Chemistry News

December 22, 2025

Top Headlines

Scientists Unlocked a Superconductor Mystery Under Crushing Pressure

Dec. 21, 2025 Superconductors promise loss-free electricity, but most only work at extreme cold. Hydrogen-rich materials changed that—yet their inner workings remained hidden because they only exist under enormous pressure. Now, researchers have directly ...

Paper Mill Waste Could Unlock Cheaper Clean Energy

Dec. 11, 2025 Scientists developed a high-performance hydrogen-production catalyst using lignin, a common waste product from paper and biorefinery processes. The nickel–iron oxide nanoparticles embedded in carbon fibers deliver fast kinetics, long-term ...

Scientists Are Turning Earth Into a Giant Detector for Hidden Forces Shaping Our Universe

Dec. 6, 2025 SQUIRE aims to detect exotic spin-dependent interactions using quantum sensors deployed in space, where speed and environmental conditions vastly improve sensitivity. Orbiting sensors tap into ...

The “Impossible” LED Breakthrough That Changes Everything

Dec. 5, 2025 Scientists have discovered how to electrically power insulating nanoparticles using organic molecules that act like tiny antennas. These hybrids generate extremely pure near-infrared light, ideal for medical diagnostics and advanced communications. ...

A Surprising New Method Finally Makes Teflon Recyclable

Nov. 27, 2025 Researchers have discovered a low-energy way to recycle Teflon® by using mechanical motion and sodium metal. The process turns the notoriously durable plastic into sodium fluoride that can be reused directly in chemical manufacturing. This creates ...

Nearly 47 Million Americans Live Near Hidden Fossil Fuel Sites

Nov. 20, 2025 A nationwide analysis has uncovered how sprawling fossil fuel infrastructure sits surprisingly close to millions of American homes. The research shows that 46.6 million people live within about a mile of wells, refineries, pipelines, storage sites, ...

Entangled Spins Give Diamonds a Quantum Advantage

Nov. 11, 2025 UC Santa Barbara physicists have engineered entangled spin systems in diamond that surpass classical sensing limits through quantum squeezing. Their breakthrough enables next-generation quantum sensors that are powerful, compact, and ready for ...

“Really Bizarre” Quantum Discovery Defies the Rules of Physics

Nov. 9, 2025 Researchers have discovered quantum oscillations inside an insulating material, overturning long-held assumptions. Their work at the National Magnetic Field Laboratory suggests that the effect originates in the material’s bulk rather than its ...

New 2D Material Transforms Air Into Fuel and Fertilizer

Nov. 6, 2025 Researchers are exploring MXenes, 2D materials that could transform air into ammonia for cleaner fertilizers and fuels. Their atomic structures can be tuned to optimize performance, making them promising alternatives to expensive ...

Turning CO2 Into Clean Fuel Faster and Cheaper

Nov. 5, 2025 A new copper-magnesium-iron catalyst transforms CO2 into CO at low temperatures with record-breaking efficiency and stability. The discovery paves the way for affordable, scalable production of carbon-neutral synthetic ...

This Artificial Leaf Turns Pollution Into Power

Nov. 2, 2025 Cambridge researchers have engineered a solar-powered “artificial leaf” that mimics photosynthesis to make valuable chemicals sustainably. Their biohybrid device combines organic semiconductors and enzymes to convert CO₂ and sunlight into ...

Astronomers Just Captured the Sharpest View of a Distant Star Ever Seen

Oct. 25, 2025 A UCLA-led team has achieved the sharpest-ever view of a distant star’s disk using a groundbreaking photonic lantern device on a single telescope—no multi-telescope array required. This technology splits incoming starlight into multiple ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:55am EST

Light-Printed Electrodes Turn Skin and Clothing Into Sensors

Dec. 15, 2025 Researchers in Sweden have unveiled a way to create high-performance electronic electrodes using nothing more than visible light and specially designed water-soluble monomers. This gentle, ...

Ghost Particles Slip Through Earth and Spark a Hidden Atomic Reaction

Dec. 12, 2025 Scientists have managed to observe solar neutrinos carrying out a rare atomic transformation deep underground, converting carbon-13 into nitrogen-13 inside the SNO+ detector. By tracking two faint ...

A Simple Oxygen Hack Creates 7 New Ceramic Materials

Dec. 4, 2025 Penn State researchers created seven new high-entropy oxides by removing oxygen during synthesis, enabling metals that normally destabilize to form rock-salt ceramics. Machine learning helped ...

New Graphene Breakthrough Supercharges Energy Storage

Dec. 1, 2025 Engineers have unlocked a new class of supercapacitor material that could rival traditional batteries in energy while charging dramatically faster. By redesigning carbon structures into highly ...

This Smart Catalyst Cracks a Challenge That Stumped Chemists for Decades

Nov. 26, 2025 Using a smart computational search, scientists discovered a catalyst ingredient that finally makes tough alkyl ketones behave the way chemists want. The reaction now runs cleanly and reliably, ...

Scientists Uncover a Hidden Power in a Common Metal

Nov. 26, 2025 Researchers developed a powerful new manganese complex that could revolutionize light-driven chemical reactions. It absorbs light extremely efficiently, has a uniquely long excited-state lifetime, ...

Hidden Copper Switch Supercharges Green Ammonia Production

Nov. 22, 2025 Researchers discovered that copper oxide catalysts form metallic copper mid-reaction, triggering a dramatic boost in ammonia output. The insight offers a roadmap for designing cleaner, more efficient ...

MIT Ultrasonic Tech Pulls Drinking Water from Air in Minutes

Nov. 20, 2025 MIT engineers have created an ultrasonic device that rapidly frees water from materials designed to absorb moisture from the air. Instead of waiting hours for heat to evaporate the trapped water, the ...

Extreme-Pressure Experiment Reveals a Strange New Ice Phase

Nov. 16, 2025 Researchers at KRISS observed water’s rapid freeze–melt cycles under ultrahigh pressure and discovered Ice XXI, the first new ice phase found in decades. Using advanced high-pressure tech and ...

NASA's Webb Finds Life’s Building Blocks Frozen in a Galaxy Next Door

Nov. 12, 2025 Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have uncovered a trove of complex organic molecules frozen in ice around a young star in a neighboring galaxy — including the first-ever detection ...

Scientists Unlock a 100-Year-Old Quantum Secret to Supercharge Solar Power

Oct. 15, 2025 Scientists at the University of Cambridge have uncovered a surprising quantum effect inside an organic material, something once thought impossible outside metals. The team found that a special ...

Biochar’s Secret Power Could Change Clean Water Forever

Sep. 26, 2025 Scientists found that biochar doesn’t just capture pollutants, it actively destroys them using direct electron transfer. This newly recognized ability accounts for up to 40% of its cleaning power ...

Toxic Waste Could Become the Next Clean Energy Breakthrough

Sep. 26, 2025 Bio-tar, once seen as a toxic waste, can be transformed into bio-carbon with applications in clean energy and environmental protection. This innovation could reduce emissions, create profits, and ...

Scientists Crack the Explosive Secret of How Diamonds Reach the Surface

Sep. 24, 2025 Diamonds hitch a ride to the surface through explosive kimberlite eruptions, powered by volatile-rich magmas. New simulations show that carbon dioxide and water are the secret ingredients that make ...

The Shocking Reason Arctic Rivers Are Turning Rusty Orange

Sep. 22, 2025 Researchers found that ice can trigger stronger chemical reactions than liquid water, dissolving iron minerals in extreme cold. Freeze-thaw cycles amplify the effect, releasing iron into rivers and ...

Neutrinos May Be the Hidden Force Behind Gold and Platinum

Sep. 21, 2025 When two neutron stars collide, they unleash some of the most powerful forces in the universe, creating ripples in spacetime, showers of radiation, and even the building blocks of gold and platinum. ...

Enceladus’s Plumes May Be Fooling Us About Life

Sep. 9, 2025 Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus has long fascinated scientists with its spectacular water plumes, which NASA’s Cassini spacecraft once revealed to contain organic molecules. Many hoped these ...

The Invisible Plastic Threat You Can Finally See

Sep. 10, 2025 Researchers in Germany and Australia have created a simple but powerful tool to detect nanoplastics—tiny, invisible particles that can slip through skin and even the blood-brain barrier. Using an ...

Scientists Just Found a Way to Grow Diamonds Without Heat or Pressure

Oct. 29, 2025 A University of Tokyo team has turned organic molecules into nanodiamonds using electron beams, overturning decades of assumptions about beam damage. Their discovery could transform materials science ...

Harvard’s Salt Trick Could Turn Billions of Tons of Hair Into Eco-Friendly Materials

Sep. 17, 2025 Scientists at Harvard have discovered how salts like lithium bromide break down tough proteins such as keratin—not by attacking the proteins directly, but by altering the surrounding water ...

Tiny Magnetic Spirals Unlock the Future of Spintronics

Sep. 14, 2025 Scientists in Korea have engineered magnetic nanohelices that can control electron spin with extraordinary precision at room temperature. By combining structural chirality and magnetism, these ...

Scientists Create Biodegradable Plastic Stronger Than PET

Sep. 4, 2025 A Japanese research team successfully harnessed E. coli to produce PDCA, a strong, biodegradable plastic alternative. Their method avoids toxic byproducts and achieves record production levels, ...

A Simple Metal Could Solve the World’s Plastic Recycling Problem

Sep. 3, 2025 Scientists at Northwestern University have developed a groundbreaking nickel-based catalyst that could transform the way the world recycles plastic. Instead of requiring tedious sorting, the catalyst ...

New Rocket Fuel Compound Packs 150% More Energy

Sep. 30, 2025 A new boron-rich compound, manganese diboride, delivers much higher energy density than current solid-rocket materials while remaining stable until intentionally ignited. Its power comes from an ...

This Tiny Iron Catalyst Could Transform the Future of Clean Energy

Aug. 27, 2025 Hydrogen fuel cells could power cars, devices, and homes with nothing but water as a byproduct—but platinum’s cost holds them back. Chinese researchers have now unveiled a breakthrough iron-based ...

Scientists Found a New Way to Turn Sunlight Into Fuel

Aug. 26, 2025 A research team created a plant-inspired molecule that can store four charges using sunlight, a key step toward artificial photosynthesis. Unlike past attempts, it works with dimmer light, edging ...

Scientists Crack Indole’s Toughest Bond With Copper, Unlocking New Medicines

Aug. 26, 2025 Scientists have cracked one of chemistry’s toughest challenges with indoles, using copper to unlock a spot once thought too stubborn to change. The discovery could pave the way for easier, cheaper ...

America Is Throwing Away the Minerals That Could Power Its Future

Sep. 18, 2025 America already mines all the critical minerals it needs for energy, defense, and technology, but most are being wasted as mine tailings. Researchers discovered that minerals like cobalt, germanium, ...

A Simple Trick Just Made Tiny Lasers More Powerful Than Ever

Aug. 23, 2025 Researchers at Zhejiang University have found a way to stop performance-killing Auger recombination in perovskite lasers, using a clever additive during processing. Their method produced a ...

A Tiny Chip May Have Solved One of Clean Energy’s Biggest Problems

Aug. 28, 2025 In just one afternoon, scientists used a nanoparticle “megalibrary” to find a catalyst that matches or exceeds iridium’s performance in hydrogen fuel production, at a fraction of the ...