Chemistry news, research and opinions | Chemistry World
WEBFrom tipsy worms to pigeon missiles: the quirky triumphs of the 2024 Ig Nobel awards. Water-splitting reaction reversal could extract lithium more sustainably and cheaply. Teaching enzymes new reactions through genetic code expansion and directed evolution. Peptide bond interactions explain collagen’s ‘impossible’ longevity in dinosaur bones.
Explainer: Why is mixing cleaning chemicals such a bad idea?
WEBApr 23, 2020 · Chlorine gas is toxic, forms acids on contact with wet surfaces, such as home plumbing but also living tissue, such as the lungs. Heating or contact with metals can also cause bleach to decompose via a different route. 2NaOCl → O 2 + 2NaCl. Mixing hypochlorite with ammonia would see the breakdown of the hypochlorite to generate hypochlorous ...
Chemistry research news, scientific research from across the …
WEBAnthony Green’s research group at the University of Manchester, UK, reengineers enzymes to have catalytic functions beyond those found in nature. Peptide bond interactions explain collagen’s ‘impossible’ longevity in dinosaur bones. Hydrogen dimers finally detected at room temperature. Unprecedented natural products uncovered in ...
Ink chemistry | News | Chemistry World
WEBFeb 28, 2003 · Ink chemistry. There are probably as many different definitions of ink as there are types. Perhaps the simplest description is that ink is a liquid or semi-liquid material used for writing, printing or drawing. Chemists view it as a colloidal system of fine pigment particles dispersed in a solvent (Chem. Br., February 2003, p28).
Explainer: The science of alkyl nitrites aka poppers
WEBSep 16, 2021 · Inhaling alkyl nitrites feels like becoming instantly drunk according to some users, although the effect lasts for only a few minutes. Also known as poppers, these chemicals have been taken recreationally since the 1960s. Although they are sold openly, usually in small brown bottles with enticing brand names such as ‘liquid gold’, their ...
Can acid dissolve a body? | Opinion | Chemistry World
WEBJun 16, 2017 · The annals of crime are filled with gruesome tales of using chemicals for body disposal. In the mid-to-late 1940s, one of England’s most notorious killers, John Haigh, used sulfuric acid to dispose at least six victims’ corpses – a method that led to him being dubbed the ‘acid bath killer’. The Arellano-Félix Organization, a real-life cartel that inspired a storyline in the 2000 ...
Explainer: The chemistry that keeps swimming pools clean and safe
WEBAug 4, 2022 · Chloramines can form in various ways in swimming pools. One of the simplest is the reaction of ammonia-like compounds, such as urea from swimmers, with hypochlorous acid. This leads to the formation of mono-, di- and trichloramines. Chloramine formation: R 2 NH + HOCl → R 2 NCl + H 2 O. These toxic chloramines then evaporate, producing the ...
The science of the perfect cake | Feature | Chemistry World
WEBNov 23, 2020 · Bakers first experimented with this idea in the 1830s, using a combination of the base sodium bicarbonate (baking soda, NaHCO 3) and lactic acid (in the form of sour milk) in their recipes. Today, however, most cake recipes opt for the convenience of an all-in-one chemical leavener: baking power. Birmingham …
There’s something about boron | Feature | Chemistry World
WEBApr 8, 2019 · Small-molecule boron chemistry has really come into vogue in the last 10 or 15 years. But over the past decade, boron chemistry has been steadily subverted. A string of boron compounds in exotic bonding states have turned the element’s behaviour on its head. Boron can be coaxed into become a strong …
150 years of helium | Feature | Chemistry World
WEBJul 23, 2018 · 150 years of helium. Humanity took a long time to notice the second most common chemical element in the universe, James Mitchell Crow notes. Today we would struggle to do without it. The voyage that French astronomer Pierre Janssen undertook from Europe to the eastern Indian province of Madras during the …