Another difficult year is behind us. Political, socio-economic and climatic changes every day stimulate the development of science and technology, as well as determine new trends. During this time, the world of the chemical industry has also changed.

Scientists have learned the weight of neutrinos (02.2022)
The existence of neutrinos was theoretically predicted by Wolfgang Pauli as early as 1930. This particle was supposed to balance the energy of the so-called radioactive beta decay. Despite various theories, the existence of this particle has not been confirmed for a long time, although over time it was called a neutrino. It is characterized by the fact that it has no electric charge and interacts very weakly with other particles. Some scientists assumed that the neutrino has no mass like a photon, others believed that it is just very small.

Weighting neutrinos would allow us to better understand the universe, and that's why it became the object of research of the international project KATRIN, headed by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. In their experiments, scientists used the phenomenon of beta decay, which occurs in the atoms of the isotope hydrogen (called tritium).. KATRIN is a specialized research equipment with a length of 70 m, which includes a huge spectrometer for measuring the properties of electrons formed during radioactive decay. Research has been ongoing since 2019 and is yielding better and better results. One of these results is precisely the determination of the mass of neutrinos, which is no more than 0.8 eV. For comparison, the mass of the electron is 0.511 MeV (million electron volts), and the mass of the neutron is 0.938 GeV (billion electron volts). This is the first time that measurements have managed to sink below the limit of one electron volt – and that's why this is such a significant achievement.

Research as part of the KATRIN project is still ongoing and is expected to last at least until 2024. Scientists hope to get an even more accurate result of measuring the mass of neutrinos.
 

 
CO2 absorber (04.2022)
Mass-produced plastics are found almost everywhere today. One of the products we are familiar with is plastic bottles, which can consist of several different plastics and are therefore not easy to recycle. Although plastic recovery is an expensive and complex process that still remains unpopular, scientists are looking for applications for the recovered material that could make the process even more profitable.

A group of chemists at Rice University announced the results of their research, which showed that used plastic can help in the fight against high levels of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. As described in the journal "ASC Nano", the researchers studied the process of pyrolysis, that is, the breakdown of chemicals. It involves heating these substances to very high temperatures, maintaining anaerobic conditions. Pyrolysis is currently used, in particular, in the petrochemical industry.

Chemists at Rice University carried out the process of pyrolysis of plastic in the presence of potassium acetate, obtaining very specific molecules that have microscopic pores and are ideal for capturing and binding molecules. CO2. This material can serve as an ideal absorber of carbon dioxide, for example in the form of filters on the chimneys of power plants that burn fossil fuels. Such a carbon absorbent will have properties that allow it to be used repeatedly, and, in addition, capture a ton of CO2 will be several times cheaper than existing methods of capturing (sequestration) of carbon dioxide.
 

 
Quantum nanomagnet (04.2022)
Quantum nanomagnet with unique properties - the discovery of scientists from the Jagiellonian University. A group of researchers led by habilitated Dr. David Pinkovich described in the journal "Nature Communications,

A new type of organometallic quantum nanomagnet in which the central magnetic ion is surrounded exclusively by other metal ions. The molecule consists of a central erbium ion that combines with three heavy rhenium ions. This combination allowed us to get closer to the properties exhibited by the already known large macroscopic magnets.

Scientists emphasize that although molecular magnets will not yet find applications in the near future, they can revolutionize the future and transform areas such as electronics or computing. Currently known molecular magnets require strong cooling, so in order for nanomagnets to find practical application, it is necessary to create them in such a way that they can work at room temperature. Scientists expect further research in this area.
 

 
Sodium Batteries (06.2022)
Lithium-ion batteries are used in most everyday devices. For their production, rare metals such as cobalt and lithium are used, which is also not a common element, which significantly affects the price of manufacture. According to the researchers, lithium can be replaced with sodium, which will significantly reduce production costs. In addition, sodium batteries will charge much faster, and discharging the battery "to zero" will not have harmful consequences. However, so far the work has not been successful, since sodium very quickly forms thin metal structures on the electrode - the so-called "dendrites", which causes a short service life of such batteries.

Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin solved this problem with the help of a computer model, thanks to which a new material was created that prevents the formation of dendrites and, as a result, prevents damage to the electrode. It was obtained by applying a thin layer of sodium to antimony telluride and folding it repeatedly, thus creating alternating layers. Due to this, sodium is distributed very evenly, and dendrites are formed on it much more slowly and less often. This allows you to create a sodium battery that can be compared with a lithium battery in the number of charge and discharge cycles and has a comparable energy density. Sodium batteries can be the future for industry.
 

 
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2022 [10.2022]
This year, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to three scientists. Caroline Ruth Bertozzi, Morten Meldahl and Carl Barry Sharpless are prize winners who were recognized "for the development of 'click chemistry' and bioorthonial chemistry."

"Click chemistry" is a process that is compared to building a structure created from LEGO bricks. Certain fragments of molecules can be connected to each other to form compounds with a high level of complexity and diversity. The combination of simple elements that we can call "chemical cubes" allows us to create an almost infinite variety of molecules. Bioorthogonal chemistry, on the other hand, allows you to control the chemical processes occurring in living cells without damaging them. This provides a unique opportunity to study diseases within cells as well as in complex organisms.

Both click chemistry and bioorthogonous chemistry are important discoveries mainly for medicine and pharmaceuticals, which can significantly affect the development of both these areas.

"Polish Nobel Prize 2022" (11.2022)
The Foundation for Polish Science is awarding its prizes for the 31st time, which are considered the most important scientific award in Poland and are often referred to as the "Polish Nobel Prizes". These prizes are awarded for special discoveries and scientific achievements that expand the boundaries of knowledge, as well as open up new cognitive perspectives and make an outstanding contribution to the civilizational and cultural progress of our country and, in addition, provide Poland with a prominent place in solving the most ambitious tasks of the modern world. This year, the winner of the prize in the field of chemistry and materials science was Prof. Bartosz Grzybowski.

Professor Bartosz Grzybowski of the Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw and the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology in Ulsan, Republic of Korea, was awarded "for the development and empirical verification of an algorithmic methodology for planning chemical synthesis".His discovery included conducting computer-planned organic synthesis and applying artificial intelligence to predict the course of chemical reactions, and also the discovery of new compounds that can be used as drugs.

Professor Grzybowski is one of the first scientists in the world in the field of organic chemistry to recognize that the time has come to apply the potential of computational methods and developed tools that can predict not only real, but even better ways of synthesizing complex organic molecules.

It is also worth mentioning the laureate of the Prize in Life and Earth Sciences, Professor Marcin Nowotny, who was noted "for the disclosure of the molecular mechanisms of recognition of DNA damage and its repair." Meanwhile, the third laureate of this year in the field of humanities and social sciences was Prof. Adam Laitar, awarded "for the interpretation of epigraphic sources that reveal the religious and cultural aspects of the functioning of medieval communities, who lived in the Nile Valley."
 

 
Discovery of new minerals (11.2022)
El Ali, also known as "Nightfall", is a 15.2-ton meteorite first discovered in Somalia and identified as a remnant of a celestial body in 2020. After two years of studying the 70-gram sample, scientists at the University of Alberta in Egmont, Canada, discovered two minerals in it that had not previously been found on Earth.

The minerals discovered were named elalite (after the meteorite and the city near which it was discovered) and elicinestantonite (after NASA researcher Linda Elkins-Tanton). Researchers announced the discovery of new chemical compounds on November 21 at a symposium on space exploration held at the University of Alberta. It's worth noting that while minerals haven't been discovered on the planet in their natural form, very similar ones were created synthetically in a lab in the 1980s. The study of new compounds will help in the future to answer the question of what uses these minerals can find in our world.
 

 
Breakthrough in fusion research (12.2022)
December 5, 2022 was an important day not only for the world of science, but also for the history of mankind. On this day, scientists at lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) made a breakthrough in fusion research, which is carried out at the National Complex of Laser Thermonuclear Reactions (NIF). For the first time in history, thermonuclear fusion made it possible to obtain more energy than was spent on triggering the reaction. The news was announced on December 13 at a press conference of LLNL representatives in the presence of the Secretary of the Department of Energy and the head of the US Nuclear Security Agency.

Thermonuclear fusion involves the fusion of light atomic nuclei into heavier ones, accompanied by the release of a significant amount of energy. The fuel that is ideal for generating energy from this reaction is hydrogen, as it is abundant on our planet. However, atomic nuclei are repelled from each other by electrostatic forces, so in order for fusion to occur, it is necessary to create very specific conditions, namely, to heat them to millions of degrees, and also to compress them to millions of atmospheres (this process is different in stars, where it occurs due to quantum tunneling).

The world has repeatedly attempted thermonuclear fusion, but so far the result has been the absorption of more energy than the amount produced. The National Thermonuclear Laser Reaction Complex (NIF) has been working on this phenomenon since the 1950s, but technically it is very complex. That's why the latest results are such a huge breakthrough and show new opportunities.

The experiment consisted in the fact that the pulse of huge NIF lasers delivered 2.05 megajoules of energy to a capsule with hydrogen, while thermonuclear fusion produced 3.15 megajoules, which is 54% more (more than a million joules).

Although a million sounds very exciting, this value corresponds to a quarter of a kilowatt-hour – the amount of energy enough just to boil a kettle of water a little more than ten times. Vigilant scientists also note that although only 2.05 megajoules of energy were spent on the process itself, more than 322 megajoules of energy were used to power the 192 necessary lasers, which is almost a hundred times more than was obtained as a result of thermonuclear fusion. This is one reason that highlights that it still takes decades of work by teams of scientists and engineers to find the possibility of applying fusion on a large scale.

 
Ultra-thin solar cells (12.2022)
There is a lot of talk about how renewables are the future of our planet and they can make a significant contribution to ending the climate crisis and global warming. That is why scientists are constantly looking for solutions to make the use of energy from renewable sources even better and easier.

Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed innovative solar cells that can turn any permanent surface into an energy source, and in doing so, they are thinner than a human hair. The elements are glued to a lightweight and very durable fabric, which makes it easy to install them almost anywhere. According to the researchers, the invention can find practical application in emergency situations, when there is no other source of energy nearby, as well as during travel.

The modern element was made from semiconductor ink using a 3D printer. It is a hundred times lighter than conventional panels and, in addition, produces significantly more energy per kilogram. The solution is still in the testing stage, because there are problems with the resistance of the panels to environmental factors. However, researchers are working to create ultra-light containers in which elements could be enclosed. Researchers believe that ultra-thin elements will be a revolutionary invention for global energy harvesting.
 

 
The most powerful material on Earth (12.2022)
Researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory conducted tests of the new metal alloy, which revealed its extremely high ductility (it is malleable and very viscous) and unprecedented strength (resistance to deformation). This alloy consists of chromium, cobalt and nickel – CrCoNi.

Already after the first tests of CrCoNi, it was found that its ductility and strength improve as the alloy cools, even to temperatures around -196 oC. However, the latest research published in December 2022 in the journal Science,

confirmed that in the liquid state it can withstand even lower temperatures (-253 oC). This is a very interesting phenomenon, since for most other materials the effect is the opposite, for example, steel is much easier to break down at very low temperatures.

It is worth noting that the CrCoNi alloy belongs to the group of alloys with high entropy (HEA). They differ in that they are a mixture of constituent elements in equal parts, and not as in most alloys used today, with a predominance of one element and fewer additional elements. This has a significant impact on its outstanding properties.

The exceptional strength of crCoNi alloy at incredibly low temperatures could lead to future applications, including space objects.