A Catalyst article about chemical reactions that occur in a blast furnace during the steelmaking process. This short article features a diagram of a blast furnace showing the active ingredients used to produce iron from ore.

This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2006, Volume 16, Issue 3.

This Catalyst article explains how zeolites, sponge-like materials developed from naturally occurring minerals, are used as chemical sieves and as catalysts. Zeolites have incredibly widespread applications. They are used in consumer products such as washing powder and cat litter while many of the petrochemicals...

A Catalyst article about the work of a scientist from the British Antarctic Survey, gathering data about climate change by studying ice cores from Antarctica. One of the areas of research was to find out whether it is possible to learn how much sea ice there was around Antarctica in the past by measuring how much...

This Catalyst article looks at how scientists can use material recovered from archaeological sites to see how crops have been introduced to different countries over the history of farming. Three processes by which some plant material can be preserved are explained. The ratio of carbon isotopes from the collagen in...

This Catalyst article looks at salt, in particular the process of extracting salt from the sea in the salt factories of Trapani in Sicily. Located on the west coast of the island, the saline (salt ponds) were probably started by the Phoenicians around 3000 years ago. The article also looks at the structure of salt...

This Catalyst article looks at NASA's Mars Curiosity rover, the automated chemistry lab which landed safely on Mars in August 2012. Capable of analysing samples from the planet's surface and atmosphere, the rover will undertake two years of experiments in the hope of discovering even more about our neighbouring...

This Catalyst article investigates the remains of King Richard III of England, which have been excavated, and how they were analysed to establish the details of how he died.

The article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2015, Volume 26, Issue 1.

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This Catalyst article looks at diamond and graphite which are allotropes of carbon. Their properties which depend on the bonding between the carbon atoms are also examined.

This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2016, Volume 27, Issue 2.

Mendeleev's invention of the periodic table of the elements showed how to predict and create further elements, something which scientists are still doing today.

This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2016, Volume 26, Issue 4.

A Catalyst article about Dorothy Hodgkin who was a pioneering scientist, a peace activist, a mother of three and a Nobel Prize winner. The article looks at her life and work in science. She did valuable work as an X-ray crystallographer and in finding the structure of biologically important molecules such as...

This Catalyst article looks at how people lived in the past, archaeologists look at the items (artefacts) these cultures left behind. Using chemical analysis of residues in the artefacts an enormous amount of additional information can be gleaned. This article investigates early dairy farming. Analysis of tiny...

This article introduces Laura Waters, who is a chemist at Huddersfield University with an interest in both doing scientific research and communicating her work to a wide audience.

The article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2015, Volume 25, Issue 4.

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This Catalyst article looks at how the structure and properties of chocolate change when it is melted and re-solidified. An experiment is described in which the differences between solid chocolate, and chocolate which has been melted and re-hardened can be found, along with a detailed explanation of the physics...

Since the discovery of antibiotics, many people believe that the pathogenic microorganism threat to the population has been removed, with fatal infections and infectious diseases brought under control. This has discouraged research into drugs containing natural compounds such as essential oils. However, humans are...

This Catalyst article looks at life in extreme environments on Earth which can suggest how life might exist on Mars. One of the developments in recent years that really opened up scientists’ eyes to the possibility of life on Mars has been the realization of just how adaptable and versatile life on Earth is.