Graphene has emerged as a material with a vast variety of applications. The electronic, optical and mechanical properties of graphene are strongly influenced by the number of layers present in a sample. As a result, the dimensional characterization of graphene films is crucial, especially with the continued development of new synthesis methods and applications. A number of techniques exist to determine the thickness of graphene films including optical contrast, Raman scattering and scanning probe microscopy techniques. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), in particular, is used extensively since it provides three-dimensional images that enable the measurement of the lateral dimensions of graphene films as well as the thickness, and by extension the number of layers present. However, in the literature AFM has proven to be inaccurate with a wide range of measured values for single layer graphene thickness reported (between 0.4 and 1.7 nm). This discrepancy has been attributed to tip-surface interactions, image feedback settings and surface chemistry. In this work, we use standard and carbon nanotube modified AFM probes and a relatively new AFM imaging mode known as PeakForce tapping mode to establish a protocol that will allow users to accurately determine the thickness of graphene films. In particular, the error in measuring the first layer is reduced from 0.1–1.3 nm to 0.1–0.3 nm. Furthermore, in the process we establish that the graphene-substrate adsorbate layer and imaging force, in particular the pressure the tip exerts on the surface, are crucial components in the accurate measurement of graphene using AFM. These findings can be applied to other 2D materials.

Mercury pollution threatens the environment and human health across the globe. This neurotoxic substance is encountered in artisanal gold mining, coal combustion, oil and gas refining, waste incineration, chloralkali plant operation, metallurgy, and areas of agriculture in which mercury‐rich fungicides are used. Thousands of tonnes of mercury are emitted annually through these activities. With the Minamata Convention on Mercury entering force this year, increasing regulation of mercury pollution is imminent. It is therefore critical to provide inexpensive and scalable mercury sorbents. The research herein addresses this need by introducing low‐cost mercury sorbents made solely from sulfur and unsaturated cooking oils. A porous version of the polymer was prepared by simply synthesising the polymer in the presence of a sodium chloride porogen. The resulting material is a rubber that captures liquid mercury metal, mercury vapour, inorganic mercury bound to organic matter, and highly toxic alkylmercury compounds. Mercury removal from air, water and soil was demonstrated. Because sulfur is a by‐product of petroleum refining and spent cooking oils from the food industry are suitable starting materials, these mercury‐capturing polymers can be synthesised entirely from waste and supplied on multi‐kilogram scales. This study is therefore an advance in waste valorisation and environmental chemistry.

The growing problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a major threat to human health. Paradoxically, new antibiotic discovery is declining, with most of the recently approved antibiotics corresponding to new uses for old antibiotics or structurally similar derivatives of known antibiotics. We used an in silico approach to design a new class of nontoxic antimicrobials for the bacteria-specific mechanosensitive ion channel of large conductance, MscL. One antimicrobial of this class, compound 10, is effective against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with no cytotoxicity in human cell lines at the therapeutic concentrations. As predicted from in silico modeling, we show that the mechanism of action of compound 10 is at least partly dependent on interactions with MscL. Moreover we show that compound 10 cured a methicillin-resistant S. aureus infection in the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Our work shows that compound 10, and other drugs that target MscL, are potentially important therapeutics against antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections.

The study of ore minerals is rapidly transforming due to an explosion of new micro- and nano-analytical technologies. These advanced microbeam techniques can expose the physical and chemical character of ore minerals at ever-better spatial resolution and analytical precision. The insights that can be obtained from ten of today’s most important, or emerging, techniques and methodologies are reviewed: laser-ablation inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry; focussed ion beam-scanning electron microscopy; high-angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy; electron back-scatter diffraction; synchrotron X-ray fluorescence mapping; automated mineral analysis (Quantitative Evaluation of Mineralogy via Scanning Electron Microscopy and Mineral Liberation Analysis); nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry; atom probe tomography; radioisotope geochronology using ore minerals; and, non-traditional stable isotopes. Many of these technical advances cut across conceptual boundaries between mineralogy and geochemistry and require an in-depth knowledge of the material that is being analysed. These technological advances are accompanied by changing approaches to ore mineralogy: the increased focus on trace element distributions; the challenges offered by nanoscale characterisation; and the recognition of the critical petrogenetic information in gangue minerals, and, thus the need to for a holistic approach to the characterization of mineral assemblages. Using original examples, with an emphasis on iron oxide-copper-gold deposits, we show how increased analytical capabilities, particularly imaging and chemical mapping at the nanoscale, offer the potential to resolve outstanding questions in ore mineralogy. Broad regional or deposit-scale genetic models can be validated or refuted by careful analysis at the smallest scales of observation. As the volume of information at different scales of observation expands, the level of complexity that is revealed will increase, in turn generating additional research questions. Topics that are likely to be a focus of breakthrough research over the coming decades include, understanding atomic-scale distributions of metals and the role of nanoparticles, as well how minerals adapt, at the lattice-scale, to changing physicochemical conditions. Most importantly, the complementary use of advanced microbeam techniques allows for information of different types and levels of quantification on the same materials to be correlated.