a novel method to produce a selective anticancer precursor substance that targets and eliminates cancer cells. This groundbreaking method, previously existing only in theory, has now been experimentally proven for the first time, opening up new possibilities in the development of…