David Bradley Science Writer writes the monthly news column for three sections of the SpectroscopyNOW.com site - Spectral Lines, Resonants and X-factors.
The latest issue of Spectral Lines is now online
The Mass Spectrometer's Guide to the Galaxy (well, Mars)
Shedding a little light on singlet oxygen
Zeolites are crucial catalysts for a wide range of industrial
reactions, but chemists still do not fully understand their inner
workings. Now, a study using time-resolved near-IR phosphorescence
spectroscopy has revealed new details of how zeolites used in
hydrocarbon oxidation function.
Baby, look at you now!
In 2001, US
physicists predicted that solitary waves, bundles of energy that
travel without dispersing, could break into smaller, "baby", or
secondary, solitary waves. At the time, experts suggested that the
research was "great work" but could never be confirmed experimentally.
Now, the team has proved the "critics" wrong.
Bridging solutions
Dinuclear
copper(II) complexes with nitrogen-containing ligands are being hotly
pursued by chemists as models for numerous copper-containing proteins,
such as the tyrosine and catechol oxidases. Observing the behaviour of
these complexes is helping researchers understand the nature of the
active site in such proteins and pointing to ways to mimic enzyme
activity using novel catalysts. The magnetic properties of these
complexes are also offering insights into the relationship between
structural features in organometallic compounds and the strength of
magnetic exchange interactions between metal ions.