Sports fever comes to chemistry

Caroline Morley, online picture researcher

(Image: IBM Research - Zurich, University of Warwick, Royal Society of Chemistry)

It feels like there's no escaping sports fever this summer. A certain five-ringed logo even inspired chemists to create this new molecule.

Called olympicene, this molecule is related to graphene and is based around five hexagonal carbon rings. The structure was entered into the online chemical database ChemSpider two years ago, but only now have David Fox and Anish Mistry of the University of Warwick, UK, brought the molecule into physical reality.

Fox commented that olympicene could have interesting optical and electronic properties and applications, along with other graphene-related molecules. He said: "These types of molecules may offer great potential for the next generation of solar cells and high-tech lighting sources such as LEDs."

This image was taken using non-contact atomic-force microscopy at IBM Research in Zurich, Switzerland.

At just 1.2 nanometres in width, olympicene is the smallest set of five rings you're likely to see this summer, but it is unlikely to win any medals. Let's hope it escapes the branding police.

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