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Category: chemistry – Page 22

Transportation @ PNNL: Eliminating Critical Materials in Batteries

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory draws on its distinguishing strengths in chemistry, Earth sciences, biology and data science to advance scientific knowledge and address challenges in energy resiliency and national security. Founded in 1965, PNNL is operated by Battelle and supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit the DOE Office of Science website. For more information about PNNL, visit PNNL’s News Center. Follow us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Dome-shaped aerogel architecture offers superior toughness and flexibility for spacecraft applications

A new collection of chemically diverse dome-celled ultralight aerogels with high porosity and very low density feature elasticity and mechanical properties that remain intact even under extreme temperatures from 4.2 kelvin (K) to 2273 K.

Scientists create first programmable single-atom catalyst that adapts chemical activity

A research team at the Politecnico di Milano has developed an innovative single-atom catalyst capable of selectively adapting its chemical activity. This is a crucial step forward in sustainable chemistry and the design of more efficient and programmable industrial processes.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

This achievement is novel in the field of single-atom catalysts. For the first time, scientists have demonstrated the possibility of designing a material that can selectively change its catalytic function depending on the chemical environment. It involves a sort of “molecular switch” that allows complex reactions to be performed more cleanly and efficiently, using less energy than conventional processes.

Light-powered nano-motor winds molecular strands into chain-like structures

Threads or ropes can easily be used for braiding, knotting, and weaving. In chemistry, however, processing molecular strands in this way is an almost impossible task. This is because molecules are not only tiny, they are also constantly in motion and therefore cannot be easily touched, held or precisely shaped.

A research group at the Institute of Chemistry at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU) led by Dr. Michael Kathan has now succeeded in precisely winding two molecular strands around each other using an artificial, light-driven molecular motor, thereby creating a particularly complex structure: a catenane (from Latin “catena” = chain). Catenanes consist of two ring-shaped molecules that are intertwined like the links of a chain—without being chemically bonded to each other. The research results are published in the journal Science.

“What we have developed is basically a mini-machine that is powered by light and rotates in one direction,” says Kathan.

Controlling polymer shapes: A new generation of shape-adaptive materials

What if a complex material could reshape itself in response to a simple chemical signal? A team of physicists from the University of Vienna and the University of Edinburgh has shown that even small changes in pH value and thus in electric charge can shift the spatial arrangement of closed ring-shaped polymers (molecular chains)—by altering the balance between twist and writhe, two distinct modes of spatial deformation.

Their findings, published in Physical Review Letters, demonstrate how electric charge can be used to reshape polymers in a reversible and controllable way—opening up new possibilities for programmable, responsive materials.

With such materials, permeability and such as elasticity, yield stress and viscosity could be better controlled and precisely “programmed.”

New strategy can directly pattern 2D materials into high-quality wafer-scale arrays

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors, materials that can conduct electricity and are only a few atoms thick, are promising alternatives to the conventional silicon-based semiconductors currently used to fabricate many electronics. Despite their promise, these materials have not yet been deployed on a large scale.

One reason for this is that reliably synthesizing them and patterning them to produce wafers (i.e., circular substrates employed in the manufacturing of electronics) has so far proved challenging. In fact, many existing patterning techniques rely on or polymer masks, both of which can leave unwanted residues on a wafer or damage the surface of 2D .

Researchers at Nanyang Technological University recently developed a new strategy to pattern 2D films into high-quality wafer-scale arrays, without damaging them or introducing undesirable residues. Their proposed method, outlined in a paper published in Nature Electronics, entails the use of a metal stamp producing three-dimensional (3D) patterns, which can be pressed onto 2D materials to produce a wafer with desired patterns.

Discovery of bumblebee medicine’s simple structure makes synthetic production viable

Researchers at the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague have successfully developed a method to chemically synthesize callunene, a natural compound that protects bumblebees from a deadly gut parasite. In a recent discovery, the team also determined that the naturally occurring compound is a 50/50 mixture of its mirror-image forms, meaning the synthetic version can be used directly to safeguard vital pollinator colonies.

The study, published in the Journal of Natural Products, addresses the threat posed by the parasite Crithidia bombi. This protozoan infects bumblebees, impairing their ability to find nectar-rich flowers, which ultimately leads to starvation, reduced fitness, and death. The problem is especially acute in commercial indoor farming operations that rely on healthy pollinator colonies. Not only because of the farming effectiveness, but also because parasites might be spread from indoor pollinators to wild colonies.

Nature provides a defense in the form of callunene, a compound found in the nectar of heather (Calluna vulgaris). Bumblebees that forage on heather are prophylactically protected from Crithidia infection. However, the loss of heathland habitats and the difficulty of isolating the compound from natural sources have made this solution impractical on a large scale.

Programmable nanospheres unlock nature’s 500-million-year-old color secrets

Half a billion years ago, nature evolved a remarkable trick: generating vibrant, shimmering colors via intricate, microscopic structures in feathers, wings and shells that reflect light in precise ways. Now, researchers from Trinity have taken a major step forward in harnessing it for advanced materials science.

A team led by Professor Colm Delaney from Trinity’s School of Chemistry and AMBER, the Research Ireland Center for Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research, has developed a pioneering method, inspired by nature, to create and program structural colors using a cutting-edge microfabrication technique.

The work could have major implications for environmental sensing, biomedical diagnostics, and photonic materials. The research is published in the journal Advanced Materials.

Columbia scientists turn yogurt into a healing gel that mimics human tissue

Scientists at Columbia Engineering have developed an injectable hydrogel made from yogurt-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) that could revolutionize regenerative medicine. These EVs serve both as healing agents and as structural components, eliminating the need for added chemicals. The innovation leverages everyday dairy products like yogurt to create a biocompatible material that mimics natural tissue and enhances healing.

Chemistry at the beginning: How molecular reactions influenced the formation of the first stars

Immediately after the Big Bang, which occurred around 13.8 billion years ago, the universe was dominated by unimaginably high temperatures and densities. However, after just a few seconds, it had cooled down enough for the first elements to form, primarily hydrogen and helium. These were still completely ionized at this point, as it took almost 380,000 years for the temperature in the universe to drop enough for neutral atoms to form through recombination with free electrons. This paved the way for the first chemical reactions.

The oldest molecule in existence is the helium hydride ion (HeH⁺), formed from a neutral helium atom and an ionized hydrogen nucleus. This marks the beginning of a chain reaction that leads to the formation of molecular hydrogen (H₂), which is by far the most common molecule in the universe.

Recombination was followed by the “dark age” of cosmology: although the universe was now transparent due to the binding of , there were still no light-emitting objects, such as stars. Several hundred million years passed before the first stars formed.

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