ChemMatters Archive
ChemMatters is produced by the American Chemical Society in October, December, February, and April. The archive gives you access to all of ChemMatters’ past articles, dating back to February 1983. The most recently released issue is available through a complimentary subscription, if you chose to receive one when you joined AACT.
For recent articles, issues, or available teacher’s guides visit acs.org/ChemMatters.
AACT members can access the archive and generate a Student Pass that gives their students access to the articles. Available Teacher’s Guides can also be found next to the corresponding issue and article in the archive.
Search for Articles
Use the filters in the Filter by: section to search for an archived article by title, keyword, month, and/or year.
Pro Tips:
- Read about the ChemMatters Archives’ updates!
- To view an article’s ChemMatters Issue, click on the Issue Date link.
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The Chemistry of Deception: How Invisible Ink Fueled Espionage and Other Trickery Throughout HistoryLearn the chemistry behind various types of invisible ink and how they influenced history.
Issue Date | December 2022
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What Can You Do With a Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry?Students are well aware that teaching and working as a laboratory chemist are both options, but there are not-so-obvious paths that may be appealing, say several ACS career experts.
Issue Date | December 2022
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What is Dental Enamel and How Does It Protect Your Teeth?It's more complex than you’d think: dental enamel keeps our teeth intact through a combination of physics and chemistry.
Issue Date | December 2022
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A Periodic Table of Its Own?Translations into indigenous languages are important for people to feel included in the process of science, it helps to be able to under-stand science in their own language, because a language carries with it the values and traditions of a culture.
Issue Date | October 2022
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Braces! How Do They Straighten Your Teeth?At some point, many students in middle school or high school will get braces on their teeth. It may not be obvious, but there is a lot of science and technology that goes into straightening teeth with braces.
Issue Date | October 2022
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Don't Sweat It: How Moisture-Wicking Fabrics Keep You Cool and DryHow moisture-wicking fabrics keep you cool and dry.
Issue Date | October 2022
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Keeping Us SafeIn 2020, as consumers snapped up every bottle in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kayla Ivey set to work. A product development scientist at GOJO Industries, a company that makes skin health and hygiene products, Ivey is the lead formulator for the Purell brand of hand sanitizer.
Issue Date | October 2022
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Origin of LifeThere was a time before life existed, when Earth was only land and ocean. Then,
at some point in our planet’s 4.5-billion-year history, nonliving matter started down
a path of chemical transformation that led to the incredible diversity of life we see
today.Issue Date | October 2022
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The Opioid Epidemic: How Did it Get This Bad?As waves of coronavirus variants keep communities on constant alert, another epidemic has continued its relentless growth. In 2021 alone, more than 100,000 people in the United States died from a drug overdose, a 15% increase over the previous year.
Issue Date | October 2022
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What are Glow Sticks and What is the Chemical Reaction That Makes Them Light Up?Whether you’re trick-or-treating on Halloween or dancing the night away, glow sticks provide a cool source of light. That light is made by a chemical reaction — a phenomenon known as chemiluminescence.
Issue Date | October 2022