Nanothreads are one-dimensional covalently bonded materials, with all “backbone” bonds saturated in the organic sense, the first of which was made from polymerization of benzene in the solid state. Nanothreads are thicker than conventional hydrocarbon polymers such as polyethylene and thinner than traditional nanowires: as ladder polymers, they are examples of the thinnest possible rigid […]
Usually, optical activity is understood as the ability some substances have to change the handedness of polarized light when it goes through them. Molecules that show optical activity have no plane of symmetry. So-called chiral matter broadly describes structures for which left- or right-handed mirror images are non-superimposable, or, equivalently, that lack improper rotation axes […]
Catalysis • Chemistry • DIPC Biochemistry • DIPC Photochemistry
When we consider the concepts metal and catalysis, we tend to assume quite matter-of-factly that the metal will be the catalyst. This assumption is based on the fact that metals can be found in reactions where they act as catalysts or co-catalysts in the form of coordination and organometallic compounds, nano-sized or bulk materials and […]
In the last decades, a new synthetic approach has been developed, generally termed as “on-surface synthesis” that substantially departs from standard chemistry in solution. Instead of the three-dimensional space of solvents in the latter, the environment of the reactants in this new approach are well-defined two-dimensional solid surfaces that are typically held under vacuum conditions […]
Cyclic polymers present a topology that differ significantly from their linear counterparts due to their circular structure and, therefore, the lack of chain ends. These simple characteristics are responsible for important unique properties (e.g. lower intrinsic and melt viscosity, lower hydrodynamic volumes, slower degradation profiles, increased blood circulation times and more selective bioaccumulation) thanks to […]
Spintronic devices are based on the inherent spin magnetic moment of the electron, the same way electronic ones are on just its charge, to store and process information. These devices should, in theory, operate faster and at lower temperatures than their current electronic-only counterparts because an electron’s spin can be flipped much quicker than its […]
The band theory of metals has been experimentally tested many times and is now the accepted model of the behaviour of conductors and insulators. Electrical resistance is due to collisions of the electrons (whether treated as particles or waves) with impurities, imperfections, and especially the lattice vibrations of the metal crystal. The lattice vibrations of […]
There are instances in which you would intentionally deliver nanoparticles to animals (humans included). Contrast agents for medical diagnosis or therapeutic ones for medical treatments are two examples. It is also the case with plants, as some fertilizers take the form of nanoparticles. Unintentional exposure of animals or plants to nanoparticles is also possible: environmental […]
Some materials have special universal properties protected against perturbations. Such properties are theoretically described by topology, a branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of geometrical objects that are unchanged by continuous deformations. So-called topological insulators are electronic materials that have a bulk band gap like an ordinary insulator but have conducting states on their […]
A kinetic isotope effect (KIE) has been observed for the generation of hydrogen from the hydrolysis of a hydrosilane catalysed by a silyl-iridium(III) complex. This and other experimental evidence together with theoretical calculations have been used to demonstrate the participation of hydrogen quantum tunnelling in this catalytic process. KIE is a phenomenon associated with isotopically […]