Category Archives: Chemistry
Leaf-based microreactors for organic synthesis
Author: Daniel González-Muñoz is a predoctoral researcher in photocatalytic processes at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.
Environmental problems and energy resources make it vitally important for the chemical industry to develop more sustainable and less polluting processes. Therefore, using solar energy […]
Excited-state aromaticity
We usually take for granted that aromaticity is something that belongs to the ground state of a molecule; but the fact is that nothing forbids aromaticity appearing in an excited state. In the same way that molecular properties are largely […]
Direct observation of dynamic tube dilation in entangled polymer blends
One of the unique features of the chemistry of carbon (and, to some extent, silicon) is its ability to form long chains of atoms. Polymers are substances that have macromolecules composed of many repeating units (known as ‘mers’). Many naturally […]
Terminator: self-healing does no longer belongs to fiction only
About the author: Mikel Irigoyen is a PhD candidate at POLYMAT (UPV/EHU); his research is focused on the theoretical modelling of self-healing polymers.
As beautiful as it is, the natural world has always been a tough place to […]
Fully recyclable materials for food packaging
Author: Ainara Sangroniz is a researcher at POLYMAT, Department of Polymer Science and Technology, UPV/EHU
Packaging is essential to preserve the food quality and safety and to extend the shelf life of the stored product reducing the food waste. […]
First nondestructive enantioselective detection technique
If a nucleus has a nonzero spin, it behaves as a small magnet. Therefore, in an external magnetic field, the nuclear magnetic moment vector precesses about the field direction but only certain otientations are allowed by quantum rules. Thus, for […]
Diradical character a condition for stable n-type doped organic conducting materials
Many aromatic compounds can be made into organic semiconductors by doping them with a substance such as iodine, thereby producing mobile carriers of electric charge. This is analogous to the doping of silicon in an ordinary semiconductor. The benefits of […]
Hexagonal boron nitride monolayer films can be successfully grown on a curved Ni(1 1 1) substrate
Since the discovery of graphene, a wide diversity of atomic-layer-thick, two-dimensional (2D) materials with varied properties have emerged. Of particular interest are those that exhibit semiconducting behavior, such as hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). hBN is isoelectronic to graphene and has […]
A universal theory for heteropolymer design
Author: Ivan Coluzza is an Ikerbasque Research Professor at CICbiomaGUNE
On our unique planet, life evolved under the pressure of natural selection. The evolution theory of Darwin demonstrates the incredible plasticity of the living organism. For millions of years, living […]
On-surface synthesis: a guide for explorers
The way a particular reaction proceeds, described in terms of the steps involved, is called mechanism. The study of organic chemistry is, to a great extent, the study of reaction mechanisms and textbooks content both their description and their applications. […]