Make Sodium Acetate at Home

Chemically, Sodium Acetate is a mixture of various elements sodium (Na) atom, two carbon(C) atoms, two oxygen (O) atoms, and 3 hydrogen (H) atoms. When we technically writing this chemical, it is represented as C₂H₃NaO₂. Generally, it appears as a white hygroscopic or water-attracting crystalline powder. Sodium acetate can be referred as the sodium salt of acetic acid, sodium ethanoate. It belongs to a conjugate base of a weak acid, which means that it only partially ionises. Read More

Restructure nanoporous alloys to get a more efficient catalyst

LIVERMORE, US: New research shows that the phases that nano-structured materials go through to become an efficient catalyst, as good as gold. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) material scientist Juergen Biener and collaborators found that by restructuring nanoporous gold alloys they become more efficient catalysts. Nano-structured materials hold promise for improving catalyst activity and selectivity, but little is known about the dynamic compositional. Read More

Scientists tie the tightest knot ever from atom strings

MANCHESTER, UK: University of Manchester researchers have produced the most tightly knotted physical structure ever known – a scientific accomplishment which has the potential to create a new generation of advanced materials. The research led by professor David Leigh in Manchester’s School of Chemistry, have developed a way of braiding multiple molecular strands enabling tighter and more complex knots to be made than has previously been possible. Read More

Xylene – a solvent, mixture of three isomers

Xylene characteristics can be described as aromatic hydrocarbon solvent, mixture of three different isomers i.e., meta-xylene, ortho-xylene, para-xylene. Xylol is the other widely used common name for xylene. Xylene appearance described as colorless, sweet-smelling liquid that catches on fire easily. It is usually refined through an alkylation process from crude oil, also produced as by-product from coal carbonization and can extracted from benzole.  Xylene is flammable. Read More