Driven by natural or artificial sunlight, a novel “microtube pump” transports water droplets over long distances. As reported by Chinese researchers in the Journal Angewandte Chemie, the pump consists of a tube whose properties can be changed asymmetrically through irradiation. This results in capillary forces and a wettability gradient in the inner wall which work together…

Who is the better experimentalist, a human or a robot? When it comes to exploring synthetic and crystallization conditions for inorganic gigantic molecules, actively learning machines are clearly ahead, as demonstrated by British scientists in an experiment with polyoxometalates published in the journal Angewandte Chemie. Polyoxometalates form through self-assembly of a large number of metal…

Flexible, wearable electronics require equally flexible, wearable power sources. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, Chinese scientists have introduced an extraordinarily stretchable and compressible polyelectrolyte which, in combination with carbon nanotube composite paper electrodes, forms a supercapacitor that can be stretched to 1000 percent in length and compressed to 50 percent in thickness with even gaining, not…

The detection of exposure to chemical hazards can save lives. American scientists have developed a smart and simple chemidosimeter based on a chemiresistive sensor combined with a near-field communication tag, which can be read-out by a smartphone. This chemically actuated resonant device (CARD) is made of simple components, is disposable, ready-to-use, needs no batteries, and…

A simple but effective sensor for monitoring the respiration rate of individuals has been created. Taking advantage of the hygroscopic character of ordinary paper, scientists at Harvard University have developed an electrical sensor to detect the periodic changes of humidity by breathing in and out. As they report in the journal Angewandte Chemie, the respiration data…