Sticking with Chemistry on Mole Day!

Happy National Chemistry Week! This year’s theme is “Sticking with Chemistry,” a celebration of the science of glues and adhesives. It’s no coincidence that today is also Mole Day, the annual festival honoring Avogadro’s Number – the number of molecules or atoms that comprise a mole of a substance: 6.02 x 10²³. That’s 602,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 molecules or atoms!

On the chemistry of glue, here’s an infographic from Compound Interest:

*The Chemistry of Superglue by Compound Interest*

In terms of nanoscience and stickiness, it’s always fun to revisit our blog posts on ivy, Spider-Man, and gecko feet!

*Left,: gecko toes! There are even finer structures on the toes than those visible here. (image by Bjørn Christian Tørrissen*) *Right: gecko-inspired nanosetae (reprinted with permission from Ho et al., copyright 2011 American Chemical Society¹).*

Looking for some sticky science to try at home? Here’s an ACS Reactions video (with consulting contribution from our own Dr. Alicia McGeachy!) all about making magnetic slime:

Skipping work to make slime feels all the more relevant in 2020…

Finally, it’s hard to believe, but this is our seventh year posting on Mole Day and/or National Chemistry week! Here’s a little tour down memory lane: