Understanding the chemistry of radioactive compounds emerges as one of the most urgent scientific challenges

Ideal Templates for Stable U28 Clusters

Polymers Taking the Strain
Synthetic material gets stronger from repeated stress much like bones after repeated workouts

Fuel Cells Without Platinum
Replacing platinum in fuel cells with polymer coated nanotubes decreases cost but not power output

High Turnover H2 Production
Single-component photocatalyst shows 20-fold increase in H2 production over current alternatives

Triaryl Phosphates from White Phosphorus
Iron-based catalysis gives new route to triorganophosphates for flame retardants without the need for chlorine

Contrast Agent for Tumor Diagnostics
X-rays are not the only way: Phosphorescent metal–organic coordination polymers can also be used in optical imaging

New Max Planck Institute: Intelligent Systems
Max Planck Society establishes new research facility for "Intelligent Systems" in Germany, unifying biology, computer and materials sciences

Tying up Conductive Graphene Ribbons
Templated growth allowed US researchers to make almost zero-resistance nanoscopic ribbons of epitaxial graphene just 15–40 nanometers wide

Cheap Cats
An economic method based on a vacuum procedure can convert an off-the-shelf catalyst into a highly active photocatalyst without doping

Commemorating Hermann Staudinger
It is 130 years since the birth of Hermann Staudinger, the father of polymer chemistry