News by Subject Chemistry & Physics

Researchers have established an approach to identify the orientation of molecules and chemical bonds in crystalline organic-inorganic hybrid thin films deposited on substrates using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and polarized infrared light with a 3D-printed attenuated total reflectance (ATR) unit. This inexpensive method with laboratory-grade equipment quickly reaches the crystal-structure model of even extremely thin films of less than 10 nm.

Researchers at the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and Biological Sciences Division have developed a combined imaging and machine learning technique that can, for the first time, measure a metabolic process at both the cellular and sub-cellular levels.

Light-driven molecular motors have been around for over twenty years. These motors typically take microseconds to nanoseconds for one revolution. Thomas Jansen, associate professor of physics at the University of Groningen, and Master's student Atreya Majumdar have now designed an even faster molecular motor. The new design is driven by light only and can make a full turn in picoseconds, using the power of a single photon.

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have observed the absorption of a single electron by a levitated droplet with such a magnification that it is visible with the naked eye and can even be measured with a normal millimeter scaled ruler.

A research team at the University of Chicago is now exploring the properties of a material found in cells which allows cells to remember and respond to environmental pressure. In a paper published on May 14, 2021 in Soft Matter, they teased out secrets for how it works--and how it could someday form the basis for making useful materials.

An international team including researchers from The University of Tokyo Institute of Industrial Science has developed spherical colloidal particles for the visualization of rotational dynamics. The two-color fluorescent particles have an off-center core that allows tracking of dense suspensions using microscopy. The researchers observed coupling between the rotation of charged particles, correlation between local crystallinity and rotational diffusivity, and "slip-stick" friction between particles. The findings will enhance the understanding of biological systems and industrial processes.

By shining laser light on semiconducting moiré superlattices formed by stacking two atomically thin materials -- monolayer tungsten diselenide (WSe2) and monolayer molybdenum diselenide (MoSe2) -- a team led by researchers at the University of California, Riverside, and Academia Sinica in Taiwan found a new class of electronic excited states called "moiré trions." The study opens up new opportunities to develop trion-based quantum optical emitters and offers new approaches to explore moiré physics.

? Researchers from Tel Aviv University developed a new platform that can serve as a basis for innovative medications. ? Applying processes of nanotechnology, the researchers were able to turn transparent calcite into artificial gold that can be used in thermotherapy for various types of cancer.

Recently, a research group led by CHU Yannan and HUANG Chaoqun from the Institute of Health & Medical Technology of the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) developed an effective method for on-site detection of methamphetamine (MA) in the presence of nicotine by a homemade ion mobility spectrometry. Relevant results were published in Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry.