Isolating the minute crystals of the PSI super complex from the pea plant, a biochemistry researcher suggests these crystals can be illuminated and used as small battery chargers or form the core of more efficient man-made solar cells.

Chemists at the University of Helsinki have managed to manufacture new polymer-stabilised silver nanoparticles.

Chemists at the University of Helsinki have managed to manufacture new polymer-stabilised silver nanoparticles. The result is significant because the antimicrobial characteristics of silver are used in textiles, floor coatings and paints even though the impact on health of silver nanoparticles are not entirely known. Finnish researchers now think that exposure to silver can be reduced by chemically binding the nanoparticles to polymers.

IUPAC accepted the name proposed by the international discovering team around Sigurd Hofmann at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum. The team had suggested ‘Cp’ as the chemical symbol for the new element. However, since the chemical symbol ‘Cp’ gave cause for concerns, as this abbreviation also has other scientific meanings, the discoverers and IUPAC agreed to change the symbol to ‘Cn.’ Copernicium is 277 times heavier than hydrogen, making it the heaviest element officially recognised by IUPAC…

Subatomic particles called neutrons are poised to play a big role in fighting HIV, slowing global warming, and improving manufacturing processes. The reason: They are the focus of a process called neutron scattering that provides unprecedented ways to study the chemistry of a wide range of important materials, including coal and biological cells, according to a fascinating article in Chemical and Engineering News (C and EN), ACS’ weekly newsmagazine…

A collaboration between researchers at Northwestern University’s Centre for Catalysis and scientists at Oxford University has produced a new approach for understanding surfaces, particularly metal oxide surfaces, widely used in industry as supports for catalysts…

Engineers are unlikely to tinker with the cooling system if they want to increase the size of an engine. Yet chemists at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research have adopted an approach similar to this in their efforts to optimise an enzyme for practical applications

A team of chemists from the University of New Hampshire has synthesised the first-ever stable derivative of nonacene, creating a compound that holds significant promise in the manufacture of flexible organic electronics such as large displays, solar cells and radio frequency identification tags. The team, led by professor of organic chemistry and materials science Glen Miller and including two UNH undergraduates, published their findings in January 2010 in the Journal of the American Chemical Society…

Besides the 92 elements that occur naturally, scientists were able to create 20 additional chemical elements, six of which were discovered at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt. These new elements were produced artificially with particle accelerators and are all very short-lived: they decay in a matter of a split second.

Besides the 92 elements that occur naturally, scientists were able to create 20 additional chemical elements, six of which were discovered at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt. These new elements were produced artificially with particle accelerators and are all very short-lived: they decay in a matter of a split second. However, scientists predict the existence of even heavier elements with an extreme longevity, leaving them to only decay after years