Control of material crystallization by agitation

09-Jun-2017 - The transition of unstructured amorphous materials into structured crystalline materials is generally induced by heating materials above their transition temperature. Crystalline materials are important in technology like devices, so alternative ways to control their formation has attracted much ...

Cat's eyes: Designing the perfect mixer

31-Oct-2013 - As any amateur baker knows, proper mixing is crucial to a perfect pastry. Mix too little and ingredients will not be evenly distributed; beat instead of fold, and a soufflé will fall flat. Mixing strategies are even more critical for industrial products, where every batch that is manufactured ...

Self-Inflicted Asymmetry

Crystallization-induced asymmetric synthesis of nonracemic platinum(IV) polysulfide tris(chelate) complexes

02-Aug-2012 - Asymmetry of molecules can make the difference between a drug and a poison. It is therefore vital to control this parameter in synthesis. Polish researchers found how stirring a reaction mixture in the presence of suitable seeding crystals can strongly affect the products. They report their ...

'Instant acid' method offers new insight into nanoparticle dispersal in the environment and the body

11-Jun-2010 - Using a chemical trick that allows them to change the acidity of a solution almost instantly, a team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has demonstrated a simple and effective technique for quantifying how the stability of nanoparticle solutions change when the acidity ...

Spying on Plastic Production

On-line Monitoring of Particle Growth in Catalytic Polyethylene Slurries

08-Jan-2010 - Real-time monitoring of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) production is now possible. In an article in the journal Macromolecular Reaction Engineering, Professor Rolf Mülhaupt and his student Rainer Xalter of Albert-Ludwigs University in Freiburg, Germany, describe how they use a combination of ...

Magnetic mixing creates quite a stir

Sandia researcher solves problem of mixing liquids in tiny volumes

03-Nov-2009 - Sandia researchers have developed a process that can mix tiny volumes of liquid, even in complicated spaces. Researchers currently use all types of processes to try and create mixing, with only "mixed" success. "In small devices," says Sandia materials scientist Jim Martin "people have tried all ...

Century-old rule of chemistry overturned

Major implications for drug delivery

27-Aug-2008 - A new study by research chemists at the University of Warwick has challenged a century old rule of pharmacology that defined how quickly key chemicals can pass across cell walls. The new observations of the Warwick researchers suggest that the real transport rates could be up to a hundred times ...

New Research Suggests Biofuel Blending is Often Inaccurate

Study of Retail Biofuel Samples Suggests National Standards May Be Needed

29-Feb-2008 - While sampling blended biodiesel fuels purchased from small-scale retailers, researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution found that many of the blends do not contain the advertised amount of biofuel. Marine chemist Chris Reddy and colleagues sampled pure biodiesel and blends from ...

Cleaner water through nanotechnology

Coated silica particles filter out toxins, pathogens

22-Feb-2008 - Tiny particles of pure silica coated with an active material could be used to remove toxic chemicals, bacteria, viruses, and other hazardous materials from water much more effectively and at lower cost than conventional water purification methods, according to researchers writing in the current ...

NIST announces first observation of 'persistent flow' in a gas

29-Nov-2007 - Using laser light to stir an ultracold gas of atoms, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Joint Quantum Institute (NIST/University of Maryland) have demonstrated the first "persistent" current in an ultracold atomic gas - a frictionless flow of ...