ERROR 1
ERROR 1
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
Password and Confirm password must match.
If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)
ERROR 2
ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.
The contents of this Erlenmeyer flask, forgotten in the back of a fume hood for a month, crystallized into a floral pattern. The crystallized molecule, 2-allylisoindoline-1,3-dione, came from the ethyl acetate portion of an aqueous extraction that was part of a three-step synthesis. Paul Furuta, director of material development at Capacitor Sciences, performed the experiment and says the flask may contain a significant amount of the solvent dimethylformamide. “This might have contributed to the slow crystallization and interesting pattern.” The final product of the synthesis is an advanced dielectric—an electrical insulator—for use in energy-storage capacitors.
Submitted by Paul Furuta
Do science. Take pictures. Win money. Enter our photo contest here.
Related C&EN content:
Join the conversation
Contact the reporter
Submit a Letter to the Editor for publication
Engage with us on Twitter