A Simple Organometallic Fluoride Sensor

Title:  Stibonium Ions for the Fluorescence Turn-On Sensing of F– in Drinking Water at Parts per Million Concentrations DOI: 10.1021/ja308194w Author:  Iou-Sheng Ke a, Mykhaylo Myahkostupov b, Felix N. Castellano *b, and François P. Gabbaï *a Journal:  Journal of American Chemical Society Affiliation:  a) Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College…

It is that time of year again…….

If you are thinking about applying to graduate school it is time to start on your applications!  Please check out last year’s post for some helpful tips, including links to some very helpful and thorough articles – http://chembites.org/2011/09/29/applying-to-grad-school/ Good luck to everyone applying this year!

Ambient-Temperature Isolation of a Compound with a Boron-Boron Triple Bond

Title:  Ambient-Temperature Isolation of a Compound with a Boron-Boron Triple Bond DOI:  10.1126/science.1221138 Author:  Holger Braunschweig, Rian D. Dewhurst, Kai Hammond, Jan Mies, Krzysztof Radacki, Alfredo Vargas Journal:  Science Affiliation:  Institut für Anorganische Chemie, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany Take-home Importance According to the Authors:  Homoatomic triple…

Safety in Academic Labs

The Sheri Sangji case at UCLA is a horrible tragedy and confronts an uncomfortable topic for many chemists – safety in academic labs.  Often with professors pushing students to complete work as fast as possible proper safety precautions are not taken, people are not trained well,…

Electrocatalytically Active Graphene–Porphyrin MOF Composite for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Title:  Electrocatalytically Active Graphene–Porphyrin MOF Composite for Oxygen Reduction Reaction DOI:  10.1021/ja211433h Author:  Maryam Jahan, Qiaoliang Bao, and Kian Ping Loh Journal:  Journal of the American Chemical Society Affiliation:  Graphene Research Centre, Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore Take-home Importance According to the Authors: By reacting the pyridine-functionalized graphene with…

Quantum coherence and energy transfer in light-harvesting complexes

Title: Electronic coherence lineshapes reveal hidden excitonic correlations in photosynthetic light harvesting, Nature Chemistry 2012 Authors: Cathy Y. Wong, Richard M. Alvey, Daniel B. Turner, Krystyna E. Wilk, Donald A. Bryant, Paul M. G. Curmi, Robert J. Silbey and Gregory D. Scholes Take-home importance according to the…

Prettier than dyed eggs?

The cocoons, the silkworm itself, and the produced silk become colored when dye is incorporated into the silkworm feed. The concentration of dye in the produced silk changes based on how hydrophobic the dye is (increasing partition coefficient).

Update to “Women and Named Reactions”

    Accounts of Chemical Research recently published some additions and corrections to their article “Named Reactions Discovered and Developed by Women.”  They were informed of another reaction unambiguously named for a woman – the Catellani reaction.  Prof. Marta Catellani of the University of Parma reported…

Shifting with Selenium

I hope most of us have experienced the wonder of watching fireflies lighting up on a warm summer evening.

CO2 Reduction on Tin Electrodes and Enhanced Activity for Tin/Tin Oxide Thin-Film Catalysts

Title:  Tin Oxide Dependence of the CO2 Reduction Efficiency on Tin Electrodes and Enhanced Catalytic Activity for Tin/Tin-Oxide Thin Film Catalyst DOI:  10.1021/ja2108799 Author:  Yihong Chen and Matthew W. Kanan Journal:  Journal of the American Chemical Society Affiliation:  Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United…

Online Resources for Doing Organic Chemistry

Yes!!! 100% conversion to product, zero impurities, and a workup so easy I finished it while writing this sentence!Well, that’s what writing it down on an o-chem problem set might make it seem like at least. Turns out doing organic chemistry in practice isn’t so straightforward,…

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The Computer Chemist

Chemists have limited time to do chemistry because, shockingly, they need to eat, sleep, even socialize…. but computers on the other hand…

Copper (I) Hydroxide–Cuprice

Chemists probably would not willingly search for CuOH unless there is some theoretical basis for its existence. Without changing the oxidation states, a readied reaction could be 2 CuOH –> Cu2O + H2O. Its existence has been speculated on, now the really interesting work begins with the compound’s isolation (for a synthetic chemist).

A New Look at Old Chemistry

This article is a great reminder that we should take some time to look back at chemistry reported decades ago to inspire us.

Thinking about summer? Think about an REU!

I really can’t praise REU programs enough. You get paid (most programs give a stipend and pay for housing) for an amazing experience, both in terms of the research and the chance to travel to really interesting parts of the US and the world. And remember, if you are applying to grad school, undergraduate research is a necessity, so take advantage of these wonderful programs!

Solid-State Solvatochromism

Title: Ionic Crystals of {[Ni(phen)3]2Ge4S10}-xSol, Showing Solid-State Solvatochromism and Rapid Solvent-Induced Recrystallization Authors: Wen-Qin Mu, Qin-Yu Zhu, Li-Sheng You, Xu Zhang, Wen Luo, Guo-Qing Bian, Jie Dia Journal: Inorganic Chemistry Take Home Importance According to Blogger: A solid material which could rapidly change color depending on what solvent was introduced is…

Controlling Nanoscale Architecture – Stepping Towards Synthetic Light Harvesting Complexes

Title: Anisotropic Organization and Microscopic Manipulation of Self-Assembling Synthetic Porphyrin Microrods That Mimic Chlorosomes: Bacterial Light-Harvesting Systems     Journal of the American Chemical Society Authors: Chappaz-Gillot, C., Marek, P. L., Blaive, B. J., Canard, G., Bürck, J., Garab, G., Hahn, H., Jávorfi, T., Kelemen, L., Krupke, R., Mössinger, D., Ormos,…

Using photochemistry to attach and release biomolecules in hydrogels

Title: Photoreversible Patterning of Biomolecules within Click-Based Hydrogels Authors:  Cole A. DeForest and Kristi S. Anseth Journal: Angewandte Chemie International Edition Affiliation: Chemical & Biological Engineering, University of Colorado and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute   Hydrogels have become an important category of materials for studying…

Synthesis and Characterization of the Phosphorus Triazides OP(N3)3 and SP(N3)3

Title: Synthesis and Characterization of the Phosphorus Triazides OP(N3)3 and SP(N3)3 Authors:  Xiaoqing Zeng, Eduard Bernhardt, Helmut Beckers, and Helge Willner Journal:  Inorganic Chemistry Affiliation:  FB C − Anorganische Chemie, Bergische Universität, Wuppertal, Germany Take-Home Importance according to the Authors:  Two explosive triazides of phosphorus(V), OP(N3)3…

The ChemCam Instrument Suite on the Mars Science Laboratory Rover Curiosity: Remote Sensing by Laser-Induced Plasmas

Title: The ChemCam Instrument Suite on the Mars Science Laboratory Rover Curiosity: Remote Sensing by Laser-Induced Plasmas Authors: Wiens, R. C., S. Maurice, and the ChemCam Team Journal: Geochemical News Affiliations: Los Alamos National Laboratory (USA), Institute de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planetologie (France) Take Home Importance According to Authors: The ChemCam…