Adina Ionescu Muscel - Art photography and mixed media

Nephrolepis-biography

Formaldehyde forms in deep space

"More than 150 years ago, our compatriot and outstanding chemist Aleksandr Butlerov proposed one of the first methods of abiotic synthesis of sugars. This method involved the use of formaldehyde solutions in water. Could Butlerov have imagined that all the components necessary for the reaction, then named after him, are present in the gas-dust clouds that form star systems like our Solar System, where the total mass of formaldehyde and water exceeds the mass of the Earth by orders of magnitude?" - Gleb Fedoseyev says.

Mendeleev

First women to get a PhD in chemistry, corresponded with Mendeleev and contributed to the periodical table, worked both with von Hofmann and Butlerov, eventually she had been included as a contributor in the big discovery of the reaction Butlerov-Eltekov-Lermontova, which is at the base of producing certain types of carburants.

Nephrolepis

Nephrolepis exaltata (also known as the Boston fern) is one of the most effective air-purifying plants available. It ranks first on a list of 40 plants tested by NASA for its ability to absorb formaldehyde.

Comes from America

FORMALDEHYDE = CH2O

hardener for the photographic emulsion
part of stabiliser in C41 film processing
silver is often used as a catalyst for the catalytic oxydation of methanol