Nanowerk August 29, 2023 Researchers in Czech Republic have experimentally confirmed the correctness of a decades-old theory that assumed a non-uniform distribution of electron density in aromatic molecules, a phenomenon that significantly affects the physicochemical properties of molecules and their interactions. They presented the resolution of the π-hole on a single molecule which supports the theoretical prediction of its existence. Experimental measurements supported by theoretical calculations showed the importance of π-holes in the process of adsorption of molecules on solid-state surfaces. According to the researchers better knowledge of the distribution of the electron charge will help the scientific community to […]
Tag Archives: S&T Czech Republic
Scientists Transformed Pure Water Into a Metal, And There’s Footage
Science Alert October 20, 2022 By bringing pure water into contact with an alloy of sodium and potassium researchers in Czech Republic converted pure water metallic. They extruded a small blob of sodium-potassium alloy, which is liquid at room temperature, from a nozzle and added a thin film of pure water using vapor deposition. Upon contact, the electrons and metal cations flowed into the water from the alloy. Not only did this give the water a golden shine, but it also turned the water conductive. They confirmed this using optical reflection spectroscopy and synchrotron X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Their study not […]
Bacteria-sized robots take on microplastics and win by breaking them down
EurekAlert June 9, 2021 Currently sunlight-driven photocatalysis is the most energy-efficient strategy for plastic degradation; however, attaining efficient photocatalyst–plastic interaction and thus an effective charge transfer in the micro/nanoscale is very difficult. As a proof of concept a team of researchers in the Czech Republic introduced an active photocatalytic degradation procedure based on intelligent visible-light-driven microrobots with the capability of capturing and degrading microplastics “on-the-fly” in a complex multichannel maze. The robots with hybrid powers carry built-in photocatalytic (BiVO4) and magnetic (Fe3O4) materials allowing a self-propelled motion under sunlight with the possibility of precise actuation under a magnetic field inside […]