Chemistry stuff from the week 25/6 - 1/7/12

Sorry, cooks -- flambeing might look great, but it doesn't do anything for the food!
http://phys.org/news/2012-06-flambe-doesnt-flavor.html

'New technique controls crystalline structure of titanium dioxide'
Ah - titanium dioxide - the multiplex knife of the chemical world! Common uses are in paint (it can scatter light exceptionally well, making bright colours), and in the layer on top of that paint, to make it self-cleaning (it acts as a photocatalyst, breaking dirt down in the sunlight, and the byproducts just slough off)
"The anatase phase has characteristics that make it better suited for use as an antibacterial agent and for applications such as hydrogen production. The rutile phase is better suited for use in other applications, such as photovoltaic cells, smart sensors and optical communication technologies."
http://phys.org/news/2012-06-technique-crystalline-titanium-dioxide.html

'Palladium-gold nanoparticles clean TCE a billion times faster than iron filings'
TCE, or trichloroethene, is a widely used chemical degreaser and solvent that leaches into groundwater, around the world.
Palladium catalysts, as the title says, work a billion times faster than iron reactants, but, because palladium is so much scarcer, is considerably more expensive to use. A quandary!
http://phys.org/news/2012-06-palladium-gold-nanoparticles-tce-billion-faster.html

And in the photography section we have... some pictures of chemical reactions taking place!
Gah -- i can't wait for them to publish some pictures of this happening! Amazing :)
"Such pulses are the shortest controllable light pulses available to science. With these pulses, according to the researchers, it's possible to measure the dynamics of electrons in matter in real-time."
http://phys.org/news/2012-06-shortest-nature.html

Scientists have designed a battery that, when the hydrogen fuel has run out, continues to produce electromotive force, by the Vanadium anode itself reacting.
"The new [solid oxide fuel cell] uses a bilayer of platinum and VOx for the anode, which allows the cell to continue operating without fuel for up to 14 times as long (3 minutes, 30 seconds, at a current density of 0.2 mA/cm2)."
http://phys.org/news/2012-06-fuel-cell-hydrogen.html