Latest Supramolecular chemistry Stories

A UK-based specialty chemical company has apparently developed a self-mending plastic that can repair itself without the need for glue, tape, or other materials, Telegraph Science Correspondent Richard Gray reported on Sunday. "It could mean that sitting on a pair of glasses may no longer be the disaster it once was as they could be quickly repaired by pushing the broken bits back together," Gray said. "The material could also put an end to broken children's toys as they could be easily...

It is helpful "” even life-saving "” to have a warning sign before a structural system fails, but, when the system is only a few nanometers in size, having a sign that's easy to read is a challenge. Now, thanks to a clever bit of molecular design by University of Pennsylvania and Duke University bioengineers and chemists, such warning can come in the form of a simple color change.The study was conducted by professor Daniel Hammer and graduate students Neha Kamat and Laurel Moses of the...

Discovery of self-corrective healing process for polymer detailed this week in the journal NatureImagine you're driving your own new car--or a rental car--and you need to park in a commercial garage. Maybe you're going to work, visiting a mall or attending an event at a sports stadium, and you're in a rush. Limited and small available spots and concrete pillars make parking a challenge. And it happens that day: you slightly misjudge a corner and you can hear the squeal as you scratch the side...

Discovery of self-corrective healing process for polymer detailed this week in the journal NatureImagine you're driving your own new car--or a rental car--and you need to park in a commercial garage. Maybe you're going to work, visiting a mall or attending an event at a sports stadium, and you're in a rush. Limited and small available spots and concrete pillars make parking a challenge. And it happens that day: you slightly misjudge a corner and you can hear the squeal as you scratch the side...

Collaboration among Case Western Reserve University, the University of Fribourg and the Army Research Laboratory uses light to trigger repairYour 6-year-old found a nail in the garage and drew pictures across the side of your new car.Gnash your teeth now, but researchers at Case Western Reserve University, U.S., say the fix-up may be cheap and easy to do yourself in the not-too-distant future.Together with partners in the USA and Switzerland, they have developed a polymer-based material that...

New insights from the nano worldThe mechanism for binding oxygen to metalloporphyrins is a vital process for oxygen-breathing organisms. Understanding how small gas molecules are chemically bound to the metal complex is also important in catalysis or the implementation of chemical sensors. When investigating these binding mechanisms, scientists use porphyrin rings with a central cobalt or iron atom. They coat a copper or silver support surface with these substances.An important characteristic...

A myriad of methods for watching water molecules in motion advances critical understanding of biology, chemistry and climate scienceWater (H2O) is a unique molecule that holds amazing properties. Scientists have a good grasp of the structure and chemistry of individual molecules of water. But understanding how large numbers of these molecules move and interact--within bulk liquid water, or at the interface between water and air--is much more complicated.Theoretical chemist James Skinner, at...

New findings by researchers at RIKEN and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) have shed light on the remarkable electrochemical response properties of an elusive class of molecular helix structures, charting a new path in the design of molecular machines and devices. (PRWeb UK) November 16, 2010 New findings by researchers at RIKEN and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) have shed light on the remarkable electrochemical response properties of an elusive class of...

UC Riverside chemists study quadrupedal molecular machines to provide an answerMolecular machines can be found everywhere in nature, for example, transporting proteins through cells and aiding metabolism. To develop artificial molecular machines, scientists need to understand the rules that govern mechanics at the molecular or nanometer scale (a nanometer is a billionth of a meter).To address this challenge, a research team at the University of California, Riverside studied a class of...

An octopus-like polymer can "walk" along the wall of a narrow channel as it is pushed through by a solvent. Now research in The Journal of Chemical Physics, which is published by the American Institute of Physics, provides a theoretical model that compares the transport characteristics of straight- and branched-chain polymers in smooth channels as well as in channels whose walls interact with the polymer -- work that could aid in the development of carrier molecules for delivering...