A pair of very special black hole mergers, detected just one month apart in late 2024, is improving how scientists understand the nature and evolution of the most violent deep-space collisions in our universe. Some features of these mergers point toward the possibility of “second-generation” black holes, i.e. black holes that are the result of earlier coalescences, probably formed in very dense and crowded cosmic environments, like star clusters, where black holes are more likely to run into each other and merge again and again.

Silicon carbide (SiC) and silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) powders are critical raw materials for advanced ceramics. However, traditional synthesis methods face four major challenges: difficulty in achieving SiC nanosizing, difficulty in realizing Si₃N₄ high purification, the need for external energy input for the weakly exothermic Si-C reaction, and the requirement of adding large amounts of diluents to enable the combustion synthesis of the strongly exothermic Si-N₂ reaction. Recently, a research team utilized the difference in heat release between the Si-N₂ and Si-C reactions. By means of chemical furnace encapsulation, the strong heat release from the Si-N₂ reaction was used to induce the combustion synthesis of the weakly exothermic Si-C reaction system. Through the regulation of the combustion reaction temperature field and the partial pressure of CO reducing gas, β-SiC powders with an average particle size of only 30 nm and high-purity pink β-Si₃N₄ powders with an oxygen content as low as 0.46 wt% were successfully synthesized. Their work is published in the journal Industrial Chemistry & Materials on 10 October.

Different methods have been proposed to calculate Van-der-Waals-forces. But as it turns out, the very method considered to be the "gold standard" of quantum chemistry is the source of major errors. 

In a global first, Heriot-Watt University has unveiled a groundbreaking new online course dedicated to tackling the excess of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the Earth’s atmosphere, one of the root causes of climate change.

Researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) have found a way to generate mechanoluminescence in non-crystalline materials, bringing a new wave of potential applications in engineering, industrial safety and beyond. “Traditionally, chemists have thought crystal fracture an essential step in generating mechanoluminescence,” notes Dr Ayumu Karimata, first author of the study. “We have proved that’s not necessary. Our findings open up a vast array of possibilities in materials science, as they remove the need for complex crystal design and engineering when creating mechanoluminescent materials.” 

The collaborative research group led by Ehime University have synthesized a novel pyrrole-fused aza-nanographene that bends into a ladder-shaped structure due to its unique “gulf-edge” regions. The molecule shows remarkable oxidation-dependent electronic behavior: a diradical open-shell dication and a globally aromatic closed-shell tetracation. This finding reveals how molecular curvature and oxidation state govern electronic properties, paving the way for designing redox-active π-conjugated materials and organic molecular switches.