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Science Communication

Chemistry In Pictures

Chemistry in Pictures: Molecular pointillism

by Manny I. Fox Morone
June 23, 2022

 

A drawing of a pink rose with a green stem composed entirely of tiny colored chemical structures representing some of the aroma compounds in roses, including geraniol, 2-phenylethanol, (–)-cis-rose oxide, and water.
Credit: Lucy Walker

Using a technique of her own making that she calls “molecular pointillism,” Lucy Walker drew this rose, or at least the illusion of one. When you look really closely at the stem and petals, you can see the lines and shading that create the image are in fact tiny chemical structures of aroma compounds that make roses smells the way they do: (–)-cis-rose oxide, 2-phenylethanol, and geraniol—along with tiny H₂O molecules (see image below). Walker, a graduate student in Timothy A. Barendt’s lab at the University of Birmingham, says the drawing took around 10 h to complete.

A close-up view drawing of a pink rose with a green stem composed entirely of tiny colored chemical structures representing some of the aroma compounds in roses, including geraniol, 2-phenylethanol, (–)-cis-rose oxide, and water.
Credit: Lucy Walker

Credit: Lucy Walker. Follow Lucy on Twitter (@_walkerlucy_) and Instagram (@_molecularts).

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