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Tag: Chemistry

  • Scientists Created an Odd New Material That Hardens Upon Impact

    Scientists Created an Odd New Material That Hardens Upon Impact

    According to recent research conducted by a group of researchers from the University of California, Merced, electronic devices and sensors may one day be built from a material that toughens up as it is struck or strained.
    The newly developed material. (Yue Wang)

    According to recent research conducted by a group of researchers from the University of California, Merced, electronic devices and sensors may one day be built from a material that toughens up as it is struck or strained.

    The phrase “adaptive durability” refers to this quality, which is significant for materials science. It denotes resilience to stress and defense against harm, even in hostile surroundings.

    Development of the New Material

    Stirred by adding water, the cooking cornstarch served as the model for the new substance. In contrast to wet sand, which remains viscous when mixed or pounded, cornstarch slurry behaves as a solid when punched rapidly and as a liquid when stirred gently.

    When crushed slowly, the tiny cornstarch particles behave like a fluid because they repel one another. However, they contact and cause friction when struck quickly, behaving like a solid. The size of the particles causes this behavioral variation.

    The study examined whether a polymer substance might produce the same outcomes.

    The team began by working with conjugated polymers, which are particular polymers that allow things to transmit electricity while remaining pliable and soft. We can create these materials using a wide variety of molecular combinations.

    Here, they combined poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid) long molecules, polyaniline short molecules, and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT: PSS), a very effective conductor. If those terms sound unfamiliar, do not fret. All that is important is that the combination produced a film that stretched or distorted when struck by fast blows.

    The material became harder as the impacts occurred. 10% more PEDOT: PSS enhanced the material’s conductivity and adaptive endurance.

    The researchers claim that selecting two negatively and two positively charged polymers produced a material with incredibly minute structures resembling tiny meatballs in a spaghetti-bowl-like mess. These “meatballs” preserve the material’s conductivity by absorbing the impact shock without entirely disintegrating.

    Further studies suggest that the incorporation of positively charged 1,3-propane-diamine nanoparticles further augments toughness, subtly diminishing the resilience of the “meatballs” to enable the material to endure more substantial impacts, while simultaneously reinforcing the “spaghetti strings” encasing them to maintain the material’s structural integrity.

    Potential Applications and Future Implications

    Despite the scientific complexity, large-scale production of this material could unlock real-world applications beyond the lab. The research team offers wearable sensors, smartwatch bands, and health monitors – for glucose levels or cardiovascular health, for instance.

    Another possible application the researchers have previously tested is customized electronic prosthetics. Eventually, this adaptable material has the potential to revolutionize prosthetics by enabling 3D printing of artificial limbs.

    It serves as another reminder of the possibility of discovering new materials and refining existing ones and how this could alter our future in everything, from the gadgets we use to the garments we wear.

    Materials scientist Yue Wang adds, “There are a lot of possible uses, and we have high hopes for where this new, uncommon property will lead us.”

    The study was presented at the American Chemical Society’s spring 2024 meeting.

    Read the original article on: Science Alert

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  • The First Application of a Swedish Quantum Computer to Chemistry has Taken Place

    The First Application of a Swedish Quantum Computer to Chemistry has Taken Place

    The quantum computer at Chalmers with the outer shielding of the dilution refrigerator removed. Credit: Microsoft.

    The potential of quantum computer to revolutionize the field of chemistry and enable the simulation of complex chemical processes could have significant implications for the development of new pharmaceuticals and materials. Recently, researchers at Chalmers University successfully carried out calculations within a real-life chemistry case, marking the first time this has been achieved in Sweden.

    The Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering’s Associate Professor in Theoretical Chemistry, Martin Rahm, led a study demonstrating that quantum computers can handle complex electron and atomic nuclei movements, pushing the boundaries of what scientists can calculate and comprehend. Unlocking the full potential of quantum computers could lead to a new era of possibilities for computational chemistry.

    Quantum mechanics, which is used in the field of quantum chemistry, determines possible chemical reactions, structures, and materials, as well as their properties. Although these studies are typically conducted using supercomputers with conventional logical circuits, there is a limit to the calculations that these machines can handle.

    The new method reduces errors in quantum chemical calculations

    Due to the laws of quantum mechanics that dictate the behavior of nature at a subatomic level, several scientists suggest that quantum computers may be more adept at conducting molecular calculations than conventional computers.This hypothesis stems from the unique properties of quantum computing, which allow for the exploitation of quantum mechanical phenomena to perform calculations in ways that classical computers cannot replicate. As a result, quantum computers could offer a significant advantage in molecular-level simulations and calculations, opening up new frontiers in chemistry research.

    To reduce errors in quantum chemical calculations, scientists have discovered a promising technique called Reference-State Error Mitigation (REM), which corrects for errors caused by noise in quantum computers.

    Researchers have developed a technique called “Reference-State Error Mitigation” that enables high-accuracy quantum computation of chemistry by comparing calculations from both quantum and conventional computers. This approach allows scientists to estimate the amount of error caused by noise and correct the solution for the original complex problem. The findings have been published in the Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation.

    Chalmers University scientists have developed a unique REM (Reference Energy Method) technique that enables the computation of intrinsic energy for small molecules such as hydrogen and lithium hydride using the quantum computer, Särimner. While this calculation can be performed faster on conventional computers, this new approach marks a significant milestone in quantum chemical computation in Sweden as it is the first demonstration of such a calculation on a quantum computer.

    Quantum computer built at Chalmers

    The study was conducted in collaboration with colleagues from the Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, who were responsible for constructing the quantum computers used in the research and performing the precise measurements necessary for the chemical calculations.

    According to Jonas Bylander, Associate Professor in Quantum Technology at the Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, real quantum algorithms are essential to understanding the performance of quantum hardware and identifying opportunities for improvement. By leveraging the potential of quantum computers in chemical calculations, the collaboration with Martin Rahm’s group holds significant value.

    Read the original article on PHYS.

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