Quantum Chemistry

MIT chemists have developed a computational model that can rapidly predict the structure of the transition state of a reaction (left structure), if it is given the structure of a reactant (middle) and product (right). Credit: David W. KastnerUtilizing generative artificial intelligence, chemists from MIT developed a model that can predict the structures formed when a chemical reaction reaches its point of no returnDuring a chemical reaction, molecules gain energy until they reach what’s known as the transition state — a…

Fluorine gas etches the surface of silicon into a series of angular peaks that, when viewed with a powerful microscope, look much like the pyramid pattern in the artist’s concept shown above. Researchers at PPPL have now modeled how these peaks form in silicon, creating a material that is highly light absorbent. Credit: SciTechDaily.comA new model from PPPL researchers explains the production of black silicon using fluorine gas, enhancing its application in solar cells and marking a new direction in quantum chemistry…

Rochester researchers have reported a strategy to understand how quantum coherence is lost for molecules in solvent with full chemical complexity. The findings open the door to the rational modulation of quantum coherence via chemical design and functionalization. Credit: Anny Ostau De Lafont The findings can be used to design molecules with custom quantum coherence properties, laying the chemical foundation for emerging quantum technologies.In quantum mechanics, particles can exist in multiple states at the same time,…

NASA’s Cold Atom Laboratory. Credit: NASAThe remotely operated facility aboard the International Space Station has created another tool that researchers can use to probe the fundamental nature of the world around us.For the first time in space, scientists have produced a quantum gas containing two types of atoms. Accomplished with NASA’s Cold Atom Laboratory aboard the International Space Station, the achievement marks another step toward bringing quantum technologies currently available only on Earth into space.Quantum…