So I'm in the sixth form at school, and over the next year every student will have to carry out an 'independent study'. I don't know if this is a common thing in schools but basically it means I will have to pick a topic, do a lot of research into it, write about it, and give a presentation about my study some time next school year.

Right now I'm only concerned with choosing a topic - I want to do something to do with chemistry (maybe chemical engineering), but I'm having a hard time trying to find a specific area to study.

Basically I'm asking for any ideas. I'm not asking you to think up the title of my study, I'm just looking for topics that are quite specific in the field of chemistry. This study is supposed to be a challenge, so I'm completely open to topics that are difficult to grasp.

So if anyone could suggest some ideas that would be interesting to study (and preferably topics with plenty of resources to study from), that would be really helpful.

Thanks