The lithium-ion battery is undoubtedly one of the most important inventions in the last century. So important was this technology that the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2019 was awarded to the scientists that contributed to its development. Whether it…
In 2018, Furukawa et al. published an article in Nature Communications Chemistry which aroused great interest in the world of chemists. In his article, he reported the synthesis of an organoselenium cationic species (shown below), which he claimed exhibits double…
What is MO Theory? Beginner learners of more advanced organic chemistry would certainly have encountered molecular orbital theory in some form, and may even have developed a certain aversion or fear of this powerful theory. No doubt, the intricacies of…
Severe winter storms in the state of Texas in February 2021 crippled the state’s electricity grid and led to shortages of food, water and heat for many of its residents. Record low temperatures led to surging electricity demand and declining…
In Part I of this article, we described how to calculate the number of combinations of a combination lock, as well as the number of ways to arrange objects, instead of listing out each combination individually. In Part II, we…
Chapter 1: What is Combinatorics? Have you ever used a combination lock before? Two of the most common combination lock designs are shown below. For Combination Lock A, there are 8 buttons labelled 1 through 8. Each button is labelled…
We learn the two mechanisms of nucleophilic substitution in school, namely SN1 and SN2. To recap, SN1 is a two-step mechanism involving first the leaving of the leaving group to form a carbocation intermediate, which is then attacked by the…
Autonomous materials are materials that can protect itself, heal damage and indicate if it is damaged throughout the course of its life cycle without any active intervention. These materials are at the forefront of materials science research, as they hold…
“Why are we learning about acids and bases?” my student once asked me. “Well,” I said with confidence, “the chemistry of acids and bases underlie many important industrial and commercial applications…” “No, how will I use it in my life,”…
