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The 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

The 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Dan Shechtman, for his discovery of quasicrystals. In April 1982, Dr. Shechtman prepared aluminium/manganese alloys by rapidly cooling molten mixtures of the two metals. He observed that one of the samples gave rise to anomalous electron diffraction pattern, which was incompatible with accepted ideas about crystal structure. It did not conform to any of the known Bravais lattice types, which are generated by periodic repetitions of a basic unit cell. The solid had an icosahedral phase, with five-fold rotational symmetry, which does not allow lattice translation, yet it had long-range orientational order and gave a discrete, sharp diffraction pattern.

Shechtman had great difficulty in convincing the scientific community of the validity of his findings. However, ten years earlier, Roger Penrose had used rhombic shaped tiles to show that it is possible to create a two-dimensional pattern, with pentagonal symmetry, which has long-range order but no translational periodicity. This helped crystallographers to accept that such symmetry could work in three dimensions. Further examples of aperiodic arrangements have since been found in synthetic materials and more recently in a naturally occurring mineral, icosahedrite. Such solids are now known as quasicrystals.

More details on the Nobel Prize website.

Article by M. Franklin: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the Golden Ratio: Science meets Art (PDF Document)

IChemI Statement on Hazardous Waste Treatment

IChemI Statement on Hazardous Waste Treatment (PDF Document)

Two New Elements Recognised

IUPAC has recognised the existence of elements number 114 and 116. These super-heavy elements do not occur in nature but are formed by bombarding heavy elements like plutonium with lighter elements such as calcium or krypton and studying their decay products. After experiments were successfully repeated, IUPAC has now decided there is enough evidence to accept the existence of elements 114 and 116 (but not yet 118). The elements have been generically named ununquadium (Uuq, one-one-four-ium) and ununhexium (Uuh, one-one-six-ium) until formal names are agreed.

It should also be noted that Professor John Corish FICI was our national representative on the Joint Working Party on the priority of claims to the discovery of new elements. Professor Corish is a former President of the Inorganic Division of IUPAC, and a former President of the Institute.

Read more on the Irish Times website and the IUPAC website.

European Young Chemists Network

Report on the 6th Delegates Assembly of EYCN, Murzasichle, Poland April 2011.

EYCN DA 2011 Report (Word Document)