Imagine a very simple chemical estructure: 4 carbon and 1 nitrogen forming a ring, with no double bonds, just simple bonds between any two of them and with hydrogen. This compound is called pyrrolidine and is the base of very important biological and farmacological products. Pyrrolidine is found naturally in the leaves of tobacco and […]
Chemistry • Condensed matter • Materials • Physics • Quantum physics
Faster. That is the word that describes de evolution of electronics. Any new development has to be faster than anything before, if it is going to cope with the huge amount of information that the device where it may be incorporated will have to process in almost no time. Graphene has just demonstrated once again […]
Carbon has four valence electrons. To fill its octet, it requires four additional electrons, which can be obtained through the formation of four covalent bonds. Carbon forms single, double, and triple bonds to achieve a filled octet. As a result, carbon can have a tetrahedral, trigonal planar, or linear geometry, respectively. A unique feature of […]
A topological insulator is a material in which there is order associated to topology, i.e., the surface can conduct electricity but the bulk of the material is an insulator. In these last years topological insulators have received the attention of a large area of the scientific community thanks to their exotic properties. They are promising […]
Geometrical structure, lattice periodicity and atomic arrangement are subtly intertwined with the electronic properties of materials. Sub-angstrom changes in the atomic distance are sufficient to modify the physical and chemical properties, such as the band-structure, carrier mobility and the chemical reactivity. The deposition of two-dimensional layered crystals on mechanically stretchable or bendable substrates can produce […]
Condensed matter • Materials • Nanotechnology • Quantum physics
When we study for the first time the structure of the atom in high school we encounter for the first time the concept of quantum excitation. We learn that excitation is the process in which a nucleus, electron, atom, ion, or molecule acquires energy that raises it to a quantum state (the excited state) higher […]
Proteins were traditionally described as immobilized objects and classified according to the chemical composition (amino acid sequence) or the three-dimensional structure. However, in the seventies, with the idea that “If nothing can move, nothing can function”, Perutz first described the movements hemoglobin must undergo to fulfill its function and after him Frahuendelder revealed a hierarchical […]
Enediynes are organic compounds containing two triple bonds and one double bond. The enediyne groups in those compounds are often called warheads. Why this name? Because, many of these compounds are capable of undergoing Bergman cyclization or, in other words, if heated they form a ring compound from a chain by formation of a new […]
What is the closest two beryllium atoms in the electronic ground state can be in a molecule? Well, we may think that that is a relatively easy question to answer. If you know some chemistry it is likely you will be inclined to check the literature for the strength of Be-Be bonds in different compounds […]
An international team with the participation of the Center for Materials Physics in San Sebastián (CSIC-UPV/EHU) and Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC) have created the smallest lens in the world, capable to concentrate light down to dimensions of an atom. Researchers have used gold nanoparticles as focusing lenses that allow to flex individual chemical bonds […]