Scientists have achieved the first real-time visualization of how "excited-state aromaticity" emerges within just hundreds of femtoseconds and then triggers a molecule to change from bent to planar structure in a few picoseconds. By combining ultrafast electronic and vibrational spectroscopies, the team captured these fleeting structural changes at the molecular level and showed that aromaticity appears before--and then drives--the structural planarization. Their findings lay the groundwork for designing more efficient photoactive materials, such as sensors and light-driven molecular switches, by leveraging the power of aromaticity in excited states.

Microplastics have been found almost everywhere that scientists have looked for them. Now, according to research published in the ACS partner journal Environment & Health, these bits of plastic — from 1 to 62 micrometers long — are present in the filtered solutions used for medical intravenous (IV) infusions. The researchers estimate that thousands of plastic particles could be delivered directly to a person’s bloodstream from a single 8.4-ounce (250-milliliter) bag of infusion fluid.

Scientists have discovered “berkelocene,” the first organometallic molecule to be characterized containing the heavy element berkelium. The breakthrough disrupts long-held theories about the chemistry of the elements that follow uranium in the periodic table. 

Researchers at Mainz University have developed cost-effective and efficient water-splitting catalysts to be used in the eco-friendly production of hydrogen / Catalyst performance surprisingly increases over time

A pair of University of Houston professors and experts in crystallization have captured the first-ever real-time images of cholesterol crystal growth at near molecular scale, with implications to prevent heart disease.