Chemistry

Professor Toshifumi Satoh of Hokkaido University’s Graduate School of Engineering has taken up the challenge to create “Smart synthetic method.” Satoh and his colleagues proposed the idea of “Smart synthesis,” which aims to minimize the use of harmful chemicals and solvents for cleaner and more sustainable polymeric synthesis.

Knowledge of the detailed accumulation profiles of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and POPs-like contaminants in wild animals is critical for ecological risk assessment. Comprehensive screening of organohalogen compounds in the livers of wild birds from Osaka, Japan using two-dimensional gas chromatography in combination with high resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC–HRToFMS) revealed specific accumulation of typically unmonitored POPs-like compounds in raptors.

Researchers at Kanazawa University describe in Scientific Reports the identification of small compounds that can regulate the cellular production of extracellular vesicles — nanocontainers transporting biomolecules between cells. Such compounds hold promise for use in therapies for various diseases.

Researchers have developed a general quantum algorithm that can directly calculate the energy difference of an atom and molecule using a quantum computer. By avoiding the need to calculate the total molecular energies, the general algorithm is expected to be applied not only to quantum chemical calculations but also to various physical and mathematical problems, which are intractable with nowadays classical computers.

A multi-functional, small molecule can tag mutant genetic sequences inside mitochondria for removal.

Prof. Jong-Soo Lee, DGIST, succeeded in developing green-emitting Cd-Free quantum dot synthesis technology with high color reproduction capability

Researchers have succeeded in storing electricity with the voltage generated from ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) using a nanometer-thin magnetic film. Exploring the storage characteristics of the commonly used iron-cobalt and iron-nickel alloy thin films, they found that by controlling the thermal conditions of the thin film to be within FMR excitation range, energy can be stored by all the electromagnetic waves that surround us – including Wi-Fi.

A two-dimensional map of proteins, including secondary structures, was obtained for the hindwings of an insect (Anomala albopilosa) at the spatial resolution of 100 µm. Mapping was achieved with the microscopic vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) system, which has been developed in our laboratory. As a result, the insect hindwing was revealed to be composed of segregated microdomains consisting of proteins with different secondary structures.

The Research Center for Thin Film Solar Cell, DGIST succeeded achieving the world’s highest PCE of 12.2% for flexible CZTS thin film solar cells.

Researchers from The University of Tokyo Institute of Industrial Science develop an experimentally supported mathematical model that defines the velocity jump mechanism in crack propagation

Testing a large library of compounds reveals an easy-to-make lipid that can carry genetic code into the lung to treat disease.

Adding lead and calcium to an industrial catalyst dramatically improves its ability to support propylene production at very high temperatures, making it stable and active for a month.

The State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution (SKLMP) at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has been endorsed by the United Nations (UN) to initiate a ten-year "Global Estuaries Monitoring (GEM)" Programme (www.globalestuaries.org) to collect and study environmental pollutants in the estuaries of major cities around the globe so as to formulate a long-term policy of promoting clean estuaries.

Researchers from The University of Tokyo Institute of Industrial Science report a machine learning-based model for predicting the bonding properties of materials

Using a CeO2 catalyst, researchers develop an effective catalytic process for the direct synthesis of polycarbonate diols without the need for dehydrating agents. The high yield, high selective process has CO2 blown at atmospheric pressure to evaporate excess water by-product allowing for a catalytic process that can be used with any substrate with a boiling point higher than water.

Researchers have found a way to enhance radiation therapy using novel iodine nanoparticles.

We have developed a groundbreaking chemical reaction using an N-heterocyclic carbene catalyst that has a low environmental impact to cleave the bond between the benzene ring of an aryl halide and a halogen atom to generate an aryl radical. Since aryl radicals can thus be easily generated from aryl halides that are widely used in organic synthesis, this is expected to be a powerful technology for precisely synthesizing medical and agricultural drugs and chemical materials.

Researchers from The University of Tokyo Institute of Industrial Science and Fudan University experimentally interrogate a phenomenon that bridges diverse fields of science and engineering

Perovskite colloidal quantum dots (Pe-CQDs) are highly promising nanocrystals for optoelectronic applications. However, the size of the crystals should ideally be equal to ensure a consistent energy landscape. In a recent study, scientists clarified the relationship between differences in particle size—polydispersity—and the optoelectronic characteristics of Pe-CQDs. They showed that using equally sized, or ‘monodisperse,’ quantum dots results in markedly better performance in Pe-CQD solar cells, paving the way for future optoelectronic devices.

A ring-expanded porphyrin with no meso-bridges comprised of an odd number of pyrroles was successfully synthesized via the oxidative coupling of the corresponding terpyrrole. This porphyrin showed a 34pi aromatic character and an intense absorption at the near-infrared region. We analyzed the optical and electronic structures using magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy and time-dependent density functional theory calculations.

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Researchers at Osaka Prefecture University 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 from The University of Tokyo Institute of Industrial Science report colloidal spheres that can be used to determine the rotational dynamics of dense suspensions

A multi-institutional Japanese team has developed new magnetic design that has magic mirror-like properties. Based on organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite type compounds, the brightness of transmitted light changes depending on whether the material is viewed from the front or the back.

Hokkaido University researchers have developed a simple method that converts existing generic polymers into luminescent polymers using mechanical force.

Chemical rings of carbon and hydrogen atoms curve to form relatively stable structures capable of conducting electricity and more — but how do these curved systems change when new components are introduced? Researchers based in Japan found that, with just a few sub-atomic additions, the properties can pivot to vary system states and behaviors, as demonstrated through a new synthesized chemical compound.

Scientists have found a way to make hydrogen move faster through a solid material at cooler temperatures, paving the way for more sustainable and practical energy storage devices.

High-resolution genome structural analyses combined with large-scale simulations show the arrangements of the genome’s spool-like structures affecting gene expression.

Schematic illustrations of magnetization control by the injection of phonon angular momentum.

Chirality, the lack of symmetry in matter, is an important issue in a myriad of scientific fields, ranging from high-energy physics to biology. Using magnets, a collaborative research group have furthered our understanding of how chiral information is transferred and memorized.