Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

This is an artistic rendering of a carbonized fungal biomass-manganese oxide mineral composite (MycMnOx/C) can be applied as a novel electrochemical material in energy storage devices Credit: Qianwei Li and Geoffrey Michael Gadd

A red bread mold could be the key to producing more sustainable electrochemical materials for use in rechargeable batteries. The researchers show for the first time that the fungus Neurospora crassa can transform manganese into a mineral composite with favorable electrochemical properties.

“We have made electrochemically active materials using a fungal manganese biomineralization process,” says Geoffrey Gadd of the University of Dundee in Scotland...

Experimental results for dried films formed of a binary mixture of colloidal particles of size ratio 7:1.

Researchers from the University of Surrey in collaboration with the Université Claude Bernard, Lyon used computer simulation and materials experiments to show how when coatings with different sized particles, such as paints dry, the coating spontaneously forms two layers. This mechanism can be used to control the properties at the top and bottom of coatings independently, which could help increase performance of coatings across industries as diverse as beauty and pharmaceuticals.

Dr Andrea Fortini explained: “When coatings such as paint, ink or even outer layers on tablets are made, they work by spreading a liquid containing solid particles onto a surface, and allowing the liquid to e...

By simply shining the right color of light on the graphene, contaminants and light-sensitive soap mixture, the graphene clusters together and sinks; shining a different color of light re-disperses it for re-use. Credit: Monash University

A simple effective way of capturing graphenes and the toxins, contaminants they attract from water by using light has been found. The findings could have significant implications for large-scale water purification. A small amount of a special light-sensitive soap was added to the water containing the graphenes and contaminants. The soap changes its molecular structure when light of a particular colour is shone onto it...

A new strategy helps quantum bits stay on task. Credit: Image courtesy of Florida State University

Development of quantum computers may be expedited by collaboration between physicists and chemists. Quantum computer power will dwarf that of today’s machines, with huge implications for cryptography, computational chemistry and other fields. While qubits can take many different forms, the MagLab team worked with carefully designed tungsten oxide molecules that contained a single magnetic holmium ion. The magnetic electrons associated with each holmium ion circulate either clockwise or counterclockwise around the axis of the molecule. These spin states are analogous to the “0s” and “1s” of computer bits...