CO2 Key to Making Valuable Chemical Cheaply
A key advance, newly reported by chemists from Brown and Yale Universities, could lead to a cheaper and more sustainable way to make acrylate, an important commodity chemical used to make materials from polyester fabrics to diapers.
Chemical companies churn out billions of tons of acrylate each year, usually by heating propylene, a compound derived from crude oil. “What we’re interested in is enhancing both the economics and the sustainability of how acrylate is made,” says Wesley Bernskoetter, assistant professor of chemistry at Brown, who led the research. “Right now, everything that goes into making it is from relatively expensive, nonrenewable carbon sources.”
Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/03/co2-key-making-valuable-chemical-cheaply
Oxygen - the enemy of your beer: Cheers Physics
Physicist Rik Sargent chats to Andy from Redemption brewing about the physics behind keeping beer separate from oxygen in the air when moving it to a conditioning tank.
Exposure to oxygen causes reactions in beer that lead to unwanted flavours. Therefore the physics of storing beer is paramount for keeping beer tasting its best.
Make Conductive Silver Ink (complex ion based)
We make conductive silver ink.
1g of silver acetate is completely dissolved in 2.5mL of ammonium hydroxide (30%). 0.2mL of formic acid is added dropwise with stirring. Solution is then capped and allowed to stand for 12 hours. The solution is decanted and then pushed through a 0.2 micrometer pore syringe filter.
Draw it onto a surface and let it dry. Then heat it to 90 celsius to sinter it into solid silver.
Procedure taken from http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ja209267c
by Nurd Rage.
Conceptual Materials Will Announce Damage
Detection of material failure is a difficult task for engineers, because cracks inside a material block can hardly be identified from the outside. However, early detection can prevent fatal disasters such as the world’s deadliest high-speed train accident in 1998 near Eschede, Germany, caused by failure of a metal wheel. It is even more difficult to detect material failure when composite materials are used. A German research team has now developed a new concept to design so-called self-reporting composite materials. The concept utilizes zinc oxide tetrapod crystals as a filler material for composites which at the same time reveals material failure by a visual signal under UV light. The new concept may solve many engineering problems as numerous fields from vehicle construction to medical engineering are actively seeking new composite materials for high-strain applications.
Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2012/12/conceptual-materials-will-announce-damage
Today in Lab History: Ellen Richards
American chemist Ellen Richards (née Ellen Swallow) was the founder of the home economics movement in the U.S. She was the first woman admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), graduated with a B.S. in 1873, and stayed on as a chemistry assistant.
http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2012/09/today-lab-history
Neptunium (new) - Periodic Table of Videos
We get a close-up look at Neptunium during a visit to the National Nuclear Laboratory at Sellafield.
This video features Mark Sarsfield from NNL - and periodicvideos regulars Steve Liddle and Martyn Poliakoff from the University of Nottingham.
With thanks to NNL: http://www.nnl.co.uk/
by Periodic Videos.
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From the School of Chemistry at The University of Nottingham: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/chemistry/index.aspx
Periodic Videos films are by video journalist Brady Haran: http://www.bradyharan.com/
Photonic Gels Act as Colorful Chemical Sensors
Materials scientists at Rice Univ. and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have created very thin color-changing films that may serve as part of inexpensive sensors for food spoilage or security, multiband optical elements in laser-driven systems and even as part of high-contrast displays.
The new work, led by Rice materials scientist Ned Thomas, combines polymers into a unique, self-assembled metamaterial that, when exposed to ions in a solution or in the environment, changes color depending on the ions’ ability to infiltrate the hydrophilic (water-loving) layers.
Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2012/10/photonic-gels-act-colorful-chemical-sensors
The Science of the Cinnamon Challenge
Hank explains the science behind the “cinnamon challenge,” and reveals why it is nearly impossible to complete.
Do not attempt the cinnamon challenge! Instead, why not just watch some videos of the thousands of YouTubers failing at it! That’s what we at SciShow call doing it “the Smart Way.”
Watch John try the cinnamon challenge on Crash Course World History:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQPA5oNpfM4References
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/02/the-cinnamon-challenge-why/
http://bittelmethis.com/is-the-cinnamon-challenge-dangerous/
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Manganese
On the left is a solution of the permanganate ion, MnO4-, in which manganese exists in the +7 oxidation state. The permanganate ion is highly colored, and as a solid appears nearly black. On the right is a solution of manganese sulfate, in which manganese exists in the +2 oxidation state. In contrast to the permangante ion, the color the the manganese(II) ion is very pale.
(via holymoleculesbatman)
Vanadium oxidation states
Distinctive colors reveal the oxidation states of vanadium (V) in certain aqueous solutions: V+2 (violet), V+3 (green), V+4 (blue) and V+5 (yellow)
(via holymoleculesbatman)
Chemistry On Mars
The Mars Science Laboratory will be seeking clues to the planetary puzzle about life on Mars, the Curiosity rover is one of the best-outfitted chemistry missions ever. Scientists say Curiosity is the next best thing to launching a team of trained chemists to Mars’ surface.
“The Mars Science Laboratory mission has the goal of understanding whether its landing site on Mars was ever a habitable environment, a place that could have supported microbial life,” says MSL Deputy Project Scientist, Ashwin Vasavada, who provides a look “under the hood” in this informative video from the American Chemical Society.
“Curiosity is really a geochemical experiment, and a whole laboratory of chemical equipment is on the rover,” says Vasavada. “It will drill into rocks, and analyze material from those rocks with sophisticated instruments.”
Curiosity will drive around the landing site at Gale Crater and sample the soil, layer by layer, to piece together the history of Mars, trying to determine if and when the planet went from a wetter, warmer world to its current cold and dry conditions.The payload includes mast-mounted instruments to survey the surroundings and assess potential sampling targets from a distance, and there are also instruments on Curiosity’s robotic arm for close-up inspections. Laboratory instruments inside the rover will analyze samples from rocks, soils and the atmosphere.
The two instruments on the mast are a high-definition imaging system, and a laser-equipped, spectrum-reading camera called ChemCam that can hit a rock with a special laser beam, and using Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy, can observe the light emitted from the laser’s spark and analyze it with the spectrometer to understand the chemical composition of the soil and rock on Mars.
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BaTiSi3O9 crystals under UV light.
Scanning electron micrograph of aerographite (x)
Berzelius Day - Periodic Table of Videos
Our series of short videos will be uploaded throughout August 20, 2012. Be subscribed to follow them! And watch our tribute to Jons Jacob Berzelius, the grandfather of chemistry.
More chemistry at http://www.periodicvideos.com/
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And on Twitter at http://twitter.com/periodicvideos
From the School of Chemistry at The University of Nottingham: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/chemistry/index.aspx
Periodic Videos films are by video journalist Brady Haran: http://www.bradyharan.com/
Oil Spill Dispersant is Made from Food
With concerns about the possible health and environmental effects of oil dispersants in the Deepwater Horizon disaster still fresh in mind, scientists have created a new dispersant made from edible ingredients that both breaks up oil slicks and keeps oil from sticking to the feathers of birds.
“Each of the ingredients in our dispersant is used in common food products like peanut butter, chocolate and whipped cream,” says Lisa Kemp, from the Univ. of Southern Mississippi. She reported on the dispersant at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.
Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2012/08/oil-spill-dispersant-made-food
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