Advertisement

If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)

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 key to knowledge is in your (nitrile-gloved) hands

Already an ACS Member?  

Basic

$0 Community Associate

ACS’s Basic Package keeps you connected with C&EN and ACS.

  • Access to 6 digital C&EN articles per month on cen.acs.org
  • Weekly delivery of the C&EN Essential newsletter
JOIN NOW
Standard

$80 Regular Members & Society Affiliates

ACS’s Standard Package lets you stay up to date with C&EN, stay active in ACS, and save.

Eligibility restrictions apply. Review ACS Membership Packages to see if you qualify.

JOIN NOW
Premium

$160 Regular Members & Society Affiliates
$55 Graduate Students
$25 Undergraduate Students

ACS’s Premium Package gives you full access to C&EN and everything the ACS Community has to offer.

  • Unlimited access to C&EN’s daily news coverage on cen.acs.org
  • Weekly delivery of the C&EN Magazine in print or digital format
  • Access to our Chemistry News by C&EN mobile app
  • Significant discounts on registration for most ACS-sponsored meetings
ACS offers discounts for some countries outside the United States. This discount is shown at checkout, if applicable.

JOIN NOW

Thank you!

Your account has been created successfully, and a confirmation email is on the way.

Your username is now your ACS ID.

ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCES TO C&EN

Synthesis

Chemistry In Pictures

Chemistry in Pictures: Secret shapeshifting science

by Craig Bettenhausen
March 5, 2021
Advertisement

Most Popular in Synthesis

 

A pile of transparent, octagonal, gold crystals.
Credit: Credit: Rob Ives, Durham University

The Chempics team saw this group of crystals on the Instagram feed of Durham University PhD student Rob Ives and wanted to know more. The compound is Cucurbit[6]uril, and it’s part of Ives’s graduate work on “nonconvalent control of shapeshifting molecules,” he says, adding mysteriously, “that’s all I can really say for now, I’m afraid.” A little digging reveals the satisfyingly symmetrical structure for Cucurbit[6]uril shown. Well, Rob, you’ve piqued our curiosity!

A complex, cyclical, organic molecule.
Credit: Sigma-Aldrich

Credit: Rob Ives, Durham University (@rob_ives on Instagram)

Do science. Take pictures. Win money. Enter our photo contest here.

Click here to see more Chemistry in Pictures.

Chemical & Engineering News
ISSN 0009-2347
Copyright © 2025 American Chemical Society

You might also like...

Serving the chemical, life science, and laboratory worlds
Chemistry in Pictures: Beautiful waste
Serving the chemical, life science, and laboratory worlds
Chemistry in Pictures: TEMPO
Serving the chemical, life science, and laboratory worlds
Chemistry in Pictures: Time for roses

Article:

This article has been sent to the following recipient:

2 /3 FREE ARTICLES LEFT THIS MONTH Remaining
Chemistry matters. Join us to get the news you need.
GET MORE
GET MORE