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Red light and recyclable catalysts drive sustainable photocatalysis

Modern chemistry is increasingly focused on developing sustainable processes that reduce energy consumption and minimize waste. Photocatalysis, which uses light to promote chemical reactions, offers a promising alternative to more aggressive conventional methods. However, most existing photocatalysts are homogeneous—they dissolve in the reaction medium and cannot be easily recovered or reused—and they typically rely on blue or ultraviolet light, which is more energy-demanding and penetrates poorly into reaction mixtures, limiting their large-scale and biological applications.

Researchers at the Center for Research in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials (CiQUS) have developed an innovative, more sustainable method that uses red light—a low-energy, deeply penetrating —together with recyclable solid catalysts to promote cleanly and efficiently. The study highlights the potential of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) as red-light-active heterogeneous photocatalysts, a field that remains largely unexplored. This combination of reusable materials and mild light represents a significant step toward greener chemical methodologies.

The work is published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Shanghai Tower serves as inspiration for first synthetic dynamic helical polymer

Researchers at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands have developed a polymer that adopts a coiled spring configuration at low temperatures and unfolds again upon heating. Furthermore, the molecule can break down into smaller molecules under certain conditions. The Shanghai Tower, with its spiral shape, served as the inspiration for the project following a visit five years ago. A description of the resulting helical polymer was recently published in Nature Chemistry.

Spiraling structures are common in . A well-known example is the double helix of DNA; another is the alpha-helix domains in proteins. Various artificial helices have been created, some of which can change their shape. Other can be recycled into their monomers, but so far, no polymers have been developed that can both change shape and be recycled into their .

Seismic anisotropy offers insight into viscous BLOBs at base of Earth’s mantle

In some parts of Earth’s interior, seismic waves travel at different speeds depending on the direction in which they are moving through the layers of rock in Earth’s interior. This property is known as seismic anisotropy, and it can offer important information about how the silicate rock of the mantle—particularly at the mantle’s lowermost depths—deforms. In contrast, areas through which seismic waves travel at the same speed regardless of direction are considered isotropic.

In the bottom 300 kilometers of the mantle, also known as the D layer, anisotropy is potentially caused by or mantle flow interacting with the edges of large low-shear-velocity provinces: continent-sized, dense, hot BLOBs (big lower-mantle basal structures) at the base of the mantle above the core. Many questions persist about the viscosity, movement, stability, and shape of the BLOBS, as well as about how they can be influenced by mantle plumes and subduction.

Published in the journal Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Roy and team used ASPECT, a 3D mantle convection modeling software, and ECOMAN, a mantle fabric simulation code, to examine the deep mantle. They tested five different mantle model configurations, adjusting the viscosity and density of the BLOBs. The goal was to see which configuration would most closely re-create the observed seismic anisotropy.

Nonlocality-enabled photonic analogies unlock wormholes and multiple realities in optical systems

Researchers have harnessed nonlocal artificial materials to create optical systems that emulate parallel spaces, wormholes, and multiple realities. A single material acts as two distinct optical media or devices simultaneously, allowing light to experience different properties based on entry boundaries. Demonstrations include invisible optical tunnels and coexisting optical devices, opening new avenues for compact, multifunctional optical devices by introducing nonlocality as a new degree of freedom for light manipulation.

What if a single space could occupy two different objects at once, depending on how photons access this space? Scientists have brought this sci-fi concept to life, creating that mimic the exotic phenomena of parallel universes and wormholes.

In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers in China used nonlocal artificial materials to develop “photonic parallel spaces.”

Mathematical model reveals why cracks sharpen during rapid rubber fracture

A research group from the University of Osaka, Zen University, and the University of Tokyo has mathematically uncovered the mechanism that causes crack tips to sharpen during the rapid fracture of rubber.

The bursting of balloons or tire blowouts is caused by rapid fracture, a phenomenon in which a small crack propagates instantaneously. During this process, the crack tip sharpens, accelerating the fracture. However, the reason behind this sharpening had long remained unexplained. Traditionally, it was believed to result from the material’s complex nonlinear effects.

The research group—comprising Hokuto Nagatakiya, a doctoral student; Shunsuke Kobayashi, assistant professor; and Ryuichi Tarumi, professor at the University of Osaka; along with Naoyuki Sakumichi, associate professor at Zen University and project associate professor at the University of Tokyo—has mathematically solved the problem of crack propagation. They derived equations that describe both the shape of the crack and the overall deformation of the material.

Exotic roto-crystals can break into individual fragments then reassemble themselves

It sounds bizarre, but they exist: crystals made of rotating objects. Physicists from Aachen, Düsseldorf, Mainz and Wayne State (Detroit, U.S.) have jointly studied these exotic objects and their properties. They easily break into individual fragments, have odd grain boundaries and evidence defects that can be controlled in a targeted fashion.

In an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers outline how several new properties of such transverse interaction systems can be predicted by applying a comprehensive theory.

Transverse forces can occur in synthetic systems, such as in certain magnetic solids. They exist in systems of living organisms too, however. In an experiment observing a host of starfish embryos conducted at American university MIT, it was found that, through their swimming movements, the embryos influence each other in a manner leading them to rotate around one another.

Oxford Physicists Simulate Quantum “Light from Darkness” for the First Time

Scientists have created the first real-time 3D simulations of how lasers alter the quantum vacuum. Using cutting-edge computational modeling, scientists from the University of Oxford, in collaboration with the Instituto Superior Técnico at the University of Lisbon, have successfully produced the fi

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