History of chemistry articles within Nature Chemistry

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  • In Your Element |

    Few explosives are better-known to non-chemists than trinitrotoluene (TNT). Thomas M. Klapötke reflects on the enduring appeal of TNT and whether its starring role as an explosive is nearing its end.

    • Thomas M. Klapötke

  • In Your Element |

    Clinton Veale and Fanie van Heerden discuss the story of natamycin. From its humble telluric origins in Pietermaritzburg, this unique antimicrobial agent has risen to become a mainstay of the food and beverages industry.

    • Clinton G. L. Veale
    •  & Fanie R. van Heerden

  • In Your Element |

    Martin Johansen and Abhik Ghosh reflect on the unusual chemistry of carbones — whose central carbon atom bears two lone pairs — and their role as double-dative ligands.

    • Martin A. L. Johansen
    •  & Abhik Ghosh

  • In Your Element |

    Organisms that glow are perhaps eerie. Vadim Viviani ponders on the luciferin–luciferase systems responsible for their intriguing bioluminescence.

    • Vadim R. Viviani

  • In Your Element |

    Jane Liao and Allie C. Obermeyer explore the discovery, modification and applications of green fluorescent protein, best known for its use as a tool to cast light on cellular processes.

    • Jane Liao
    •  & Allie C. Obermeyer

  • In Your Element |

    Rahul Dev Mukhopadhyay and Kimoon Kim consider how cucurbiturils — pumpkin-shaped macrocycles — went from curiosities to compelling cavitands for a host of applications.

    • Rahul Dev Mukhopadhyay
    •  & Kimoon Kim

  • In Your Element |

    Methane hydrate clogs pipelines, is difficult to extract profitably, and exists in quantities sufficient to screw up Earth’s climate. Brett Thornton and Christian Stranne consider this confounding cage compound.

    • Brett F. Thornton
    •  & Christian Stranne

  • In Your Element |

    Carina Crucho and Maria Teresa Barros consider the rich chemistry of sucrose, a carbohydrate that makes life sweeter.

    • Carina I. C. Crucho
    •  & Maria Teresa Barros

  • In Your Element |

    Abhik Ghosh explores the structure, chemistry and applications of corroles, a class of sterically constrained macrocyclic tetrapyrroles.

    • Abhik Ghosh

  • In Your Element |

    Madison Knapp and Jennifer Bridwell-Rabb explore the functions of chlorophyll and explain how our understanding of this green pigment has changed over time.

    • Madison Knapp
    •  & Jennifer Bridwell-Rabb

  • In Your Element |

    Lukas Veth and Paweł Dydio discuss the importance of ligands in transition metal catalysis, looking at the success story of xantphos and why it should earn the title of ‘privileged ligand’.

    • Lukas Veth
    •  & Paweł Dydio

  • In Your Element |

    Tova N. Williams explores the history of madder, its components and the perhaps confusing terminology that surrounds this long-known source of red colour.

    • Tova N. Williams

  • Thesis |

    Michelle Francl explores how glass revolutionized chemistry.

    • Michelle Francl

  • Comment |

    In 1931, Erich Hückel published a landmark paper — the seed of the now famous 4n + 2 rule for aromaticity in annulenes that bears his name. Electron counting has since been extended to other classes of compounds, resulting in a multitude of rules aiming to capture the concept of aromaticity and its impact in chemistry.

    • Miquel Solà

  • In Your Element |

    Christine M. Le takes a look at 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxyglucose and explains how this radioactive sugar could help to save your life.

    • Christine M. Le

  • In Your Element |

    Amina Schartup relates how our understanding of methylmercury has changed in the 170 years since it was discovered — as well as some of the disasters that occurred along the way.

    • Amina T. Schartup

  • In Your Element |

    John Woodland and Kelly Chibale retrace the tumultuous history of quinine from a medicine — used as a tool for colonialism — to a puzzling chemical target, a fluorescence standard and a key ingredient in popular drinks.

    • John G. Woodland
    •  & Kelly Chibale

  • Thesis |

    The periodic table of elements should be celebrated not only for the order it brings, but also for the fascinating stories underlying this icon of science, suggests Juris Meija.

    • Juris Meija

  • Thesis |

    Ellis McCarver and Michelle Francl want to turn up the volume of the voices of marginalized chemists.

    • Michelle Francl
    •  & Ellis McCarver

  • Thesis |

    Michelle Francl wonders what the future will think of her office.

    • Michelle Francl

  • Thesis |

    Michelle Francl wonders if it is time to rethink the naming of units.

    • Michelle Francl

  • Thesis |

    Despite the romantic mythology that often accompanies stories of scientific discovery, pinpointing the exact moment in history when a new concept emerged is often a matter of debate — and the hydrogen bond is no exception explains Bruce C. Gibb.

    • Bruce C. Gibb

  • Editorial |

    As the International Year of the Periodic Table draws to an end, we reflect on how it has prompted chemists to explore the past, present and future of this chemical icon.

  • Thesis |

    Michelle Francl wonders if there is a risk to making yourself at home in the lab.

    • Michelle Francl

  • Thesis |

    M. Pilar Gil and Eli Zysman-Colman look back at the history of two periodic tables that date from the late nineteenth century.

    • M. Pilar Gil
    •  & Eli Zysman-Colman

  • Comment |

    Could it be boron or bohrium that is the most boring? You’ll need to read to the end to find out.

    • Rebecca E. Jelley
    •  & Allan G. Blackman

  • Meeting Report |

    The contributions of women to the development of the periodic table have long been overlooked. Claire Murray relates how the recent ‘Setting their table’ conference set out to highlight their prominent role in element discovery and use.

    • Claire A. Murray

  • Comment |

    The periodic table is immensely powerful for rationalizing many different properties of the chemical elements, but would turning it on its head make some important aspects easier to understand and give everyone a new perspective on chemistry?

    • Martyn Poliakoff
    • , Alexis D. J. Makin
    •  & Ellen Poliakoff

  • Thesis |

    Weighing up whether or not to drink heavy water, Michelle Francl plunges into its history.

    • Michelle Francl

  • Editorial |

    We reflect on our monthly ‘In Your Element’ feature that comes to an end in this issue.

  • In Your Element |

    The first element to be identified one atom at a time was named after the main architect of the modern periodic table. This seemingly straightforward etymological choice illustrates how scientific recognition can eclipse geopolitical tensions, says Anne Pichon.

    • Anne Pichon

  • In Your Element |

    Lanthanum is the first lanthanide — or the last. Or it’s not a lanthanide at all. In any case, Brett Thornton and Shawn Burdette are sure that it’s an element that might or might not be in group three of the periodic table.

    • Brett F. Thornton
    •  & Shawn C. Burdette

  • Thesis |

    Michelle Francl suggests that we should expand our view of the periodic table to new dimensions.

    • Michelle Francl

  • Editorial |

    The United Nations has declared 2019 to be the International Year of the Periodic Table to coincide with this iconic chemical chart turning 150 years old. We join in with the celebrations by publishing a collection of articles that explore the edges of the periodic system and look at some of the elements that do — and don’t — make up the table.

  • Comment |

    Let’s flip over the periodic table to peek at its dark side.

    • Michelle Francl

  • In Your Element |

    Stuart Cantrill explains why looking to the heavens for element 61 — named after the Titan who stole fire from the gods — could extend the periodic table.

    • Stuart Cantrill

  • In Your Element |

    Liz Williams explores the synthesis of tennessine, a story in which elements in supporting roles play a crucial part.

    • Elizabeth Williams

  • Article |

    So far, monosubstituted carbenes have only been spectroscopically characterized at very low temperatures. Now, it has been shown that a bulky, chemically inert, amino substituent is enough to tame the intrinsic tendency of carbenes towards dimerization, enabling their isolation at room temperature.

    • Ryo Nakano
    • , Rodolphe Jazzar
    •  & Guy Bertrand

  • In Your Element |

    Shawn C. Burdette and Brett F. Thornton examine hafnium’s emergence from ores containing a seemingly identical element to become both a chemical oddity and an essential material for producing nuclear energy.

    • Shawn C. Burdette
    •  & Brett F. Thornton

  • In Your Element |

    Taye Demissie relates unununium’s unusually smooth route to roentgenium, and how predicting its properties relies on relativistic calculations.

    • Taye B. Demissie

  • In Your Element |

    Vikki Cantrill tells the story of element 88’s discovery and how its glowing reputation eventually faded.

    • Vikki Cantrill

  • Thesis |

    Michelle Francl dusts off Pauling’s notes on bonding to explore the illusory link between electron promotion and hybridization.

    • Michelle Francl

  • In Your Element |

    Scientists take nomenclature seriously, but tritium was named in a casual aside. Brett F. Thornton and Shawn C. Burdette discuss the heavy, radioactive hydrogen isotope that is available for purchase online.

    • Brett F. Thornton
    •  & Shawn C. Burdette

  • In Your Element |

    Adrian Dingle relates how one ‘element’ that fell off the periodic table was eventually replaced by two.

    • Adrian Dingle

  • In Your Element |

    From its scarcity to political intrigue over naming conventions, element 108’s story describes how international cooperation overcame the limits of nuclear science, says Michael Tarselli.

    • Michael A. Tarselli

  • Thesis |

    To appreciate women’s contribution to science, Michelle Francl suggests it’s time to stop talking about the most famous one.

    • Michelle Francl

  • In Your Element |

    Lars Öhrström suspects that as time goes by, we may see more of lutetium — the last of the lanthanoids.

    • Lars Öhrström

  • In Your Element |

    Shawn C. Burdette and Brett F. Thornton explore how germanium developed from a missing element in Mendeleev's periodic table to an enabler for the information age, while retaining a nomenclature oddity.

    • Shawn C. Burdette
    •  & Brett F. Thornton

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