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Pyrene is a crystallike solid that is part of a class of compounds used to make pesticides, dyes, and plastics. Ralph Lange at ETH Zurich photographed these pyrene crystals using an optical microscope with polarized light, which created the rainbow of colors. His research group was using the pyrene in a project to make new monomers for two-dimensional polymer synthesis. The goal is for the monomers to arrange themselves in layers in a way that allows them to form covalent bonds only within a plane. When the scientists exfoliate the polymer crystals down to single layers, Lange says, “the sheets are not brittle anymore but rather soft like tissues.”
Submitted by Ralph Lange
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