List of Unsolved Problems in Chemistry - Physical Chemistry Problems

Physical Chemistry Problems

  • What is the electronic structure of the high temperature superconductors at various points on the phase diagram? Can the transition temperature be brought up to room temperature? See Superconductivity.
  • Feynmanium: What are the chemical consequences of having an element, with an atomic number above 137, whose 1s electrons must travel faster than the speed of light? Is "Feynmanium" the last chemical element that can physically exist? The problem may actually occur at approximately Element 173, given the finite extension of nuclear-charge distribution. See the article on Extension of the periodic table beyond the seventh period and section Relativistic effects of Atomic orbital.
  • How can electromagnetic energy (photons) be efficiently converted to chemical energy? (E.g. splitting of water to hydrogen and oxygen using solar energy.)
  • What is the nature of bonding in hypervalent molecules? See Hypervalent molecules.
  • What is the structure of water? According to Science Magazine in 2005, one of the 100 outstanding unsolved problems in science revolves around the question of how water forms hydrogen bonds with its neighbors in bulk water. See: water cluster.
  • What process creates the septaria in septarian nodules?

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