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Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
@compoundchem.com
8K followers 180 following 810 posts
🧪 Infographics exploring everyday chemistry
📅 #PeriodicGraphics in @cenmag.bsky.social
🥇 ACS 2025 Interpreting Chemistry for the Public award
🏆 ABSW 2018 Science Blog Award
🖊️ Posts by @andy.compoundchem.com
🌐 Website: compoundchem.com
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compoundchem.com
On #NationalHomeMadeBreadDay, here’s the chemistry behind baking the perfect loaf: www.compoundchem.com/2016/01/13/b...

🧪 #ChemSky
Infographic titled “The chemistry of baking bread,” explaining how four main ingredients—flour, water, yeast, and salt—interact during the steps of mixing, kneading, fermenting, and baking. On the left is an image of sliced baguettes. Sections: Flour, water, and salt: Shows proteins glutenin and gliadin forming gluten when mixed with water. Notes that kneading strengthens the viscoelastic gluten network that traps gas. Explains flour’s protein content, how water hydrates proteins, and how salt adds flavor, slows fermentation, strengthens gluten, and improves elasticity. Starch and sugar: Illustrates starch as long chains of sugar molecules. Enzymes in flour convert starch to maltose, and yeast converts sugars like glucose for fermentation. Explains that sugar contributes to browning and flavor. Yeast and fermentation: Shows yeast converting glucose into carbon dioxide (which makes dough rise) and ethanol (which evaporates during baking). Describes yeast as single-celled fungi producing gas bubbles that expand the dough; kneading distributes bubbles. Includes sourdough information showing a 100:1 ratio of bacteria to yeast and the role of lactic acid in flavor. Other ingredients: Includes fats (which tenderize dough and stabilize gas bubbles), baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), baking powder (sodium bicarbonate plus cream of tartar), ascorbic acid (strengthens gluten), and xanthan gum (used in gluten-free breads).
November 17, 2025 at 4:33 PM
compoundchem.com
Goodbye fillings? Scientists from @uniofnottingham.bsky.social have created a new protein-based gel that can strengthen and recreate natural enamel 🦷

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

#ChemSky
Nottingham scientists 'very excited' by gel to repair tooth enamel - BBC News
A university says the new material is "opening up new possibilities" for treatment.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 17, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Reposted by Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
cenmag.bsky.social
The latest edition of #PeriodicGraphics by @compoundchem.com explores the smelly chemicals in skunk spray and how to get rid of the stink. cen.acs.org/biological-c...

#chemsky 🧪
This graphic describes the smelly chemicals in skunk spray and how to get rid of the stink. In the first column, the graphic describes the thiol compounds responsible for skunk spray’s smell. The second column explains why the smell persists because of a chemical reaction between some skunk spray compounds and water. The third column outlines chemistry-based methods for eliminating the stinky skunk compounds.
November 14, 2025 at 8:15 PM
compoundchem.com
Poppies are a symbol of remembrance on Armistice Day. Did you know that some poppies are also the source of powerful opioid painkillers?

Find out more in this graphic: www.compoundchem.com/2020/11/11/p...

#ChemSky 🧪
Infographic on the chemistry of poppies. The red colour of the common poppy is due to anthocyanin pigments. Other red poppies also contain anthocyanins but the yellow Iceland poppy and alpine poppy contain nudicaulin pigments. The opium poppy has been used in medicine for thousands of years, with the milky opium fluid which contains alkaloids such as morphine used as a painkiller. The common poppy contains different alkaloids, which only have very milld pain-killing properties.
November 11, 2025 at 9:51 AM
Reposted by Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
chronicleflask.katday.com
Noooo… ☁️
(3/3)

www.compoundchem.com/2017/01/05/f...
The Dark Side of Fireworks – The Chemistry of their Environmental Effects
Many of us enjoyed watching spectacular fireworks displays to usher in the new year. However, the vibrant colours of fireworks belie the effects that they...
www.compoundchem.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Reposted by Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
chronicleflask.katday.com
Yay! 🎇
(2/3)

www.compoundchem.com/2015/11/04/f...
The Chemistry of Fireworks: Bangs, Crackles & Whistles
Click to enlarge With the 5th of November approaching, the distant reports of early fireworks displays can already be heard in the evenings here in the UK. Discussion on the chemistry of fireworks ...
www.compoundchem.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Reposted by Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
chronicleflask.katday.com
Ooh! 🎆
(1/3)

www.compoundchem.com/2013/12/30/t...
Via @compoundchem.com

#BonfireNight #November5th
The chemistry of the colours of fireworks
Click to enlarge The colours in fireworks stem from a wide variety of metal compounds - particularly metal salts. 'Salt' as a word conjures up images of the normal table salt you probably use every...
www.compoundchem.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Reposted by Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
bethanyhalford.bsky.social
It's been a big year for chemists trying to turn PTFE (better know as Teflon) into something that won't hang out in a landfill for 1,000 years. The latest development in this area uses chunks of sodium metal. My latest for @cenmag.bsky.social
cen.acs.org/materials/po...
This reaction turns Teflon into toothpaste’s key ingredient
Grinding PTFE with chunks of sodium metal creates sodium fluoride in a solvent-free reaction that aims to avoid landfills
cen.acs.org
October 27, 2025 at 7:46 PM
compoundchem.com
It's #NationalPumpkinDay! 🎃

Why are pumpkins orange, and what do pumpkins have to do with pumpkin spice? Here are the chemical answers in @cenmag.bsky.social: cen.acs.org/articles/93/...

#ChemSky 🧪
Infographic on the chemistry of pumpkins. The colour of pumpkins is due to carotenoid compounds such as beta-carotene, the same compound that gives carrots their orange colour. The vegetal aroma of pumpkins is mainly due to cis-3-hexen-1-ol, along with other six-carbon alcohols and aldehydes. Canned pumpkin is often not the same type of pumpkin as those used for carving, and consequently, the aroma compounds differ, including burnt-smelling 2-methylbutanal, coffee furanone, and furfural. Pumpkin spice flavour has little to do with pumpkin and more to do with the spices added, including cinnamon, nutmeg and clove.
October 26, 2025 at 8:50 PM
compoundchem.com
I'm a bit late with the customary #MoleDay infographic this year, but better late than never!

The mole makes it easier to describe the huge numbers of atoms, molecules, or ions that participate in chemical reactions.

More in this graphic: www.compoundchem.com/2014/10/23/m...

#ChemSky 🧪
Infographic on the mole. One mole is the amount of substance that contains exactly 6.022 x 10^23 atoms, molecules or ions. This number is also known as Avogadro's number. Using moles makes it easier to talk about amounts of substances involved in reactions by relating the mass of a substance to its atomic or molecular mass. Amount of substance (moles) = mass (grams) divided by the mass of 1 mole (grams per mole). One mole contains a different mass for different substances.
October 23, 2025 at 7:35 PM
compoundchem.com
Maple-syrup-scented urine? Hallucinations? To mark US #NationalChemistryWeek's "Hidden Life of Spices" theme, the latest edition of Periodic Graphics in @cenmag.bsky.social looks at some of the effects spices can have beyond flavouring our food: cen.acs.org/biological-c...

#ChemSky 🧪
Infographic showing how spice compounds like eugenol (cloves), sotolon (fenugreek), glycyrrhizin (licorice), and myristicin (nutmeg) affect the body—causing effects like numbing, maple-syrup-scented sweat, high blood pressure, and hallucinations.
October 21, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Reposted by Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
rsc.org
💫 Celebrate the festival of lights safely, and let the chemistry of joy shine bright!

Wishing you and your loved ones a very Happy Diwali filled with love, light, and laughter. #RSCIndia #ChemSky #Diwali2025
Promotional image by the Royal Society of Chemistry featuring colorful fireworks labeled with chemical elements like Strontium, Copper, Sodium, Barium, Calcium, Aluminum, and Magnesium. Text states "Chemistry is full of wonder. Watch science light up the sky this Diwali. Enjoy the celebrations!"
October 17, 2025 at 5:30 AM
compoundchem.com
Essential pre-reading if you’re heading to an apple day near you this month 👇🏻
compoundchem.com Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics @compoundchem.com · Oct 16
Why are some apples as sweet as honey while others make your face pucker? 🍎

Dive into the chemistry behind apple sweetness, tartness, and aroma in this graphic!

👉 Read more: www.compoundchem.com/2025/10/16/a...

#ChemSky 🧪
Infographic titled “The Chemistry of Apple Flavours” explaining what makes apples sweet or tart and key flavour compounds. Sweetness comes from sugars like fructose, tartness from acids like malic acid. A higher sugar/acid ratio means a sweeter apple. Apple types are grouped as sweet (e.g., Fuji, Gala), balanced (e.g., Jazz, Braeburn), or tart (e.g., Granny Smith, Bramley). As apples ripen, aldehydes convert to alcohols and then to esters, which dominate aroma in ripe apples. Key esters shown include butyl acetate, hexyl acetate, 2-methylbutyl acetate, and ethyl 2-methylbutanoate.
October 17, 2025 at 6:56 AM
compoundchem.com
Why are some apples as sweet as honey while others make your face pucker? 🍎

Dive into the chemistry behind apple sweetness, tartness, and aroma in this graphic!

👉 Read more: www.compoundchem.com/2025/10/16/a...

#ChemSky 🧪
Infographic titled “The Chemistry of Apple Flavours” explaining what makes apples sweet or tart and key flavour compounds. Sweetness comes from sugars like fructose, tartness from acids like malic acid. A higher sugar/acid ratio means a sweeter apple. Apple types are grouped as sweet (e.g., Fuji, Gala), balanced (e.g., Jazz, Braeburn), or tart (e.g., Granny Smith, Bramley). As apples ripen, aldehydes convert to alcohols and then to esters, which dominate aroma in ripe apples. Key esters shown include butyl acetate, hexyl acetate, 2-methylbutyl acetate, and ethyl 2-methylbutanoate.
October 16, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Reposted by Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
philipcball.bsky.social
Just popped into the Royal Institution for a coffee, to discover they have a lovely display on benzene to mark the bicentenary of Faraday's discovery of it. Here are his notes, his paper, and one of his first samples. Glorious.
October 15, 2025 at 11:58 AM
compoundchem.com
I put this to the test with Copilot and yeah, I think it's fair to say that it struggled with the structure of caffeine
A Co-pilot created drawing of a molecule that is definitely not caffeine
October 15, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Reposted by Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
cenmag.bsky.social
In the latest edition of #PeriodicGraphics, we take a look at the ingredients doing more than spicing up our cooking: cen.acs.org/biological-c...

#chemsky 🧪
This graphic explains four examples of chemicals in spices having effects outside cooking. The four examples include a clove compound’s ability to treat toothaches, a nutmeg compound’s ability to cause hallucinations, a licorice extract compound’s ability to raise blood pressure, and a fenugreek compound’s ability to make urine and sweat smell like maple syrup.
October 14, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Reposted by Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
makingmolecules.com
Anyone for a summary of a summary?
After two weeks of #ChemEd #ChemSky #Chemistry summaries on electrophilic aromatic substitution here, by popular demand, is one chart that covers just the basics.
Enjoy.
A summary of electrophilic aromatic substitution. This really is the barebones - all it covers is the general mechanism, examples of the most common reactions and activation & directing effects. This is basically a revision sheet.
October 14, 2025 at 7:02 AM
Reposted by Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
paris.nyc
my latest investigation for @consumerreports.org is based on months of reporting and 60+ lab tests of leading protein supplements

we found that most protein powders and shakes have more lead in one serving than our experts say is safe to have in a day (🧵)

www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein...
Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead - Consumer Reports
CR tests of 23 popular protein powders and shakes found that most contain high levels of lead.
www.consumerreports.org
October 14, 2025 at 4:37 PM
compoundchem.com
It's mushroom season in the Northern Hemisphere 🍄

Here's a look at the chemistry of arguably the most iconic mushroom, fly agaric, and what makes them so brightly coloured and hallucinogenic: www.compoundchem.com/2024/11/11/f...

#ChemSky 🧪
Infographic on fly agaric mushrooms, with an image of the mushrooms in the middle (red with white spots). The chemical structures of the mushroom's pigments are shown, including muscarufin, the primary pigment responsible for their red colour. The compounds behind the mushrooms' psychoactive properties, ibotenic acid and muscimol, are also shown. These compounds imitate neurotransmitters in the brain to exert their effects.
October 13, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Reposted by Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
chronicleflask.katday.com
There are hundreds of years of history of women’s scientific accomplishments not being recognised or being minimised (“not notable”). It *still* happens. Many female scientists are only acknowledged on Wikipedia thanks to the efforts of, yes, other female scientists, notably physicist Dr Jess Wade.
profannawatts.bsky.social Prof Anna Watts @profannawatts.bsky.social · Oct 9
Lol the Nobels can't even acknowledge women's contribution to discovery. But sure let's acknowledge The Machines.
Headline from an article in Nature this week that states "Prizes must recognize machine contributions to discovery. The future of science will be written by humans and machines together. Awards should reflect that reality."
October 10, 2025 at 7:12 AM
compoundchem.com
Today is #NationalNanotechnologyDay 🔬

Here's a look at some of the big jobs tiny particles can do in @cenmag.bsky.social

cen.acs.org/articles/94/...

#ChemSky 🧪
This is an infographic explaining the chemistry behind nanotechnology in a few consumer products, including silver nanoparticles for antimicrobial uses, titanium dioxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles in sunscreens, carbon nanotubes in sports equipment and quantum dots in televisions.
October 9, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Reposted by Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
laminda.bsky.social
Ever seen a spooky glow called a will-o'-the-wisp hovering in a swamp or bog? Wet places where organic things decay are gassy as hell, fueling these eerie lights. But what provides the spark? Microlightning that jumps between electrically charged bubbles of methane, according to a new study 🧪
‘Microlightning’ may spark glowing will-o’-the-wisps, study finds | CNN
Flashes of microlightning between microscopic bubbles of methane in water may ignite the eerie blue flames of will-o’-the wisps, new research suggests.
www.cnn.com
October 9, 2025 at 2:09 PM
compoundchem.com
ICYMI, yesterday’s @nobelprize.bsky.social in Chemistry summarised!
compoundchem.com Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics @compoundchem.com · Oct 8
The 2025 #NobelPrize in Chemistry was awarded today for the development of metal-organic frameworks, molecular sponges with applications in gas storage, water purification and more: www.compoundchem.com/2025/10/08/2...

#ChemSky 🧪
Infographic on the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi for the development of metal-organic frameworks. The infographic explains that metal-organic frameworks are molecular sponges built up from metal ions and organic compounds that act as linkers. Small molecules such as gases can move into and out of cavities in these frameworks. The graphic highlights some of the MOFs the laureates have developed and concludes by looking at possible future uses of MOFs, including gas storage and extracting water from air.
October 9, 2025 at 6:47 AM
compoundchem.com
The 2025 #NobelPrize in Chemistry was awarded today for the development of metal-organic frameworks, molecular sponges with applications in gas storage, water purification and more: www.compoundchem.com/2025/10/08/2...

#ChemSky 🧪
Infographic on the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi for the development of metal-organic frameworks. The infographic explains that metal-organic frameworks are molecular sponges built up from metal ions and organic compounds that act as linkers. Small molecules such as gases can move into and out of cavities in these frameworks. The graphic highlights some of the MOFs the laureates have developed and concludes by looking at possible future uses of MOFs, including gas storage and extracting water from air.
October 8, 2025 at 9:00 PM