Phys.org Chemistry

• Scientists teach microorganisms to build molecules with light

  Researchers are continually looking for new ways to hack the cellular machinery of microbes like yeast and bacteria to make products that are useful for humans and society. In a new proof-of-concept study, a team from the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology showed they can expand the biosynthetic capabilities of these microbes by using light to help access new types of chemical transformations.

• Immunoglobulin G's overlooked hinge turns out to be a structural control hub

  The lower hinge of immunoglobulin G (IgG), an overlooked part of the antibody, acts as a structural and functional control hub, according to a study by researchers at Science Tokyo. Deleting a single amino acid in this region transforms a full-length antibody into a stable half-IgG1 molecule with altered immune activity.

• 3D covalent organic framework offers sustainable solution for wastewater treatment

  Industrial dye pollution remains one of the most persistent and hazardous challenges in global wastewater management. The dyes from textile and chemical manufacturing sectors are difficult to remove, non-biodegradable, and can be toxic to plants, animals, and humans. However, conventional treatment technologies for dyes often fail to efficiently purify the wastewater without significant trade-offs.

• Shining a light on sustainable sulfur-rich polymers that stay recyclable

  For the first time, scientists have used ultraviolet (UV) light, a low-cost and readily available energy source, to successfully synthesize more sustainable and recyclable polymer materials. Led by green chemistry experts at Flinders University, the development is a major step in making polymers high in sulfur content for more sustainable plastic alternatives using waste materials.

• Overcoming the solubility crisis: A solvent-free method to enhance drug bioavailability

  A large share of medicines developed today may never reach patients for a surprisingly simple reason: they cannot dissolve well enough in water. For most treatments, the oral route remains the gold standard because it is convenient and familiar. However, for a pill to work, its active ingredients must first dissolve in the fluids of the gastrointestinal tract before they can be absorbed into the bloodstream.

• RNA droplets may have accelerated prebiotic Earth's development of complex molecules

  The origin of life from Earth's primordial chemistry has long fascinated and perplexed us. Generations of scientists have endeavored to understand how complex biochemistry developed from organic compounds. Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have recently found that the conditions inside certain, naturally forming droplets promote reduction and oxidation (redox) reactions, which are crucial for life. The results support the idea that these droplets could have acted as proto-enzymes, enabling the formation of more complicated organic molecules.

• New chemi-mechanical process removes pigments and restores properties in recycled plastics

  Researchers in Worcester Polytechnic Institute's Department of Chemical Engineering and at the University of Akron have published research in Chemical Engineering Journal about a new technology that seeks to solve long-standing challenges in plastic recycling that limit the overwhelming majority of plastics to a single use and contribute to the accumulation of plastic waste.

• Biodegradable polymers used to develop eco-friendly, high-performance gas sensors

  Air pollutants like nitrogen dioxide (NO2), primarily produced during fossil fuel combustion, pose a serious concern for human health, contributing to respiratory diseases like pulmonary edema, bronchitis, and asthma. Effective air-quality monitoring therefore requires portable gas sensors that offer high sensitivity, selectivity, and long-term stability. Among existing technologies, organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) are promising for highly sensitive portable sensors with their lightweight, flexible, and simple-to-fabricate structure.

• Photocatalysis enables direct coupling of native sugars and N-heteroarenes

  Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a "capping-and-coupling" strategy to transform naturally occurring (native) sugars directly into compounds known as C-heteroaryl glycosides. This makes it easier to produce such molecules that are valuable for drug and vaccine development.

• Biodegradable bark–plastic composite lets engineers predict product lifetime from tensile tests

  Old trees are learning new tricks with the advent of composite materials. A "green composite" made from biodegradable polymers and the waste bark of the Yakushima Jisugi tree was developed by a research team at Tohoku University. When assessing the material, they found that simply testing its mechanical strength—in this case, its tensile strength or ability to resist pulling—could reliably predict the biodegradation process.

• Self-powered composite material detects its own cracks

  A new multifunctional composite made of carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRP) and piezoelectric materials can use vibrations to self-detect tiny cracks. This material could be used in the aerospace, automotive, and construction industries to monitor structural health without the need for an external power source. The technology was shared in a paper published in the International Journal of Smart and Nano Materials on January 9, 2026.

• Proton-trapping MNene transforms ammonia production for food security and economic growth

  With a new electrochemical synthesis via an electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR), achieving carbon-free ammonia production is closer to reality through work from Drs. Abdoulaye Djire and Perla Balbuena, chemical engineering professors at Texas A&M University, and graduate students David Kumar and Hao En Lai. A topic outlined in their recent paper published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society introduces NRR, which produces ammonia in a cleaner and simpler way by using renewable electricity.

• How smart polymer solutions transition to gels around body temperature

  In the world of modern medicine, most people focus on the active pharmaceutical ingredients, which are the chemicals that specifically fight a disease's symptoms or causes. However, the unsung heroes of pharmacy are excipients—substances formulated alongside the active ingredients to ensure they reach the right part of the body at the right time. Simply put, excipients are as vital as the drugs themselves because they provide a controllable means of administration.

• Strength-in-numbers X-ray technique can map previously unattainable atomic structures

  For many decades, the method to obtain atomic-level descriptions of chemical compounds and materials—be it a drug, a catalyst, or a commodity chemical—has been X-ray crystallography. This method has a known weakness: it requires one single, high-quality and large enough crystal to study. Scientists often couldn't determine a new substance's structure if it only existed as microscopic dust or was too fragile for X-ray beams.

• 'Goldilocks size' rhodium clusters advance reusable heterogeneous catalysts for hydroformylation

  Recent research has demonstrated that a rhodium (Rh) cluster of an optimal, intermediate size—neither too small nor too large—exhibits the highest catalytic activity in hydroformylation reactions. Similar to the concept of finding the "just right" balance, the study identifies this so-called "Goldilocks size" as crucial for maximizing catalyst efficiency. The study is published in the journal ACS Catalysis and was featured as the cover story.

• Brain enzyme shapes branched sugar chains linked to nerve health

  Gifu University scientists have uncovered how a brain-specific enzyme reshapes protein-linked sugar chains to facilitate the formation of complex glycans essential for normal brain function. These insights could inform future research into glycan-related brain disorders and open new avenues for therapeutic investigation.

• Raman sensors with push-pull alkyne tags amplify weak signals to track cell chemistry

  Seeing chemistry unfold inside living cells is one of the biggest challenges of modern bioimaging. Raman microscopy offers a powerful way to meet this challenge by reading the unique vibrational signatures of molecules. However, cells are extraordinarily complex environments filled with thousands of biomolecules.

• Highly stable Cu₄₅ superatom could transform carbon recycling

  After years of trying, scientists have finally created a stable superatom of copper, a long-sought-after chemical breakthrough that could revolutionize how we deal with carbon emissions.

• Learning how to destroy PFAS—down to the tiniest airborne particles

  Getting rid of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) is one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time. This group of 15,000 human-made chemicals doesn't break down naturally, leaching into soils and waterways and accumulating in the environment.

• Q&A: Uncovering the low-temperature oxygen storage and release mechanism of Mn–CeO₂ nanoparticles

  The search for better oxygen carriers has long centered on one key question: how can we design metal oxides that can reversibly store and release lattice oxygen efficiently at lower temperatures? This reversible behavior underpins clean-energy technologies such as fuel conversion, CO2 capture, and chemical looping for hydrogen production, where reaction feasibility and efficiency depend directly on a material's oxygen storage and release capacity (OSC).

• Molecular arrangement strategy targets multiple Alzheimer's disease factors at once

  Conventional treatments of Alzheimer's disease, one of the most common forms of dementia, have been largely focused on targeting individual pathological features. However, Alzheimer's disease is a multifactorial disorder driven by multiple, tightly interconnected processes, rendering single-target therapeutic approaches inherently limited. Addressing this challenge, KAIST researchers propose a new strategy that enables the simultaneous regulation of multiple disease-inducing factors simply by rearranging the structural positions of drug candidate molecules without altering their chemical substituents.

• From fleeting to stable: Scientists uncover recipe for new carbon dioxide-based energetic materials

  When materials are compressed, their atoms are forced into unusual arrangements that do not normally exist under everyday conditions. These configurations are often fleeting: when the pressure is released, the atoms typically relax back to a stable low-pressure state. Only a few very specific materials, like diamond, retain their high-pressure structure after returning to room temperature and atmospheric pressure.

• AI agents streamline discovery of safer, more efficient solid electrolytes for batteries

  Solid-state batteries are widely viewed as a key technology for the future of energy storage, particularly for electric vehicles and large-scale renewable energy systems. Unlike conventional lithium-ion batteries, which rely on flammable liquid electrolytes, solid-state batteries use solid electrolytes to transport ions. This shift offers major advantages in safety, energy density, and long-term reliability.

• Elucidating liquid-liquid phase separation under non-equilibrium conditions

  Crystallization is a well-explored natural phenomenon where atoms or molecules arrange themselves into highly organized solid forms called crystals. This phenomenon has been widely utilized across pharmaceutical and agrochemicals industries, as well as in the food industries, to form, separate, and purify pure crystalline materials. The process is usually considered a solid-liquid phase transition, but it can also involve liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS).

• Innovative catalyst enables CO₂-free production of hydrogen and formate from waste byproduct glycerol

  Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have developed a method that gives access to the valuable raw materials formate and hydrogen from the waste product glycerol. Formates are the salts of formic acid and are widely used in the chemical industry, while hydrogen can serve, for example, as an energy carrier to power vehicles.