The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2010 was awarded jointly to Richard F. Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki “for palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic synthesis”. This chemical tool has vastly improved the possibilities for chemists to create sophisticated chemicals, for example carbon-based molecules as complex as those created by nature itself. In order to create [...]

Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry: Prevention Atom Economy Less Hazardous Chemical Syntheses Designing Safer Chemicals Safer Solvents and Auxiliaries Design for Energy Efficiency Use of Renewable Feedstocks Reduce Derivatives Catalysis Design for Degradation Real-time analysis for Pollution Prevention Inherently Safer Chemistry for Accident Prevention A more complete version can be found at EPA’s site: Twelve [...]

X-Rays Reveal Chemical Link Between Birds and Dinosaurs. Researchers have found that a 150 million year old “dinobird” fossil, long thought to contain nothing but fossilized bone and rock, has been hiding remnants of the animal’s original chemistry. Using the bright X-ray beam of the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, located at the Department of Energy’s [...]

How Chemistry can Reveal the Secrets of Ancient Worlds: The day-to-day lives of prehistoric humans have been revealed following new research developed by chemists at the University of Bristol. The research, which combines archaeology with cutting-edge chemistry allowing scientists to reconstruct the past, will be presented at the Royal Society’s annual Summer Science Exhibition [30 [...]

University of Leicester researchers discover new fluorescent silicon nanoparticles. Researchers in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leicester have developed a new synthesis method, which has led them to the discovery of fluorescent silicon nanoparticles and may ultimately help track the uptake of drugs by the body’s cells. Dr Klaus von [...]

keep looking »