Cosmetics
Agar: It is also known as algae or carrageen. It’s usually added to moisturizers as an emollient or antioxidant.
Allantoin: It is used in skin creams and lotions and is a by-product of uric acid; it is an effective calming agent that also reduces skin irritation.
Aluminium chlorohydrate: It is one of the most common ingredients in antiperspirant. Technically it’s a salt, and when it reacts with the enzymes in sweat, it forms a temporary “plug” that sits in the pore and Aluminium chlorohydrate also acts as an astringent, causing the pores in the underarm to constrict so they can’t release more sweat.
Diethanolamine: like its cousin triethanolomine, sometimes goes by its initials DEA (or TEA, in the case of triethanolomine). It’s a solvent that’s added to cleansers to make them lather and foam.
Health
In the field of healthcare many chemicals are used in the manufacture of medicines like analgesics, antacids, tranquilizers and many other drugs. One such drug we can study about is Aspirin.
Aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid is a salicylate drug, often used as an analgesic to relieve minor aches and pains, as an antipyretic to reduce fever, and as an anti-inflammatory medication.
Aspirin is used for the treatment of a number of conditions including: fever, pain, rheumatic fever and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, pericarditis, and Kawasaki disease. It is used in the prevention of transient ischemic attacks, strokes, heart attacks, pregnancy loss, etc.
Plant extracts, including willow bark and spiraea, of which salicylic acid was the active ingredient, had been known to help alleviate headaches, pains and fevers since antiquity. The father of modern medicine, Hippocrates, who lived sometime between 460 BC and 377 BC, left historical records describing the use of powder made from the bark and leaves of the willow tree to help these symptoms. On these lines of Hippocrates Modern medicine developed and the first company, Bayer AG, developed the Aspirin, which is now used world wide in relieving all sorts of discomfort related to human health.
Environmental Chemistry
Endosulfan
Endosulfan is an off-patent organochloride insecticide and was sprayed on Cashew Plantations in Kasargod in Kerala three times regularly from 1976 till 2001 annually. It resulted in a chemical disaster. Especially in children, it caused congenital abnormalities, metal disorders, physical deformities, etc and also caused innumerable deaths. Various commissions were appointed to study about this hazardous poison. There were about 4000 victims who were compensated by the government. Kerala’s new government began its tenure by making permanent ban on Endosulfan.
Materials
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may exist as crystalline or amorphous in nature. The branch of chemistry that deals with ceramics is called Ceramic Chemistry.
In ceramic chemistry, fired glazes are viewed as composed of oxides (examples are SiO2, Al2O3, B2O3, Na2O, K2O, CaO, Li2O, MgO, ZnO, MnO, Fe2O3, CoO). Each oxide is known to contribute specific properties to the fired glass. Materials suppliers publish chemical analyses of their products that cite percentages of these oxides as well as volatiles (oxides that burn away during firing like H2O, CO2, SO3).
Graphene is an allotrope of carbon, whose structure is one-atom-thick planar sheets of sp2-bonded carbon atoms that are densely packed in a honeycomb crystal lattice. Some applications are: transparent conducting electrodes, Integrated Circuits, can be used for Single Molecule Gas Detection, etc.
Glass – The main constituent of Flat Glass is SiO2 (silica sand). This has a high melting temperature in the region of 1700 degrees C and its state at this temperature is like syrup on a very cold day. The basic building block of silica has a tetrahedral pyramid shape with silicon at its centre linked symmetrically to four oxygen atoms at its corners: it has the chemical formula SiO4 and is negatively charged. As we all know, glass as a chemical material finds many applications in day-today life.
Industry
Most of the industries involve in some or the other aspects of chemistry in their production and management systems.
Chemical Industries comprises companies that produce chemicals. Polymers and plastics, especially polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene and polycarbonate comprise about 80% of the industry’s output worldwide. Some examples of chemical industry production are: Production of Ammonia, Nitrogen, Phenol, Sulphuric acid, etc.
Elastomers : An elastomer is a polymer with the property of viscoelasticity (colloquially “elasticity”), generally having notably low Young’s modulus and high yield strain compared with other materials. Many industries are involved in the manufacture of tires and usage of rubber has become very drastic. These industries involve in the usage of polyisoprene, polyurethane, neoprene etc.
Petroleum Industries: ethylene, propylene, benzene, styrene. Agrochemical Industries: Fertilizers, Insecticides, herbicides, etc are the various uses of chemistry in industrial life.
Sources of Energy
A lithium-ion battery (sometimes Li-ion battery or LIB) is a family of rechargeable battery types in which lithium ions move from the negative electrode to the positive electrode during discharge, and back when charging.
One of the major advantage is it has high open circuit voltage in comparison to aqueous batteries (such as lead acid, nickel-metal hydride and nickel-cadmium). This is beneficial because it increases the amount of power that can be transferred at a lower current.
Fullerene derivative are used in Photovoltaic Cells (PVCs). This is another chemical compound which helps in the conversion of optical energy into direct electricity.
The Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) uses doped solid oxide as electrolyte which has high efficiency and stability.
Textiles
1) Textiles get dyed due to the covalent bond formed between the molecule of the dye and that of the fiber.
2) Today dyes are made from coal tar and petrochemicals.
3) Dyes are colored organic compounds bearing a group called chromophore.
4) Dyes known to the ancients came from plants such as indigo and madder.
Radioactivity
RADIOACTIVE DATING
In 1898, Marie curie coined the term radioactivity to describe the natural emission of energy and subatomic particles from unstable forms, or isotopes, of chemical elements.
Radiometric, or isotopic dating is currently the most accurate method known for determining the age of fossils, rocks, and Earth itself. Uraanium 238 and uranium 235 are the most commonly used radioisotopes for dating rocks. Their daughter products are isotopes of helium and lead. While the helium is quickly lost into the atmosphere the lead remains behind and can be dated. Carbon 14 is the most accurate radioisotope for dating the remains of life forms up to 50,000 year old. its half life is 5,570 years!!
Your Body
Our body comprises of many chemical elements. Most of our bodily functions undergo chemical reactions. For example we can consider the process of digestion:
Casein rennin Paracasein
Paracasein calcium calcium paracaseinate (curdling)
Calcium Paracaseinate pepsin proteoses, peptones and polypeptides
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