Physical chemistry articles from across Nature Portfolio

A technique that spontaneously detaches a 2D material from the substrate on which it was grown creates high-quality nanoscale electronic devices.

Atomic partial charges are subtle variations in electron distribution in a molecule. They can now be measured by an innovative experimental method that exploits a phenomenon known as electron diffraction. The results provide insights into molecular interactions, potentially leading to applications in drug discovery and materials science.

Experiments under upper-tropospheric conditions map the chemical formation of isoprene oxygenated organic molecules (important molecules for new particle formation) and reveal that relative radical ratios control their composition

Protein secondary structures are visualized in situ by hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering microscopy, revealing disordered to ordered changes in protein phase separation and structural heterogeneity of subcellular aggregates in live cells.

Accurate quantum mechanical benchmarks modeling ligand interactions with protein pockets are key in drug design. Here, such a large dimers dataset is created, analyzed, and probed with many methods

Molecular-level insight into hydrogen isotope separation processes with triazole-based metal–organic frameworks [Mn(ta)₂] have recently been studied through in situ neutron diffraction and cryogenic thermal desorption spectroscopy. By fine-tuning the ligands of the framework, remarkable separation efficiencies are observed.

A technique that spontaneously detaches a 2D material from the substrate on which it was grown creates high-quality nanoscale electronic devices.

Atomic partial charges are subtle variations in electron distribution in a molecule. They can now be measured by an innovative experimental method that exploits a phenomenon known as electron diffraction. The results provide insights into molecular interactions, potentially leading to applications in drug discovery and materials science.

Electrochemistry can boost processes that trap atoms inside a metal. A reactor uses these trapped atoms, combined with an ion beam, as fuel for nuclear fusion.

Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy connects isotopic mass and confinement geometry to vibrational shifts in H₂ and D₂, highlighting quantum behaviour in simple molecules and enabling atomic-scale understanding of reactivity, catalysis, and surface interactions.

Smith’s invention enabled the precise capture of light in electronic form, and has transformed science, medicine and daily life.