Polyaniline

UCLA chemists reported last week that they had developed a new family of membranes that are highly effective at separating gases. Richard B. Kaner and his colleagues reported in the journal Science that the membranes could be used to produce pure oxygen or nitrogen, for example, much more cheaply than existing methods, which rely on cooling air to very low temperatures.

UCLA chemists reported last week that they had developed a new family of membranes that are highly effective at separating gases. Richard B. Kaner and his colleagues reported in the journal Science that the membranes could be used to produce pure oxygen or nitrogen, for example, much more cheaply than existing methods, which rely on cooling air to very low temperatures.

Imagine hitting a switch on your dashboard and instantly changing the color of your car. A Rhode Island researcher has developed a "smart window" that might one day make the scenario possible by coating a plate of glass or other substance with a chemical that reacts to electrical current by changing its color.