Chemistry

In an exciting new advance, a team of scientists from Hiden Isochema in the UK and Cleveland State University in Ohio have developed a new way of analyzing materials for separating gases. Although gas separation using porous materials is an established technology, analytical techniques for assessing the performance of materials tend to be slow and…

DOWSIL EC-6601, from Dow Performance Silicones, provides a step-change in performance of electrically conductive adhesives, critical for emerging applications in autonomous driving, cameras and 5G base-station applications. It provides high elongation, superior shielding, strong adhesion, durability and conductive performance. Its unique siloxane matrix, enabled by Dow’s backward integration of raw materials, provides novel electrical and…

Catalysts are the enabling technology for the current chemical industry and clean energy applications such as battery and fuel cell cars. However, current catalysts have significant challenges such as structural instability and high cost. Finding new and better catalysts is paramount yet largely limited by immiscibility among elements and slow experimentation. Researchers at the University…

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces Although most of the planet is covered by water, only a fraction of it is clean enough for humans to use. Therefore, it is important to recycle this resource whenever possible. Current purification techniques cannot adequately handle the very hot wastewater generated by some industries. But now, researchers reporting in…

Following up on the enormous success of the first two episodes of R&D 100 – The Podcast, we are happy to report that Episode 3 is now live! Today, co-hosts Paul J. Heney and Aimee Kalnoskas, editors with R&D World magazine, are day drinking — but it’s all in the name of science! We swear! In…

Injuries to peripheral nerves — tissues that transmit bioelectrical signals from the brain to the rest of the body — often result in chronic pain, neurologic disorders, paralysis or disability. Now, researchers have developed a stretchable conductive hydrogel that could someday be used to repair these types of nerves when there’s damage. They report their…

Before PPG’s Clean-Surface Technology, interior wall paints did not deliver the washability that people desire in a paint, despite big promises and even bigger price tags. Some do well on water-based stains or on oil-based stains, but none did well in resisting both types of stains. Homeowners clean their walls and are left with shiny…

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Flow-Through Microelectrode Cell for Precision Electroanalytical Chemistry provides the simplest, fastest, most affordable, precise and comprehensive tool for analyzing electrochemical systems that employ solid electrolytes. Because of its cost and performance advantages, this testing innovation can accelerate development of electrochemical technologies that meet critical global needs, particularly electrical energy storage and…

DuPont (NYSE: DD), a producer of silicone-based technology and innovations for healthcare, is making significant investments in both capital and resources to strengthen strategic capabilities of its Liveo brand healthcare silicone solutions. Underscoring its long-term commitment to the healthcare industry – and confidence in its growth potential – DuPont is investing in innovation, as well…

Clear optical properties, reliable and durable protection, easy and robust processing are key characteristics for LED luminaire encapsulants in harsh environments. Lighting under harsh environments (outdoor, explosion-proof) particularly suffers from heavy and costly fixtures for protecting the electronic parts, and to penetrate this market, lightweight LED luminaires require sustainable and reliable protection. The luminaire market…

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory have discovered a metal-free carbon-based catalyst that has the potential to be much less expensive and more efficient for many industrial concerns, including manufacturing of bio and fossil fuels, electrocatalysis and fuel cells. At their most fundamental, these industry processes involve splitting strong chemical bonds, like…

Dow (NYSE: Dow) will showcase two advanced products and four new technologies for next-generation consumer electronics and automotive displays at the virtual Display Week 2020 show, Aug.3-7, 2020. The products include new generation DOWSIL VE-6001UV-T Optical Bonding material for high-reliability displays in harsh environments, and DOWSIL VE-8001 Flexible Silicone Adhesive for flexible and foldable displays.…

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) are working to synthesize novel highly potent derivatives of the antimalarial drug artemisinin with the goal of creating a powerful, cost-effective malaria treatment. Led by Dr. Shawn Blumberg of SwRI’s Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Division and Dr. Doug Frantz of the Department…

Miniaturized computer systems and wireless technology are offering scientists new ways to keep tabs on reactions without the need for larger, cumbersome equipment. In a proof-of-concept study in ACS Sensors, researchers describe an inexpensive new device that functions like a conventional magnetic stir bar, but that can automatically measure and transmit information on a solution’s…

Dow (NYSE: Dow) introduced today new DOWSIL VE-8001 Flexible Silicone Adhesive for flexible and foldable displays, smartphones, wearables, laptops, televisions and many other types of electronic devices. This two-part primerless silicone adhesive is applied directly to thin metal surfaces and forms an elastic layer, or inner hinge, that helps to protect the display from damage caused…

By Ashley Cuff Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, are advancing gas membrane materials to expand practical technology options for reducing industrial carbon emissions. Results published in Chem demonstrate a fabrication method for membrane materials that can overcome current bottlenecks in selectivity and permeability, key…

By Sarah Olson Michel The clock is ticking when a neurosurgeon is trying to remove a brain tumor but also determining its malignancy and type. Instead of sending samples to a lab where the necessary testing equipment resides to answer those questions, a Purdue scientist is working on shrinking that equipment for use in the…

By  Jules Bernstein A new film made of gold nanoparticles changes color in response to any type of movement. Its unprecedented qualities could allow robots to mimic chameleons and octopi — among other futuristic applications. Unlike other materials that try to emulate nature’s color changers, this one can respond to any type of movement, like…

By Nina Kaun, Director of Product Management at Elsevier For the chemicals industry, research and development is big business – over $51 billion is invested in R&D every year and two-thirds of CEOs are pursuing new products and services to drive revenue. Given the high cost of development, company leaders need to be strategic about…

By David L. Chandler | MIT News Office When searching through theoretical lists of possible new materials for particular applications, such as batteries or other energy-related devices, there are often millions of potential materials that could be considered, and multiple criteria that need to be met and optimized at once. Now, researchers at MIT have…

An international research team has pioneered and about to patent a new filtration technique that could one day slash lithium extraction times and change the way the future is powered. The world-first study, published today in the prestigious international journal Nature Materials, presents findings that demonstrate the way in which Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) channels can…

With the recent expansion of Metrohm Spectroscopy products through the acquisition of B&W Tek, Metrohm has added the B&W Tek QTRam system to its line of pharmaceutical spectroscopy tools. The QTRam is a proven alternative to time and material intensive wet-chemistry methods for content uniformity measurements. Metrohm’s full portfolio of pharmaceutical spectroscopy products includes benchtop…

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee achieved a rare look at the inner workings of polymer self-assembly at an oil-water interface to advance materials for neuromorphic computing and bio-inspired technologies. Results published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society provide new insights on the way molecules pack and order themselves into “tunable”…

Photothermal therapy (PTT)–a proposed treatment for diseases such as antibacterial-resistant infections and cancer–makes use of a chemical agent that absorbs the light of an infrared laser and dissipates that energy as local heat capable of killing cells, including cancer cells. But most of the chemical agents used for PTT are toxic to human cells and…

Southwest Research Institute is introducing Floodlight™, a novel software tool that efficiently discovers the vast numbers of chemical components—previously known and unknown—present in the food, air, drugs and products we are exposed to every day. This cheminformatics machine learning tool integrates algorithms with analytical chemistry software to provide deep analysis of gas chromatography mass spectrometry…