The Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Molecular Machines, Explained

How three molecular machinists earned this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Reactions
Oct 6, 2016

In this episode of Speaking of Chemistry, we look at how three molecular machinists earned this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Latest in Chemical Processing
Making Your Supply Chains More Efficient
Sponsored
Making Your Supply Chains More Efficient
June 18, 2025
Roundup Ap
Jury Awards $332 Million to Man in Monsanto Case
November 3, 2023
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan speaks at the University of Maryland, May 11, 2023, in College Park, Md. The Biden administration on Wednesday increased the amount of biofuels that must be blended into the nation’s fuel supplies over the next three years, but held production totals steady for corn-based ethanol, disappointing the biofuel industry and farm advocates. Regan said the final rule would reduce U.S. reliance on oil and support continued growth of biofuels that help combat global warming.
EPA Boosts Biofuel Requirements
June 22, 2023
Containers of Roundup sit on a store shelf on Feb. 24, 2019, in San Francisco. Two companies that sell top brands of household weedkiller will pay nearly $7 million for allegedly making false and misleading claims regarding the safety of their products as part of a settlement with the New York Attorney General's office on Thursday, June 15, 2023.
Bayer Owes $6.9M Over Weed Killer Advertising
June 16, 2023
Related Stories
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan speaks at the University of Maryland, May 11, 2023, in College Park, Md. The Biden administration on Wednesday increased the amount of biofuels that must be blended into the nation’s fuel supplies over the next three years, but held production totals steady for corn-based ethanol, disappointing the biofuel industry and farm advocates. Regan said the final rule would reduce U.S. reliance on oil and support continued growth of biofuels that help combat global warming.
Chemical Processing
EPA Boosts Biofuel Requirements
Basf
Chemical Processing
BASF Bringing Specialty Chemical Production to U.S.
For the chemical industry, measuring and controlling moisture content is critical to ensure product quality and efficient production.
Chemical Processing
3 Ways Chemical Processors Can Benefit from NIR Technology
Making Your Supply Chains More Efficient
Sponsor Content
Making Your Supply Chains More Efficient
More in Chemical Processing
The Logistics and Transportation Survival Guide
Sponsored
The Logistics and Transportation Survival Guide
In the fast-paced world of transportation and logistics, staying as efficient and organized as possible is critical to survival. 
June 18, 2025
Roundup Ap
Laws & Regulations
Jury Awards $332 Million to Man in Monsanto Case
He contended that his cancer was related to decades of using its Roundup weedkiller.
November 3, 2023
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan speaks at the University of Maryland, May 11, 2023, in College Park, Md. The Biden administration on Wednesday increased the amount of biofuels that must be blended into the nation’s fuel supplies over the next three years, but held production totals steady for corn-based ethanol, disappointing the biofuel industry and farm advocates. Regan said the final rule would reduce U.S. reliance on oil and support continued growth of biofuels that help combat global warming.
Chemical Processing
EPA Boosts Biofuel Requirements
But it holds steady for corn-based ethanol production.
June 22, 2023
Containers of Roundup sit on a store shelf on Feb. 24, 2019, in San Francisco. Two companies that sell top brands of household weedkiller will pay nearly $7 million for allegedly making false and misleading claims regarding the safety of their products as part of a settlement with the New York Attorney General's office on Thursday, June 15, 2023.
Laws & Regulations
Bayer Owes $6.9M Over Weed Killer Advertising
At issue was the statement that "Roundup won't harm anything but weeds."
June 16, 2023
Drone photo of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed East Palestine, Ohio, Feb. 4, 2023.
Safety
50-Car Train Derailment Causes Big Fire, Evacuations
Ohio's governor activated the National Guard.
February 6, 2023
Raman spectroscopy can be used to predict the different chemical compounds that make up the sample.
Energy
Simplifying Oil and Gas Predictive Modeling
Chemometrics and Raman spectroscopy streamlines turnaround, throughput and real time test results.
January 30, 2023
Battery
Chemical Processing
Manufacturing Process Produces Cheaper Cathodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries
Instead of continuously stirring cathode materials with chemicals in a reactor, their hydrothermal synthesis approach crystalizes the cathode.
December 6, 2022
Basf
Chemical Processing
BASF Bringing Specialty Chemical Production to U.S.
The expansion will retain more than 1,000 existing jobs at a Louisiana facility.
August 5, 2022
The implementation of the methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) capacity increase program for production facilities at BASF’s Verbund site in Geismar, Louisiana, is progressing on schedule.
Operations
BASF Invests $780M in U.S. Chemical Plant Expansion
The factory will make a vital component in polyurethanes.
July 19, 2022
For the chemical industry, measuring and controlling moisture content is critical to ensure product quality and efficient production.
Chemical Processing
3 Ways Chemical Processors Can Benefit from NIR Technology
NIR moisture measurement facilitates more efficient labor, higher quality and better pricing.
June 28, 2022
Conviction Justice I Stock 1346156711 626bf41b8374e
Chemical Processing
Man Admits Selling Unregistered Chemicals to Fight COVID-19
Customers included the U.S. Marshals Service and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
June 10, 2022
Cloud seeding equipment near Winter Park in Colorado.
Chemical Processing
Cloud Seeding Might Not Be as Promising as Many Hoped
Right now, machines are set up to fire chemicals into the clouds in attempts to generate snow.
March 16, 2022
Endangered Mississippi sandhill cranes at the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge, Gautier, Miss., Nov. 27, 2012.
Laws & Regulations
Wildlife Officials Reverse Course on Pesticide
Chemical manufacturers vowed to change product labels so the highly toxic pesticide is used more carefully.
March 9, 2022
Hydrite
Chemical Processing
Hydrite Receives State of Iowa Incentives for Waterloo Expansion
The project represents a $21 million capital investment over the next three years.
March 3, 2022
Rice University graduate student M.A.S.R. Saadi coats a compound of sulfur and selenium onto steel to test its ability to protect the surface from biotic and abiotic contaminants.
Chemical Processing
Anti-Corrosion Coating Sets New Benchmark
Flexible, self-healing material protects steel from the elements.
October 20, 2021