We all have our crosses to bear. Also, the need to explain everything using orbitals / stereoelectronics

Fleming first, but I wear Cambridge-tinted glasses

The Muddiest Game of Football Ever. Scottish Commentary on Derby v Stoke 1975 by McKallaster YouTube video by McKallaster

Just your average day in Britain

youtube.com/shorts/TLcLB...

Help me, #chemsky, you're my only hope.

Years ago, on the other place, some people posted gorgeous before-and-after pictures of actionoid organometallic crystals showing rapid radiation damage. Does anyone know where to find them so I can wow my students?

Trituration with i-PrOH is the actual answer

Determining structure and Zn-specific Lewis acid-base descriptors for diorganozincs in non-coordinating solvents using X-ray spectroscopy Communications Chemistry, Published online: 03 October 2025; doi:10.1038/s42004-025-01704-xDiorganozinc reagents (ZnR2, e.g. R = Et, Ph, C6F5) are widely used as Lewis acid catalysts or Lewis base reagents, however, descriptors for predicting the influence of the R substituent are scarce. Here, by using liquid-phase X-ray spectroscopy, the authors have identified the geometric structures of diorganozincs in weakly coordinating solvents and then established Zn-specific descriptors to quantify the properties of their underlying Lewis acidity/basicity.

Just out: Determining structure and Zn-specific Lewis acid-base descriptors for diorganozincs in non-coordinating solvents using X-ray spectroscopy

Determining structure and Zn-specific Lewis acid-base descriptors for diorganozincs in non-coordinating solvents using X-ray spectroscopy - Communications Chemistry Diorganozinc reagents (ZnR2, e.g. R = Et, Ph, C6F5) are widely used as Lewis acid catalysts or Lewis base reagents, however, descriptors for predicting the influence of the R substituent are scarce. Here, by using liquid-phase X-ray spectroscopy, the authors have identified the geometric structures of diorganozincs in weakly coordinating solvents and then established Zn-specific descriptors to quantify the properties of their underlying Lewis acidity/basicity.

Our work on Zinc structure and descriptors of diorganozincs (ZnR2) is now out in @commschem.nature.com!!
Empirical predictions of ZnR2 Lewis acidity and more...
Plenty of time at Diamond i20 with Kevin Lovelock (+ Lewis, Frances & Shu) and some very pretty orbitals.
www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Would have been an awesome game of association football.

Apple Stollen Bites.
Saw them,
Bought them,
Devoured them...

Feels like 20 years going to watch one of the Big Beast give the conference ending plenary.

They would obviously overrun, we would miss the wine mixer and half the audience had walked out to catch their train.

Nobody was happy

Then I horribly overthink the question (we are talking extreme levels of overthought); then, can't remember most of the periodic table.

3D printing, just a little clean up needed

That's one Ugi reaction!
One set of compounds that come close to thiols in the smell stakes - bleach is your friend.

Dr Strangelove, but keep Peter Sellers in all three roles.

Yes-Ya-Yebo! is a celebration of the 12 official languages of South Africa, expressed through song and dance, all imbued with a unique township vibe! From the rhythmic acapella beats of the Gum Boot dance and the soulful Click Song to the electrifying modern hit Calm Down and the 'just you try and NOT get up to dance' joyous hit Jerusalema – all with an exciting twist. Yes-Ya-Yebo! brought to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival by The Imibala Trust, received incredible reviews in 2023 and 2024. If you missed out on the last two years, now is your chance!

Yebo yeah for the South Africans in your life
www.edfringe.com/tickets/what...

A quality cafe in Settle with a wonder symbol on the outside. The Nutella donut is amazing!

Nature, a Science Journal

Nat., Sci. J.

Fully funded 3.5-year PhD studentship! Come and work on alkaline earth metal organometallic chemistry and metal-metal bonding @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social! More details via the link: www.imperial.ac.uk/chemistry/po...

Finally, we must talk about glassware for the Toronto cocktail.
It should never be served in a cup, and definitely not in a silver Stanley cup.
Once finished, the glass should be smashed into the fire along with all their hopes and dreams.
The napkin is provided to start planning the parade.

Whoops, the pendant strikes
The et doesn't need the full stop.

And of course futyl (futile).

'I tried EMS training, with results equal to 4 hours of exercise in just 20 minutes' Women's Health Editor-in-Chief Claire Sanderson shares her honest review

Why bother with the gym when you can use Electricity
www.womenshealthmag.com/uk/fitness/a...

What types of reaction are you talking about?
An example with A-21 resin (PS-NMe2), you can add a drop of NEt3 to act as a proton shuttle. The reaction happens in solution and the newly formed ammonium (NEt3H+) will deposit the proton onto the A-21 resin. NEt3 is free to go round as a catalyst.

The Ley and Leigh groups had similar video-based systems which helped me to grind through examples.

£5k is too much for my lab, but in a shared analytical suite, a reasonable addition.

The days of 'recrystallization until constant Mpt' are thankful gone.

Photochemistry for the win?

Six people have died in Laos from drinking tainted alcohol – what you need to know about methanol The problem with methanol poisoning is that it looks very much like alcohol poisoning. And delays in treatment can be fatal.

I wrote a little 'educate me' on methanol poisoning for The Conversation.
A very different writing style to my usual but a good challenge.
Hope you enjoy!
theconversation.com/six-people-h...

Effect of Tether Length on endo/exo Stereoselectivity in Alkene–Arene meta‐Photocycloaddition Reactions towards the Aphidocolin/Stemodin Scaffolds Intramolecular alkene-arene meta-photocycloaddition reactions are powerful ‘reagentless’ transformations that form complex three-dimensional fused-ring systems from readily accessible starting materi....

Our meta-photocyclisation using #flowphotochemistry is now available in EurJOC. Breaking heterocycles was too easy, now we break arenes.

doi.org/10.1002/ejoc...

He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy