Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics (@compoundchem.com)

@compoundchem.com Oct 13, 2026, 2:05 PM

Read more about apple chemistry and download a printable PDF here:

@compoundchem.com Oct 13, 2026, 2:04 PM

What makes apples sweet or tart? Learn more about the chemistry of apple flavour with this graphic! 🍎

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Infographic titled "The chemistry of apple flavours" by Compound Interest. It explains that sweetness comes from sugars like fructose, while tartness comes from acids like malic acid. High sugar/acid ratio apples taste Sweet (Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious), Mid ratio are Balanced (Jazz, Cox, Pink Lady, Braeburn), and Low ratio are Tart (Granny Smith, Bramley). As apples ripen, grassy-smelling aldehydes undergo enzymatic reduction to alcohols and esterification to esters. Key aroma esters include butyl acetate, hexyl acetate, 2-methylbutyl acetate, and ethyl 2-methylbutanoate.

@compoundchem.com Oct 8, 2026, 6:33 PM

Penis worms!!!

@compoundchem.com Oct 8, 2026, 1:46 PM

Icefish have no haemoglobin so their blood is colourless. And some skink lizards have green blood (though they do actually have haemoglobin, it’s just they also accumulate lots of biliverdin which gives the green colour).

@compoundchem.com Oct 8, 2026, 11:53 AM

@compoundchem.com Oct 8, 2026, 7:58 AM

You all think this is an infographic about the different colours of blood, but really it’s a penis worms awareness campaign

@compoundchem.com Oct 7, 2026, 8:30 PM

Read more detail and find a PDF download of this graphic here:

@compoundchem.com Oct 7, 2026, 8:30 PM

This year's #NobelPrize in Chemistry was awarded for research which helps chemists make just one of a molecule's pair of mirror images 🪞 It's useful in making medicinal molecules and gives insights into why biological molecules are formed from single mirror-image building blocks 🧬

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Infographic titled "The 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry," awarded to Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai for discovering non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis. It explains chirality, comparing mirror-image molecules to left and right hands. A diagram illustrates Kagan’s 1986 discovery of using metal catalysts with mixed chiral molecules to trigger non-linear effects. Another illustrates Soai’s 1995 discovery of autocatalysis, where starting with a small chiral excess rapidly amplifies product purity up to 99.99%.

@compoundchem.com Oct 7, 2026, 2:06 PM

I’ve actually gone a day early on this, but hey, now you have advanced notice that TOMORROW is #WorldOctopusDay

@compoundchem.com Oct 7, 2026, 2:02 PM

Ah, so it is. Misread my phone calendar! (yes, I have all these wonderful national days noted down)

@compoundchem.com Oct 7, 2026, 12:48 PM

Today is #WorldOctopusDay 🐙 Did you know that octopuses have blue blood? This graphic looks at what makes it blue, as well as other blood colours seen in different organisms: wp.me/p4aPLT-Fc

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Infographic on the chemistry of the colours of blood. Human blood is red due to haemoglobin, which is also red when deoxygenated - not blue! Spiders, crustaceans, and molluscs including octopuses and squid have blue blood due to haemocyanin, which contains copper instead of iron. When deoxygenated, haemocyanin is colourless. Some segmented worms, some leeches and some marines worms have green blood due to chlorocruorin, which is light green when deoxygenated. Marine worms including peanut worms, penis worms and brachiopods have purple blood due to haemerythrin, which is colourless when deoxygenated.

@nobelprize.org Oct 7, 2026, 9:56 AMReposted by @compoundchem.com

BREAKING NEWS
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2026 #NobelPrize in Chemistry to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai “for the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis.”

@compoundchem.com Oct 6, 2026, 5:30 PM

This year's #NobelPrize in Chemistry will be awarded tomorrow 🏅

Here's a reminder of the research that has won in previous years, including molecular sponges, the prediction of protein structures, and clicking together new medicine molecules: www.compoundchem.com/category/nob...

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Infographic titled "2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry" celebrating Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Morten Meldal, and K. Barry Sharpless for click and bioorthogonal chemistry. Sharpless coined "click chemistry" in 2001 for quick, selective reactions without unwanted byproducts. Sharpless and Meldal independently developed the first reaction using a copper catalyst to combine azides and alkynes. Bertozzi developed copper-free click chemistry in 2003 for live cell applications like tracking glycans. Applications include drug synthesis and targeting cancer.

Infographic titled "The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry" honoring Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus, and Alexei I. Ekimov for discovering and synthesizing quantum dots. Quantum dots are semiconductor nanoparticles whose light absorption and emission change with particle size due to quantum effects. In 1981, Ekimov created size-dependent color in tinted glass; in 1983, Brus discovered size-dependent absorption/emission in liquid solutions; in 1993, Bawendi developed a precise synthesis method. Applications include QLED TVs, LED lamps, flexible electronics, and solar cells.

Infographic titled "The 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry" honoring David Baker for computational protein design, and Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper for protein structure prediction. Proteins fold into 3D structures determining their function. In 2020, Hassabis and Jumper introduced AlphaFold2, an AI model that evaluates amino acid interactions to predict 3D folded structures, now used on nearly 200 million proteins. David Baker created Rosetta software to work in reverse, designing amino acid sequences for custom protein structures, succeeding in 2003. Applications include protein-based drugs, vaccines, and catalysts.

Infographic titled "The 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry" honoring Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi for the development of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). MOFs are porous molecular sponges composed of metal ions connected by organic linkers, allowing small gas molecules to move in and out of their cavities. In 1989, Robson combined copper ions with four-armed molecules. In 1997, Kitagawa created stable and flexible gas-storing MOFs using cobalt ions. In 1999, Yaghi built MOF-5 with zinc clusters, achieving massive internal surface area. Applications include gas storage, harvesting water from air, targeted drug delivery, and toxic chemical detection.

@compoundchem.com Oct 5, 2026, 8:30 PM

It's #NobelPrize week! Here's a look at the composition of the medals given to the winners – and how to make them disappear 🏅 www.compoundchem.com/2016/09/30/n...

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Infographic titled "The Nobel Prize Medals" comparing medal composition. Pre-1980 medals were approx. 96% gold (23 carat solid gold, mass 200g). Post-1980 medals are approx. 75% gold (18 carat gold with 24 carat coating, mass 175g). A history section details George de Hevesy dissolving physicists Max von Laue and James Franck's medals in aqua regia during WWII to prevent Nazi discovery, later recasting them. Includes chemical equations for dissolving gold and recovering elemental gold using sodium bisulfite.

@compoundchem.com Sep 29, 2026, 7:20 AM

Wake up and smell the coffee on #NationalCoffeeDay! Here are some of the compounds that give coffee its distinctive aroma: www.compoundchem.com/2015/02/17/c... ☕️

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@compoundchem.com Sep 23, 2026, 7:50 PM

It's the autumn equinox in the northern hemisphere 🍂

Here's the chemistry behind the foliage colour changes we'll be seeing over the coming months: www.compoundchem.com/2014/09/11/a...

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Infographic on the chemistry of the colours of autumn leaves. Green is caused by chlorophyll, carotenoids and flavonoids give yellows, and oranges come from carotenoids, which also contribute to reds along with anthocyanins.

@compoundchem.com Sep 22, 2026, 8:25 PM

Happy Birthday Michael Faraday! 🎉

Faraday was born #OTD (22 Sep) in 1791. He made significant contributions to electrochemistry, including popularising many of the electrochemical terms used today ⚡ wp.me/s4aPLT-faraday

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This graphic titled "Today in Chemistry History" commemorates Michael Faraday's birthday on 22nd September 1791. It features a portrait of Faraday alongside his birth and death dates, noting his work establishing modern electrochemistry, studying electromagnetism, and discovering benzene. Below, it illustrates Faraday's laws of electrolysis with a labeled beaker diagram showing an anode, cathode, and electrolyte. A bottom note states he popularised terms including ion, anode, and cathode.

@compoundchem.com Sep 22, 2026, 7:11 AM

And yes, the wasabi graphic does look a bit like a green 💩, because I made this at the request of a seven-year-old and an important part of scicomm is knowing your audience

@compoundchem.com Sep 22, 2026, 7:09 AM

Weirdly tasty!

@compoundchem.com Sep 21, 2026, 8:20 PM

Did you know the wasabi in most sushi restaurants isn't wasabi? Or that a chemical synergy between dried seaweed and raw fish enhances sushi's savoury flavours?

Learn more about sushi science with this infographic, as requested by my sushi-mad seven-year-old 🍣 wp.me/s4aPLT-sushi

#ChemSky 🧪