Chemical Industry News
46 stories from trusted publications
- CNewChemistry World13h ago
Simple organic catalyst walks phosphate groups along sugar backbones
Inspired by nature, method is first example of autonomous mechanical motion in small molecules
Chemistry NewsRead - CNewChemistry World15h ago
Elsevier teams up with AI firm to extract chemical structure data from papers
Publishing giant will host data on Reaxys but researchers have concerns about independently validating the method
Chemistry NewsRead - CNewChemistry World15h ago
Ineos temporarily closes UK acetyls plants
Owing to high high gas prices, the plants are uncompetitive, despite their high efficiency
Chemistry NewsRead - CChemistry World1d ago
Google DeepMind’s mutation Atlas shines a light on our dark DNA
AI’s predictions on the impact of changing each and every base of the human genome will help scientists understand genetic basis of disease
Chemistry NewsRead - CChemistry World1d ago
Meet diamondiyne, the new diamond-like carbon allotrope predicted 35 years ago
Unusual mix of sp and sp3 bonding could furnish porous material with unique properties
Chemistry NewsRead - CChemistry World2d ago
Screening therapeutic peptides for ‘undruggable’ proteins
Revolver Therapeutics targets transcription factors that are hard to reach with conventional drugs and antibodies
Chemistry NewsRead - CChemistry World2d ago
Doctoral student who fatally shot his UNC Chapel Hill adviser found not guilty due to insanity
Three years after materials scientist’s killing, the culprit has been committed to a psychiatric hospital indefinitely
Chemistry NewsRead - CChemistry World2d ago
Accidents at South Africa’s nuclear power plant lead to questions over country’s nuclear future
Is the state’s nuclear regulator able to rise to challenge of planned installation of 5.2GW of nuclear power by 2039?
Chemistry NewsRead - CChemistry World3d ago
PFAS chemicals represent a human rights threat, UN told
The UN’s current and former toxics advisers are urging an immediate ban on all non-essential uses of these chemicals
Chemistry NewsRead - CChemistry World3d ago
Colchicine total synthesis embraces electrochemistry
Route highlights how electrosynthesis, and to a lesser extent mechanochemistry, are becoming increasingly important to the synthetic chemist’s toolbox
Chemistry NewsRead - CChemistry World4d ago
Biomimetic foaming photopolymers offer new waterproof, white material
Light-activated polymers take a leaf from nature’s book in generating structural colour and hydrophobicity which researchers say could find a host of applications
Chemistry NewsRead - CChemistry WorldSep 18
US appeals court strikes down risk management rule for DCM
Judges rule Environmental Protection Agency’s methylene chloride risk management rule is badly flawed
Chemistry NewsRead - CChemistry WorldSep 17
EPA to revoke emissions limits on fossil fuel power plants
Trump administration estimates that its action will save over $300bn, but opponents criticise decision to ‘eliminate limits on climate pollution’
Chemistry NewsRead - CChemistry WorldSep 17
Record protein imaging resolution could be bridge to quantum crystallography
Exceptional resolution a move towards mapping distribution of electrons in proteins
Chemistry NewsRead - CChemistry WorldSep 17
Who will win the 2026 Nobel prize in chemistry?
Annual list of ‘citation laureates’ includes scientists behind base editing, self-assembled monolayers, and those who improved our understanding of electron transfer in proteins
Chemistry NewsRead - CChemistry WorldSep 16
Deadly ammonia leak at fertiliser plant in Iraq
Two dead and 114 injured in incident at state-operated plant in Basra industrial area
Chemistry NewsRead - PNewPhys.org2h ago
Blood pressure enzyme reveals second job: Making sulfur rings for cellular antioxidants
Antioxidants such as vitamins C and E protect cells by neutralizing free radicals, such as reactive oxygen species, before they can damage genetic material or cell membranes. Such damage can contribute to the development of neurodegenerative diseases. Antioxidants therefore help prevent cellular damage.
BiochemistryRead - PNewPhys.org3h ago
How a century-old solvent can enable efficient amide synthesis
Amide bonds are chemical linkages essential to biology, medicine and materials chemistry. Peptide bonds, a class of amide bonds, link amino acids to form proteins. Amide bonds are also important in medicines and polymers. Efficient synthesis of amide bonds remains a major focus in green chemistry.
BiochemistryRead - PNewPhys.org7h ago
Molecular switch-up: Bacteria remodel a peptide to take on new role
Remodeling may bring to mind construction crews and scaffolding, but the process is far from unique to buildings. Even molecules can be remodeled. Pandorachelins, newly discovered molecules produced by Pandoraea bacteria, are one example.
BiochemistryRead - PNewPhys.org10h ago
New form of flexible boron is 10 million times more electrically conductive
The atoms of the 5th element of the periodic table often find themselves in the company of each other, forming allotropes with a rich variety of structural motifs, each carrying a unique set of chemical and physical properties. Despite the long catalog, most boron allotropes do not simultaneously possess high electrical conductivity and plasticity, but a recent study has expanded the portfolio.
Analytical ChemistryRead - PPhys.org1d ago
Changing counterions gives molecular materials new electronic behaviors
Orthogonally arranged π-electronic systems that combine electron-donating and electron-accepting units display distinctive electronic and photophysical behavior. Fine-tuning their electronic structure offers a way to control photoinduced electron transfer. Building on this idea, complexing boron with 1,3-diketones and 9-oxidophenalenone may produce electron-deficient cationic π-electronic systems.
Analytical ChemistryRead - PPhys.org1d ago
Hydrogen crosses, water stays: Palladium membrane enables ammonia synthesis using water
A South Korean research team has developed an environmentally friendly ammonia synthesis process that reduces carbon emissions using a membrane that selectively transports hydrogen.
Materials ScienceRead - PPhys.org1d ago
3D-printed scaffolds help turn waste methane into useful chemical using less power than liquid reactors
When landfills and wastewater treatment plants create methane as a byproduct, much of it is simply burned and its value is lost. But the gas is an energy-rich resource that could be recycled as a fuel, chemical feedstock or bioproduct. Capturing and converting waste methane offers an opportunity to recover energy and create useful products from an otherwise wasted gas stream.
BiochemistryRead - PPhys.org1d ago
Mistletoe berry glue bonds even nonstick Teflon and can be reactivated with heat
Mistletoe is best known from winter traditions as a symbol of luck and affection. For trees, however, the hemiparasitic plant can be a burden: It draws water and nutrients from its hosts. Now the plant could provide a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based industrial adhesives.
BiochemistryRead - PPhys.org1d ago
Self-driving lab automates semiconductor ink synthesis and thin-film characterization
Developing new functional materials often requires testing numerous material combinations. Conventional experiments reach their limits quickly when many variants must be compared. To overcome this bottleneck, the new Energy Materials Acceleration Platform (E-MAP) at KIT automates key lab steps.
Analytical ChemistryRead - PPhys.org2d ago
Starch-based sensor changes color to indicate moisture in food packaging
Brazilian researchers have developed a biodegradable, starch-based sensor that changes color when moisture enters food packaging. With the addition of cobalt chloride, the sensor changes from blue to pink as moisture levels rise and back to blue as they fall. Consumers and manufacturers could use it to monitor the quality and crispness of foods such as cookies with the naked eye or a cellphone camera, without complex equipment.
Analytical ChemistryRead - PPhys.org2d ago
Evolved enzymes build tuberculosis antibiotic ingredient in the desired form, potentially reducing waste
Tuberculosis, or TB, is a contagious bacterial infection that primarily affects the lungs. While curative treatments exist, more than 80% of cases occur in low- and middle-income nations, where drug-resistant strains are on the rise and the cost of medications is a burden. A new class of antibiotics has shown promise against multidrug- and extensively drug-resistant TB, but its manufacturing cost is a barrier to access in poorer countries that need the treatments most.
BiochemistryRead - PPhys.org2d ago
AI scans 4.6 million compounds in hours to predict hydrogen positions in drug-like molecules
New York University researchers have trained an AI model to learn chemical patterns associated with stability in drug-like molecules and accurately predict where their hydrogen atoms should be positioned.
Analytical ChemistryRead - PPhys.org3d ago
X-ray method predicts anion behavior, opening path to longer-lasting batteries and AI-assisted chemistry
A new way of measuring how materials interact at the atomic level could help scientists develop better-performing, longer-lasting batteries.
Analytical ChemistryRead - PPhys.org3d ago
Rice bran—source for antimicrobial, biodegradable food packaging film
Rice bran is a plentiful agricultural byproduct that is often underused, but research from the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station shows it could be a source of biodegradable food packaging with built-in antibacterial properties.
Materials ScienceRead - PPhys.org3d ago
Microcrystal electron diffractometer brings hidden hydrogen into focus
Hydrogen—the lightest atom—does the heavy lifting when it comes to important chemical reactions. It can be stored and released as clean fuel, and its movements help catalysts build medicines, fertilizers and materials. One way hydrogen is available for use is through a hydride—a hydrogen (H) atom bound to a metal. Yet with standard tools, this metal-bound atom can be hard to find in the structure.
Analytical ChemistryRead - PPhys.org3d ago
Liquid crystal takes page from steel in surprising phase transition
A type of transformation best known for hardening steel and enabling shape-memory alloys may also occur in a much softer class of materials, according to new research from Rice University. Researchers in the departments of chemistry and chemical and biomolecular engineering and at the Smalley-Curl Institute at Rice have shown that an organic semiconductor can transform from a liquid crystal into a solid crystal through a rapid, highly coordinated process resembling a martensitic transformation—a phenomenon traditionally associated with changes between two solid crystalline structures.
Analytical ChemistryRead - PPhys.org3d ago
Water-based process separates zirconium and hafnium with fivefold higher efficiency
Oregon State University scientists have patented a better, more environmentally friendly process for separating two metals that are critical in their pure forms for the semiconductor and atomic energy industries.
Materials ScienceRead - PPhys.org3d ago
Iron complex breaks down stubborn pollutant using light-powered reaction
The molecular culprit behind harmful algal blooms and some groundwater contamination is the same thing that has kept civilization fed for millennia: a stable form of nitrogen called nitrate.
Analytical ChemistryRead - PPhys.org4d ago
Plasma technology could help plant-based packaging replace plastic
A new study has found a sustainable and scalable way to improve the durability of plant-based packaging; it's a discovery that researchers say could help curb the environmental footprint of plastic. Researchers used advanced plasma technology to apply layered, protective coatings to the surface of cellulosic nanofibril (CNF) films, with the goal of reducing water absorption and improving moisture resistance.
BiochemistryRead - PPhys.org4d ago
New ligand design balances radical generation and catalyst regeneration for challenging chemical reactions
Radicals, atoms or molecules that readily react with other substances to form new bonds, are useful tools for building complex substances such as pharmaceuticals. But even when a radical is generated efficiently, the reaction cannot continue unless the catalyst returns to its original state.
Analytical ChemistryRead - PPhys.org4d ago
Tiny molecular scissors reveal how crystals bend without breaking
Crystals are usually thought of as rigid and brittle. Yet some molecular crystals can bend, jump, twist or even change shape when exposed to light. Understanding how tiny molecular movements inside an ordered crystal can produce such large visible motions is an important challenge for developing responsive materials that could eventually be used in actuators, sensors and other miniature devices.
Analytical ChemistryRead - PPhys.orgSep 18
Hemp waste cellulose unlocks tougher biodegradable plastics
Korean researchers have developed a method to strengthen biodegradable plastics using hemp hurd, an agricultural byproduct. The approach is expected to be applicable to other large-volume agricultural residues, including soybean stalks and rice straw.
PolymersRead - PPhys.orgSep 18
Tiny atomic tweak makes plastic-eating enzymes more powerful
A new approach that changes just one atom in plastic-degrading enzymes could help make them more efficient while maintaining their stability, according to new research from The Australian National University published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition.
BiochemistryRead - PPhys.orgSep 17
Developing new asymmetric catalytic reactions for the synthesis of complex molecules
Do Hyun Ryu's research team in the Department of Chemistry at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) has developed two new asymmetric catalytic methods for the precise synthesis of complex molecules using chiral organic catalysts.
Analytical ChemistryRead - PPhys.orgSep 17
Transfer learning corrects alloy calculations to predict unexplored materials
Metals can be transformed into alloys by adding different elements, allowing their strength, stability and other properties to be tailored. A key parameter for understanding these properties is the volume size factor (VSF), which quantifies lattice distortion caused by differences in atomic size.
Analytical ChemistryRead - PPhys.orgSep 17
A new rulebook for designing stable dilute alloy catalysts
Dilute alloy catalysts could improve fuel, plastic and pharmaceutical production, but their instability under heat holds back widespread use. Researchers at University of Michigan Engineering built a stability rulebook for this class of materials, which are made of a tiny amount of an active dopant metal dispersed in an inert host metal. A study outlining the rulebook was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Analytical ChemistryRead - PPhys.orgSep 17
Why does laundry get smelly if it stays wet? A textile scientist explains how to fix it
You forget a load in the machine overnight, and by morning it smells worse than before you washed it.
Materials ScienceRead - PPhys.orgSep 17
New porous diamond created by researchers
Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have created a carbon material with a three-dimensional structure. The material, named diamondiyne, can be described as a porous diamond with the same basic shape as a tetrahedron.
Materials ScienceRead - PPhys.orgSep 16
Thinking outside the binding site: Drug molecule makes a square peg fit a round hole
A square peg doesn't fit a round hole. But what if the peg could change the shape of the hole? A newly developed drug molecule can do something surprisingly similar when binding to its target protein, according to a University at Buffalo-led study published Tuesday (Sept. 15) in Angewandte Chemie International Edition.
BiochemistryRead - PPhys.orgSep 16
Iron, sulfur and purple light unlock greener carbon-carbon bond formation
Much of organic chemistry, including the type used to create and alter medicinal drugs, relies on modifying carbon bonds. Rice University's Julian West has been developing a less expensive, faster and more environmentally friendly way to catalyze these reactions, with a breakthrough published in the journal Nature Catalysis.
Analytical ChemistryRead