Arun Chutia

Born #OnThisDay in 1903 was Kathleen Lonsdale FRS. She was a pioneer of X-ray crystallography, discovering the structure of benzene, and was one of the first two women elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society. Find out more about her life and work: #WomenInSTEM www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jwcf...

Microplastics in a mosaic of Marine Protected Areas from southeastern Brazil: An assessment based on filter-feeding bivalves Microplastics (MPs) pose a pervasive environmental threat to coastal ecosystems, with increasing reports even within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). De…

#Microplastics in a mosaic of Marine Protected Areas from southeastern #Brazil: An assessment based on filter-feeding bivalves

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Researchers publishing in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) have discovered that snakes use nanoscale crystals made of uric acid to manage waste. Published in JACS.

Recent research published in #JACS shows that snakes use uric acid crystals to manage waste and save water, a survival trait that may also offer insights into human kidney stones and gout.

Watch the video: buff.ly/MRxzRJS
Read the article:  buff.ly/Y7d5f7n

Catalysis Quasi-Elastic Neutron Scattering (QENS) BAG at ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ISIS Neutron and Muon Source – Call

Still time to apply for Quasi-Elastic Neutron Scattering (QENS) BAG @isisneutronmuon.bsky.social. We encourage users with no experience of QENS and will provide support throughout the process. Find out what neutrons can do for your research ➡️ tinyurl.com/QENSBagCall2... #catalysis #neutrons

Our last (review) contribution (@pccp.rsc.org) is now online!

We tried to cover DFT from its inception to its latest (deep-learned) examples.

A collaboration between @ctm-itodys.bsky.social, @group-ctm.bsky.social, and the quantum chemistry group of the @ua.es👇🏼

pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

Highly Active Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER) Catalysts Formed by Energetic Ptn Cluster Deposition: Deposition Dynamics and the HER Mechanism Mass-selected Ptn+ (n ≤ 7) were deposited at variable energies on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), creating highly active hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts. HER mass activit...

Turns out bombarding 💥 HOPG with Pt clusters doesn’t just stick them: it builds weird, strong Pt–C structures that supercharge HER activity!
Read all about it (ft. cool BOMD simulations) in our new paper in @jacs.acspublications.org
👉 doi.org/10.1021/jacs.5c16035

#chemsky #compchemsky #compchem

PDB101: Molecule of the Month: Alcohol Dehydrogenase Alcohol dehydrogenase detoxifies the ethanol we drink

Here's a toast to alcohol dehydrogenase, our primary defense against alcohol, a toxic molecule that compromises the function of our nervous system #HappyNewYear

Chimpanzees and children are curious about social interactions Abstract. Curiosity is adaptive, enhances learning, and reduces uncertainty. Social curiosity is defined as the motivation to gain information about the ac

The fourth most popular @royalsocietypublishing.org paper of 2025 finds that children and chimps share a curious trait: both are fascinated by social interactions. https://bit.ly/4pCSRW1

Electron transfer in catalysis: from fundamentals to strategies The essence of catalysis lies in the transfer of electrons, driving the cleavage and formation of chemical bonds. Understanding the fundamental attributes of electrons is essential for improving the efficiency of catalytic processes. This tutorial review provides a systematic and accessible framework, integr

Out now in ChemSocRev!

"Electron transfer in catalysis: from fundamentals to strategies" by Xiaoning Li, Xinwei Guan, Zhenxiang Cheng, Tianyi Ma & colleagues

Read the full Tutorial review here 👉

[OPEN ACCESS]
Systematic investigation of charge transport and thermoelectric properties in semicrystalline polymers: electrochemical doping effects on doping level and temperature dependence using one sample
2025 Appl. Phys. Express 18 021002

iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...

#APEX
#OpenAccess

Vibrational circular dichroism of tartaric acid in water Although tartaric acid (TA) and its esters have been among the first molecules to be characterized by means of VCD spectroscopy, the experimental spectra of TA recorded in water have not yet been repr...

Out now in @pccp.rsc.org 🥳: Deborah tackles the challenge of computing the VCD spectra of tartaric acid and the dianionic tartrate in water. She shows that few water molecules and a micro-solvation approach are not sufficient!

doi.org/10.1039/D5CP...
@solvationsci.bsky.social #VCDspectroscopy

Can’t wait to read this special issue.

Direct Synthesis of Ultrasmall PbS Nanocrystals Passivated with a Metal-Halide-Perovskite-like Monolayer Inorganic shelling is a key strategy to address unwanted, surface-mediated nonradiative pathways in semiconductor nanocrystals. Improved passivation particularly advances the use of the smallest nanocrystals because complex photophysics arise as nanomaterials approach the molecular limit. However, shelling strategies developed for larger/more-robust nanocrystals are not always applicable in this size regime. Herein, we introduce the direct synthesis of ultrasmall (ø < 2 nm) PbS nanocrystals shelled with a range of metal-halide-perovskite-like monolayers by employing the appropriate two-dimensional perovskite as a precursor at the point of nanocrystal growth. These passivated nanocrystals possess improved photoluminescence quantum yields, reduced dynamic spectral red-shifting after photoexcitation, and longer, more-monoexponential photoluminescence dynamics─consistent with a reduction in defect-mediated exciton–phonon coupling. We then apply these shelled, ultrasmall PbS nanocrystals as sensitizers in a triplet-fusion upconversion architecture and observe 2-fold improved triplet yields. This demonstration emphasizes the photophysical benefits realized via our 2D perovskite shelling strategy, which can be applied to other nanocrystals─especially to small particles that are similarly vulnerable to existing strategies for post-synthetic modifications.

This is our story about learning to swap the surface of fragile, <2nm, 'Hines-type' PbS quantum dots, so that it matches the intrinsic ~half-layer perovskite on (larger) PbS QDs made from Pb-halides (h/t Cademartiri/Ozin, Weidman/Tisdale) pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
#chemsky #chemistry 🧪

In honour of the 2025 #NobelPrize in Chemistry, we’ve curated a collection of impactful articles from across RSC journals on metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) 🏆 Free to read until the end of November 👉 pubs.rsc.org/en/jour...

Insightful

Transferable MachineLearning Interatomic Potential for Pd-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions

Our latest ChemRxiv preprint, "Transferable #MachineLearning Interatomic Potential for Pd-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions" Collaboration with @nsf-ccas.bsky.social @gabegomes.bsky.social @bobbypaton.bsky.social chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr... #compchem #chemsky

Multi-level QTAIM-enriched graph neural networks for resolving properties of transition metal complexes Here we evaluate the robustness and utility of quantum mechanical descriptors for machine learning with transition metal complexes. We utilize ab initio information from the quantum theory of atoms-in...

Hot off the press: Multi-level QTAIM-enriched graph neural networks for resolving properties of transition metal complexes, now out in @digital-discovery.rsc.org!
👉 doi.org/10.1039/D5DD...

#compchem #chemsky #compchemsky

Two diverging paths for clean fuel Fischer-Tropsch synthesis can produce liquid fuels from nonpetroleum sources

In two new Science studies, researchers report strategies to maximize the incorporation of hydrogen and carbon atoms into hydrocarbon compounds, offering sustainable routes to liquid fuel production with improved efficiency.

Learn more in a new #SciencePerspective: https://scim.ag/3WCdUew

Supplementary Cover of JACS Vol 147/Issue 44 Week Commencing November 3, 2025

Introducing a supplementary cover taken from this week’s #JACS issue: ‘Boosting Electrochemical CO2 Reduction to Formate over La-Doped SnO2 via Pinning Effect and Water Activation’.

Find out more: buff.ly/NQNSIiV

🔥New and HOT in Chemical Science!

"A diverse and chemically relevant solvation model benchmark set with flexible molecules and conformer ensembles" by Stefan Grimme et al. from the Mulliken Center for Theoretical Chemistry.

Read it for free here: doi.org/10.1039/D5SC...

#compchemsky

Did aliens spy on our nuclear test sites? New research shows unidentified flashes in historical photographs from the late 1940s and 1950s of the stars over the northern United States where nuclear testing was being done. Explore the possibilities: https://ow.ly/nrz150XlcSA #astrophysics #astronomy

Capturing the Complexities of Catalyst–Support Interactions with the Help of Machine Learning Maxson and Szilvási use a machine-learned interatomic potential to model supported silver nanoparticles. They show that the idealized nanoparticle shapes commonly invoked in the computational catalys...

@andrewrosen.bsky.social highlights @tibor-szilvasi.bsky.social’s work using ML potentials to model supported Ag nanoparticles - revealing that idealized shapes don’t match experiments below 8 nm. Read the Highlight: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #AngewandteChemieNovit

Supplementary Cover of JACS Vol 147/Issue 43 Week Commencing October 27 2025

Explore the science behind this striking supplementary cover from #JACS: ‘Size-Dependent Restructuring of Supported Platinum Cluster Catalysts’.

Find out more: buff.ly/3XFJGyD

🔥New and HOT in Chemical Science!🔥

"The air–water interfacial nitrogen cycle produces irrigatable-level ammonium nitrate" by Chanbasha Basheer and Richard Zare et al.

Read it here: doi.org/10.1039/D5SC...