Time for another dose of Research Highlights - we scour the literature so you don't have to...

First up, would you expect ionic liquids to separate into layers of anions and cations on surfaces? At first glance, you'd probably think they'd mix it around to balance the charge - but not if the surface is charged, as is the case.

Next we have some 'double metallocenes' - rather than just one Cp (or indeed Cp*) ring above and below the metal, these have two fused Cp* rings sandwiching two metals. In the 250-word article, I didn't have space to go into the full story of the magnetic, electronic and redox properties investigated, so you'll have to go over to JACS for the details.

Serendipity...not just a good name for a cat or a posh word for luck. Where would chemistry be without it? In this case, without a method for 'fixing' fingerprints. While trying to make sulfur nitride polymers Paul Kelly and colleagues noticed that the precursor, disulfur dinitride, was so reactive that it was even reacting with the fingerprints on the glassware...and you can imagine the rest!

Neil

Neil Withers (Associate Editor, Nature Chemistry)