ChemComm Milestones – Kun Jiang

We are excited to share the success of Kun Jiang’s first-time independent article in ChemComm; “Top-down manufacturing of efficient CO2 reduction catalysts from the gasification residue carbon” included in the full milestones collection. 

Read our interview with Kun Jiang below.

What are the main areas of research in your lab and what motivated you to take this direction?

My group research focuses on the precise electrochemical synthesis, especially on the selective electrocatalytic conversion of atmosphere molecules like O2/CO2/H2O into value-added chemicals and fuels. Aiming at this target, our lab has two primary research themes: 1) developing highly sensitive spectroelectrochemical techniques for operando interfacial study during these reactions, shedding light on the complex reaction pathways and the potential tuning knobs of local reaction environment; 2) rational design of gas diffusion electrode based electrochemical reactors with the insights from online diagnosis toward a more efficient energy conversion.

We believe such a synergetic approach from fundamental surface electrochemical investigation and practical pilot device validation could pave the development of more efficient electrosynthesis systems, aiding to envision the sustainable neutral carbon cycle.

Can you set this article in a wider context?

Electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) has provided a promising route to close the anthropogenic carbon cycle by storing renewable electricity within greenhouse gas molecules and generating fuels and commodity chemicals. Among various aqueous CO2RR products, CO is a simplest 2e product with a projected cost of $0.44 kg–1, making the electrochemical CO2-to-CO route be competitive to conventional processes and holding great significance for the chemical industry. In a recent work, we have demonstrated the role of local reaction environment, especially the electrode–electrolyte interface and the relevant hydrodynamic boundary layer in the vicinity of the cathode, in defining the activity and selectivity for Ag catalyzed CO2-to-CO conversion (Energy Environ. Sci., 2022, 15, 749-759).

Along this line, we have developed a “top-down” strategy to manufacture Ni-N-C active motif enriched carbon catalysts rather than the coinage metal of Ag, for a selective and stable CO2-to-CO conversion at ~45 LCO gcatalyst-1 h-1 for more than 50-h continuous electrolysis at ambient condition. More importantly, we started the single atom catalyst fabrication from the raw material of gasification residue carbon from heavy hydrocarbon feedstock, demonstrating a carbon neutral cycle driven by a “solid carbon waste”.

What do you hope your lab can achieve in the coming year?

Currently we’re working on modulating local reaction environment toward selective CO2-to-C2+ conversion. Both fundamental insights from advanced spectroelectrochemical techniques and practical electrolyzer performance optimization are going to be brought to light this year.

Describe your journey to becoming an independent researcher.

After finishing my undergraduate study of applied chemistry at Jinan University, I started my academic research in physical chemistry with Prof. Wen-Bin Cai at Fudan University. The dynamic interfacial electrochemistry of Pd catalyzed HCOOH dehydrogenation versus dehydration pathway ignited my passion for spectroelectrochemistry investigations.

After I finished my Ph.D in 2016, I took postdoctoral trainings with Prof. Haotian Wang at Harvard University, and with Prof. Alexis T. Bell at LBNL/UC Berkeley, for which I stayed focus on the cutting edge research field of electrochemically converting “CO2 waste” into value-added chemicals and fuels with green energy input. These experiences have broadened my research area from surface electrochemistry into material science and chemical engineering, which granted me a widened academic horizon and collaboration.

Also based on these research experience, I took the PI position at SJTU and back to my home country in late 2019.  I currently lead a small group of 3 Ph.D candidates and 2 graduate students with a diverse education background of Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, working on the emerging interdisciplinary research topics bridging the fundamental researches at lab with the sustainable future demands on circular carbon economy.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been give?

In Chinese, we have a proverb saying “海纳百川,有容乃大”, which has been vividly expressed by President Bacow’s commencement remarks to the Harvard class of 2022:

To save a seat for others, to make room for others, to ensure that the opportunities afforded by your education do not enrich your life alone.

Why did you choose to publish in ChemComm?

In September of 2011, I published my very first 1st-authored research paper at ChemComm as well. The rigorous peer-review process, amazing publication time and broad readership across all fields of chemistry make the journal a fantastic platform!

Kun Jiang is currently an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). He obtained a Ph.D. degree in physical chemistry from Fudan University in 2016, held a Baden-Württemberg fellowship at Institute for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis, Ulm University, and completed
postdoctoral trainings at Harvard, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and U.C. Berkeley. In 2019, he joined the School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University as a Principal Investigator, with the research focus of developing advanced reactor devices and spectroelectrochemical techniques for renewable energy utilization.

Group website: https://jianglab.sjtu.edu.cn/

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ChemComm Milestones – Shi-Qiang Wang

We are excited to share the success of Shi-Qiang Wang’s first-time independent article in ChemComm; “Adsorbate-dependent phase switching in the square lattice topology coordination network [Ni(4,4′-bipyridine)2(NCS)2]n” included in the full milestones collection. 

Read our interview with Shi-Qiang below.

What are the main areas of research in your lab and what motivated you to take this direction?

My research focuses on crystal engineering of metal-organic materials (PCPs/PCNs/MOFs) for gas storage, water sorption and hydrocarbon separations. In particular, the unusual “switching” behaviour of a series of square lattice coordination networks has fascinated me to work on this field.

Can you set this article in a wider context?

Gas storage is an important but energy-intensive process in industry. Although porous physisorbent materials hold significant promise in addressing this matter, they suffer from relatively low working capacity due to the Langmuir (type I) sorption isotherms. Flexible/switching coordination networks or MOFs featuring stepped sorption isotherms may provide higher working capacity and better thermal management than rigid sorbents with type I isotherms. However, their responsiveness to different adsorbates remains largely understudied.

In this work, we report the sorption properties of nine gases (N2, CH4, CO2, C2H2, C2H4, C2H6, C3H4, C3H6, and C3H8) for a prototypal switching coordination network, [Ni(4,4’-bipyridine)2(NCS)2] (sql-1-Ni-NCS), which exhibits adsorbate-dependent switching pressures and sorption uptakes. The primary message from this study is that nonporous materials (as determined by their crystal structures and/or 77 K N2 sorption data) should not be discarded as candidates for sorption-based applications as they may exhibit exceptionally high gas sorption working capacity through a phase switching mechanism.

What do you hope your lab can achieve in the coming year?

In the coming year, I hope we can develop a simple and cheap, sustainable and environment-friendly method for manufacturing functional metal-organic materials in large scale that meet the needs of industry and society. We are also open for potential collaborations from different perspectives to make the world better together.

Describe your journey to becoming an independent researcher.

I started my “chem journey” since I was an undergraduate at Hebei University (2009-2013) where I learnt fundamental knowledge of different chemistry disciplines (e.g., Inorganic, Organic, Analytical, and Physical Chemistry). I then majored in Inorganic Chemistry for my Master’s degree (2013-2016) and conducted systematic research under the supervision of Prof. Xiang-Jian Kong and Prof. La-Sheng Long at Xiamen University. I worked on 3d-4f metal clusters and studied their magnetism and chirality.

Although I changed my research topics to higher dimensional (2 or 3D) metal-organic materials during my PhD study, the skills I have learnt previously helped me a lot. Under the guidance of Prof. Michael Zaworotko at the University of Limerick (2016-2022), I developed a family of 2D switching coordination networks that can be potentially used for gas storage and hydrocarbon separations. Afterwards, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work with A/Prof. Dan Zhao as a Research Fellow at the National University of Singapore where I worked on advanced porous materials for air dehumidification.

Recently, I joined the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), which is a leading research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore. As a Scientist at IMRE, I will continue my research, which is already part of my life, and hope to discover more advanced materials for real-world applications.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been give?

Negative results can be also informative and should not be just laid aside and neglected. Unfortunately, it is common that researchers are keen on publishing the best results and pursuing new records, while it is also meaningful and important to mention what they have tried or failed before reaching the targeted goals.

Why did you choose to publish in ChemComm?

My first first-author paper was published in ChemComm in 2018 (https://doi.org/10.1039/C8CC03838D), and I was impressed by its rapid publication, excellent reputation, and broad audience. It thus prompted me to submit my first independent research (https://doi.org/10.1039/D2CC06549E) to ChemComm as well.

 

Dr. Shi-Qiang Wang (MRSC) is currently a Scientist at the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) under the umbrella of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore. Before moving to IMRE, he served as a Research Fellow (2022.03-2022.10) in the Advanced Porous Materials Group (PI: A/Prof. Dan Zhao) at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He completed his PhD (2016.09-2020.06) and continued as a Postdoctoral Researcher (2020.08-2022.03) in the Crystal Engineering Research Group (PI: Prof. Michael Zaworotko) at the University of Limerick (UL), Ireland. He won two “Young Scientist” conference Awards sponsored respectively by the European Crystallographic Association and the International Union of Crystallography in 2018/2019 and the 2020 Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad.

You can reach out to Shi-Qiang on Twitter: @ShiQiang_SQ, WeChat: sqwang0123, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sqwangchem or his personal website: https://sqwangchem.com/

 

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ChemComm Milestones – Ricardo Peralta

We are excited to share the success of Ricardo Peralta’s first-time independent article in ChemComm; “Gas-phase organometallic catalysis in MFM-300(Sc) provided by switchable dynamic metal sites” included in the full milestones collection. 

Read our interview with Ricardo below.

What are the main areas of research in your lab and what motivated you to take this direction?

My research primarily aims to rationalize and develop applications for dynamic metal-ligand bonding phenomena in MOFs. I am motivated to explore these processes because I believe that to fully exploit the intrinsic characteristics of MOFs such as porosity, modular synthesis and crystallinity, the role of dynamic metal processes in fields such as catalysis must be elucidated. MOFs featuring dynamic metal-linker bonds are a promising route towards the synthesis of active and stable catalysts that do not require harsh activation conditions. The production of catalytically active MOFs often requires challenging synthesis and I believe that we have only touched the tip of the iceberg with the current research. The immense possibilities within MOF synthesis and it’s wider applications still fascinates and motivates me to pursue them.

Can you set this article in a wider context?

Using MOFs in heterogenous catalysis is advantageous due to the well-defined crystalline framework, which facilitates rapid diffusion of small molecules, high catalytic selectivity and can act as a matrix for the isolation of reactive complexes and intermediates.  Recyclability of heterogeneous catalysts provides a facile route to catalyst recovery.​ Due to high porosity and surface areas, gas phase catalysis is an area in which MOFs are particularly promising but which remains underexplored. Often MOFs featuring open metal sites are used for catalysis; however, such materials typically require harsh activation conditions and are not stable to some catalysis conditions.  The route towards gas phase catalysts proposed in this work relies on hemilability to generate temporary open metal sites in-situ without requiring harsh activation conditions.

What do you hope your lab can achieve in the coming year?

I hope that my lab can further establish the role of dynamic metal-ligand phenomena in MOFs and demonstrate the capacity of MOFs featuring hemilability in important applications.

Describe your journey to becoming an independent researcher.

My pathway to becoming an independent researcher has been challenging but entirely rewarding. Undertaking my PhD studies and postdoctoral work in Australia and Korea challenged me to develop my English communication skills and provided opportunities to learn about advanced characterization techniques in turn broadening my chemistry knowledge. I have been guided by mentors who are experts in the area and friends who have supported me through my journey. I feel incredibly lucky and proud to have an opportunity to pursue my dream as an independent researcher and continue my learning path.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been give?

Perseverance is the key to great outcomes.

Why did you choose to publish in ChemComm?

Chemical Communications is a highly regarded journal in the chemical sciences and an excellent route to communicate new ideas and research. It has excellent readership which open up avenues to for exchange of new ideas. I have read multiple articles from journal throughout my career and it is an honor to have my first paper as an independent researcher published in ChemComm!

 

After completing my undergraduate studies, I worked in industry at DUPONT Mexico and Seguros Monterrey New York Life, which inspired me to pursue a career in research. Through my Masters program at the National University Autonomous of Mexico, I encountered Metal-organic Frameworks (MOFs) and developed a keen interest in the development and applications of crystalline materials. I moved to The University of Adelaide in Australia to conduct my PhD which focused on isolating reactive transition metal complexes in MOFs for catalytic reactions. Buoyed by my experience in MOF catalysis, I undertook a research fellowship (Brain pool program) at Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) in South Korea, where I studied dynamic metal-ligand bonding within MOFs and its effect on catalysis. I continue to explore this fascinating phenomenon in my independent research and in my role as an Assistant Professor in Chemistry at the Metropolitan Autonomous University in Mexico.

 

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ChemComm Milestones – Marcin Lindner

We are excited to share the success of Marcin Lindner’s first-time independent article in ChemComm; “V-shaped donor–acceptor organic emitters. A new approach towards efficient TADF OLED devicesincluded in the full milestones collection. 

Read our interview with Marcin below.

What are the main areas of research in your lab and what motivated you to take this direction?

Research in my group has focused on the rational design and the synthesis of functional aromatic materials such as concave N-doped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (N-PAHs), curved heteroatom-doped nanographenes, donor-acceptor organic emitters with unique topology. These are investigated as emissive components in thermally activated delay fluorescent (TADF)/hyperfluorescent (HF) OLED devices, and hole-transporting layers (HTL) applied for more efficient throughput of Perovskite Solar Cells (PSCs). We have faced the challenge in constructing highly emissive organic materials by integrating donor-acceptor structure thoroughly fused and conjugated scaffold which bears, however, nonplanar geometry. We believe that implementation of such conceptually new, tailor-made organic materials would allow to holistically tune the desired optical properties such an efficient quantum yield, excited states energy difference, and bandgap energy.

Can you set this article in a wider context?

Seeking new organic emitters for TADF OLED devices has recently constituted an intensive field of research. Particularly, organic dyes with a small energy gap (ΔEST) which enable an efficient up-conversion process of triplet excitones are of high interest. The most common approach offered so far has relied on a use of rigid platforms decorated with twisted electron rich substituents to minimize HOMO-LUMO overlap which usually affects on ΔEST . We recently demonstrated first ambipolar and curved N-doped PAHs in which antiaromatic 7-memered ring led to the spatially separate HOMO-LUMO levels while curvature enabled one to minimize their overlap and achieve TADF emission (Angew. Chem. 2022, 61, e202202232) with PLQY up to 86% and EQE of 12%.

Building on that we envisaged the release of  the structural tension from our pristine N-PAHs would result in the system bearing V-shaped topology leading to a well decoupled donor-acceptor system. In this published paper, we showed the rational design and concise synthesis of a new set of V-shaped D-π-A organic emitters. “Releasing structural tension” from our parental architecture, we gained access to a novel class of dyes with V-shaped geometry, which was transparently proved by X-ray single crystal analysis. Furthermore, HOMO-LUMO levels were well separated leading to the remarkable decrease of ΔEST (<0.1eV for each derivative) and efficacious TADF process. For the best performing phenoxazine decorated dye, we found appreciable PLQY of 36% accompanied by a very good EQE of 13.6% which indeed stress the importance of the efficient up-conversion of triplet excitones due to the low ΔEST energy. These demonstrated results shed light on new structural paradigm that contributes strongly to the increase of TADF OLED effciency.

What do you hope your lab can achieve in the coming year?

We have currently aimed at developing a peripheral functionalization of our N-PAHs. Moreover, we have explored the synthetic methodologies toward curved nanographenes which are going to be brought to light this year.

Describe your journey to becoming an independent researcher.

After my PhD in the group of Prof. Marcel Mayor (University of Basel, KIT Karlsruhe), I returned to Poland (2017) where I spent a short period of time at the industry (Selvita). With this valuable experience in a hand, I subsequently moved to Warsaw (IOC PAS). Within next 1.5 year I had here tackled to the development of new anion receptors and catalytic methods for stereo-selective semi-hydrogenation of alkynes, working in a group of Prof. Janusz Jurczak and Karol Grela, respectively. Meantime (2018/2019) I successfully applied for my first independent research grant (within the frame of Sonata 14 competition) funded by National Centre of Science. Year after (2020) I received second grant, this time from the National Centre of Research and Development (Lider XI). Within the scope of my independent research I try to perform a unique approach to the synthesis of aromatic compounds with goal of reaching a specific functionality.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been give?

Well, here I would come with two quotes. Namely, “treat other as you want to be treated” and “make people believe what you believe in”. Both help me on daily basis to gradually become a better leader.

Why did you choose to publish in ChemComm?

ChemComm is a journal with a long tradition and an excellent reputation in chemistry. As it is a so-called “general” type of journal, it is accessed by the broad society of researchers who often cross the borders of chemistry and physics. “Publish your results in a journal, you used to read”. This attitude of my former co-advisor Dr Michal Valášek, (KIT, Germany) which was transferred to my professional life and was a driving force to publish following manuscript in ChemComm.

Marcin Lindner completed his PhD in 2016 at the University of Basel, Switzerland, under the guidance of Prof. Marcel Mayor. He defended a PhD dissertation entitled “Tailor-made tetraphenylmethanes : from surface decoartion to 3D organic polymers”.

In 2017 he returned to Poland to work at Selvita as a Synthesis Specialist III. After this short adventure in industry he returned to academia (Institute of Organic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Science) to work with Prof. Janusz Jurczak (10/2017-01/2019) and Prof. Karol Grela (02-11/2019).

Since 2019, has been employed as assistant professor and appointed a head of the Aromatic Functional Materials group at the IOC, PAS in Warsaw.

Twitter: @lindner_marcin

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Presenting the ChemComm Career Milestones Collections

ChemComm is here to support researchers throughout their careers. Whether you’re a first-time author or a senior academic, you can trust us to handle your submission fairly and efficiently.

As part of our support for academics at all stages of their careers, we would like to highlight our Career Milestones collections.

ChemComm Milestones – First Independent Articles

This collection celebrates authors’ first articles as independent researchers. This momentous milestone marks the beginning of an independent academic career and we are proud to champion authors through this stage and beyond.

Read our interviews with the authors on our blog.

ChemComm Emerging Investigators

This annual special collection showcases research carried out by internationally recognised, up-and-coming scientists in the early stages of their independent careers, and who are making outstanding contributions to their respective fields.

Read the profile of last year’s contributors here.

 

ChemComm Pioneering Investigators

This collection showcases high quality research being carried out by international researchers who are more established in their independent careers and have been recognised as making a significant contribution to their field.

Read the profile of last year’s contributors here.

 

We hope you will join us in congratulating all contributors to our Career Milestones collections!

 

 

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ChemComm Milestones – Manabu Yamada

We are excited to share the success of Manabu Yamada’s first-time independent article in ChemComm; “Facile separation of cyclic aliphatic and aromatic vapors using crystalline thiacalixarene assemblies with preorganized channelsincluded in the full milestones collection. 

Read our interview with Manabu below.

What are the main areas of research in your lab and what motivated you to take this direction?

Our laboratory has two primary research themes. The first involves the development of adsorbents that use organic crystals based on macrocyclic compounds (calixarenes, thiacalixarenes, and cyclodextrins) to effectively separate small organic molecules. The second involves the development of extractants and adsorbents based on macrocyclic compounds and pincer ligands to effectively separate rare (precious) metals.

We were motivated to conduct this research for the following reasons: during my research on organic crystals, I became fascinated by the beauty of crystals, as well as their interesting properties, such as the selective incorporation of characteristic organic vapor components. During my research on rare metal separators, I found that I enjoyed designing extractants to recognize and separate specific metals.

Can you set this article in a wider context?

Cyclohexane and methylcyclohexane were synthesized via the hydrogenation of benzene and toluene, respectively. However, the unreacted aromatic material remains in the effluent stream of the reactor during this process. The effective separation of the cyclic aliphatic and aromatic compounds via conventional distillation is impossible, and separations based on the size and molecular volumes are challenging.

To exploit the differences in molecular sizes and spatial structures of cyclohexane and benzene or those of methylcyclohexane and toluene, macrocyclic compounds have been utilized to separate cyclic alkane/aromatic hydrocarbon vapor mixtures. However, the separation of benzene/cyclohexane and toluene/methylcyclohexane mixtures using one type of macrocyclic compound has not yet been achieved.

At this time, we found that the facile and efficient separation of both benzene/cyclohexane and toluene/methylcyclohexane mixtures can be achieved using one type of crystalline thiacalxarene assembly featuring preorganized channel-like adsorption sites, which possess the adsorption properties of cyclic aliphatics and aromatics and the different retention capacities of each adsorbed molecule.

What do you hope your lab can achieve in the coming year?

In the future, we will investigate the adsorption properties of polar organic molecules using crystalline thiacalixarene assemblies. In addition, we will attempt to develop novel organic crystals based on other macrocyclic compounds and evaluate their adsorption and separation properties for small organic molecules.

Describe your journey to becoming an independent researcher.

I decided to become a researcher when I was a Ph.D. student under Prof. Fumio Hamada at Akita University. I was fascinated by the inclusion phenomena of macrocyclic compounds and the beauty of macrocycle-based organic crystals. After graduation, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Akita University Venture Business Laboratory in the field of supramolecular chemistry. I was then hired as a tenure-track assistant professor in the tenure-track program for young faculty members in the field of mineral resource research at Akita University, where I took on the challenge of a new research field: the development of extractants that can efficiently recover platinum group metals. Fortunately, with the support of my superiors, I became an independent researcher.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been give?

I do not know if this is good advice for everyone, but I was once told, “the only privilege of a chemist is to be able to converse with compounds.” This is what I keep in mind as I continue my research. I believe this is the best advice I have ever received, as it has made me realize the importance of enjoying chemistry on a daily basis.

Why did you choose to publish in ChemComm?

ChemComm is a high-impact journal read by chemists across a wide range of fields. Additionally, it publishes research articles that are novel, urgent, and very compelling. These attributes are what motivated me to publish my article in ChemComm.

 

Manabu Yamada completed his PhD at Akita University, Japan, under the guidance of Prof. Fumio Hamada, where he explored the crystal structures of metal complexes of macrocyclic compounds. He then spent approximately two years as a postdoctoral researcher at the Akita University Venture Business Laboratory, Japan. In 2012, he accepted a tenure-track assistant-professorship at Akita University, working on the development of new extractants for the recovery of rare metals from secondary resources. He was appointed principal investigator of this project in 2017. Since 2022, he has been an Associate Professor at Akita University, with a research focus on the development of extractants and sorbents for the effective and selective separation of metals and small organic compounds.

Twitter: @Akita_Lab

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Manabu-Yamada-2

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Congratulations to the 2023 Cram Lehn Pedersen Prize Winner: Niveen Khashab

We are delighted to announce that Professor Niveen M. Khashab, at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, is the recipient of this year’s Cram Lehn Pedersen Prize in Supramolecular Chemistry. This prize, sponsored by ChemComm, is named in honour of the winners of the 1987 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and recognises significant original and independent work in supramolecular chemistry. Please join us in celebrating Niveen’s achievement.

 

Niveen M. Khashab is a Professor of Chemistry at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). After her doctoral studies at the University of Florida, she joined Sir Fraser Stoddart’s Lab at the University of California, Los Angeles, and then at Northwestern University working on supramolecular chemistry, programmable nanomaterials with emphasis on the encapsulation, controlled release and self-assembly of the systems. Inspired by the model of evolutionary biological systems, the Khashab research group is engaged in the design and synthesis of supramolecular assemblies at the nanoscale, employing non-covalent and coordination interactions. These systems are designed with an emphasis on hierarchical-assembly (evolution), porosity (ordered self-assembly) and stimuli-responsiveness (smart materials). As to applications: they are utilized for biomedical (encapsulation, delivery and sensing), industrial (nanocomposites and coatings) and environmental (sustainable agriculture) platforms. She is the recipient of the Crow Award in Organic Chemistry in 2004, AlMaraai Award for  Nanotechnology in 2013 and the L’Oréal-Unesco Women in Science International Award in 2017. In 2021, she was named a fellow of the Royal Chemical Society. She is on the editorial board of 10 scientific journal (ACS, RSC, Wiley) and currently serving as an associate editor at Chemistry of Materials (ACS). Follow Niveen’s lab on Twitter: @ShmsLab

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ChemComm Milestones – Cameron Bentley

We are excited to share the success of Cameron Bentley’s first-time independent article in ChemComm; ‘Direct electrochemical identification of rare microscopic catalytic active sitesincluded in the full milestones collection. 

Read our interview with Cameron below.

What are the main areas of research in your lab and what motivated you to take this direction?

My groups research centres on green energy conversion and storage, specifically on developing a working understanding of the relationship between materials nanostructure and function (e.g., catalytic activity, stability, selectivity etc.). We have developed a suite of nanoscale electrochemistry (nanoelectrochemistry) techniques that provide a very different view of electrodes and electrochemical processes, allowing us to “see” catalytic active sites during operation, which we further relate to the materials underlying chemistry and structure to assign the fundamental structure-property relationship(s). We believe that accessing this information will accelerate materials discovery and further facilitate the rational design of “next-generation” materials with enhanced function, which are both critically important goals in the field of materials science.

Can you set this article in a wider context?

Nanostructured electrochemical interfaces are found in diverse applications ranging from electrocatalysis and energy storage to biomedical and environmental sensing. These functional materials, which possess chemical and structural heterogeneity on wide range of length scales, are usually characterised using “bulk” electrochemical techniques which provide limited information on—or worse, may even obscure—the nature of the underlying (catalytic) active sites. This work showcases a new approach, based on local voltammetric analysis with a scanning electrochemical droplet cell technique, in combination with a new data processing protocol (termed data binning and trinisation), to directly identify never-before-seen catalytic active sites on the basal plane of molybdenum disulfide (2H-MoS2). The introduced approaches are generally applicable and understanding the nature of (sub)microscopic catalytic active sites, such as the nanoscale “electrocatalytic hotspots” identified herein, is crucial to guide the rational design of next-generation earth-abundant materials for renewable fuels production.

What do you hope your lab can achieve in the coming year?

We would like to expand our cutting-edge nanoelectrochemistry approaches (such as those introduced herein) to investigate the structure-activity-selectivity relationships associated with more complex electrochemical reactions (e.g., the electrochemical reduction of CO2) and electrode materials (e.g., single nanoparticles).

Describe your journey to becoming an independent researcher.

My BSc was a co-major in biochemistry and chemistry at Swinburne University of Technology, Australia. I remember being quite torn between these two important and interesting areas, until I undertook a summer research project at CSIRO (Australia), looking at corrosion (and corrosion protection) in carbon capture and storage pilot plants. This ignited my passion for electrochemistry and sustainable energy technologies, leading me to take up a Swinburne/CSIRO co-supervised Honours project on positive electrode current collector corrosion in lithium-ion batteries. I really embraced the research during my Honours year, and a PhD seemed like a natural choice, which I carried out at Monash University on the topic of “Electrode reaction and mass-transport mechanisms associated with the I⁻/I₂ and H⁺/H₂ redox couples in ionic liquid media”, supervised by Profs Alan Bond and Jie Zhang.

After graduating at the end of 2015, I moved abroad and took up a position at the University of Warwick, UK, working with Prof Patrick Unwin in the Department of Chemistry. Over a period of 4.5 years, I was funded by a succession of Fellowships (Endeavour, Marie-Curie and Ramsay), which granted me a great degree of academic independence, allowing me to collaborate widely and take my research in significant new directions within this fresh environment, notably towards the emerging areas of nanoelectrochemistry and single-entity electrochemistry.

It was on these topics that I prepared my successful DECRA Fellowship application, which I took up at Monash University in November 2020. This is my first independent position and I currently lead a small group of 4 PhD students (2 as primary supervisor, 2 as secondary) and 2 Honours students within the School of Chemistry. I am very happy to be back in my home country and believe that we (my group and I) are well-positioned to lead the rapidly emerging nanoelectrochemistry field, as it continues to expand.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been give?

The best advice I have received is probably to trust my feelings of intuition (“trust your gut”) with respect to research (and people!). Of course, there is a fine line between being assertive with our ideas and being stubborn or hard-headed, but I think it is an important lesson for early career researchers trying to “find their niche”.

Why did you choose to publish in ChemComm?

I am a regular reader of ChemComm and believe that is an excellent journal. The time commitment for reading is relatively low, while the potential rewards are high, as ChemComm tends to publish very cutting-edge research in my areas of interest (e.g., electrochemistry, materials science and nanoscience).

Dr Cameron L. Bentley obtained his PhD from Monash University, Australia (2012 – 2015) and worked as a (Senior) Research Fellow at the University of Warwick, UK (2016 – 2020), supported by subsequent Endeavour (Australia), Marie Skłodowska-Curie (EU) and Ramsay Memorial (UK) Fellowships. Currently, he is an ARC DECRA Fellow at Monash University and his research centres on combining cutting-edge electrochemical imaging techniques (a unique capability that is only available in his laboratory, within Australia) with co-located microscopy/spectroscopy to solve contemporary structure−function problems in electromaterials science. Cameron has published >50 peer-reviewed articles and is the recent recipient of the Early Career Analytical Electrochemistry Prize of ISE Division 1 (International Society of Electrochemistry).

Twitter: @CL_Bentley

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ChemComm Milestones – Yuanting Su

We are excited to share the success of Yuanting Su’s first-time independent article in ChemComm; ‘Crystalline radical cations of bis-BN-based analogues of Thiele’s hydrocarbon‘ included in the full milestones collection. 

Read our interview with Yuanting below.

What are the main areas of research in your lab and what motivated you to take this direction?

The main interests of our group are focused on the isolation, characterizations, and reactivity of novel main group species, including geometrically constrained compounds and di(poly)radicals. Recently, most of the stoichiometric and catalytic small molecule activations involve transition metal complexes. Additionally, organic radicals have potential applications in functional materials. We believe that main group species with suitable electronic and steric effects could also solve these problems and have their advantages.

Can you set this article in a wider context?

Thiele’s hydrocarbon, the first isolable organic diradicaloid reported by Thiele in 1904, has been widely used as a calculated model to investigate the interaction between two unpaired electrons. However, itself and its radical cation are highly reactive, preventing further investigation and practical application. Despite various analogues of Thiele’s hydrocarbon have been isolated, structurally characterized radical species derived from them are still limited and radical cations of bis-BN-based analogues have not been reported. In this paper, we demonstrate that air-stable bis-BN-based analogues of Thiele’s hydrocarbon have been facilely synthesized by one-pot reaction of bromoborane (HCDippN)2BBr with KC8 in the presence of half an equivalent of pyrazine or quinoxaline in toluene. Moreover, one-electron oxidation with AgSbF6 leads to their radical cations, which could be isolated as crystalline solids. The unpaired electron is greatly delocalized over the central linkers. Therefore, reduction of the halogenated borane in the presence of pyrazine and derivatives is a straightforward way to achieve BN-based analogues of Thiele’s hydrocarbon with multiple stable redox states. This strategy may allow access to novel open-shell diradicaloids or polyradicals.

What do you hope your lab can achieve in the coming year?

Make progress in the construction of novel main group species for small molecule activation and functional materials.

Describe your journey to becoming an independent researcher.

When I was an undergraduate, my research experience with Prof. Suna Wang at Liaocheng University inspired me to pursue an academic research career. After graduation from the group of Prof. Xiao-Juan Yang and Prof. Biao Wu at Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, where I learned a lot of knowledge and techniques on organometallics chemistry and characterizations, I joined the group of Prof. Xinping Wang at Nanjing University and studied the isolation of main group element radicals. Then, I was offered a Research Fellow position in Prof. Rei Kinjo’s group at Nanyang Technological University, where I expanded my research area into the small molecule activations by novel main group element species. I was fortunate to meet such kind and professional chemists, whose strong support helped me to become an independent researcher.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been give?

You can neither rewrite your past nor predict your future. The best thing you can do is holding the present.

Why did you choose to publish in ChemComm?

ChemComm combines the traits of wide readership, rapid publishing, and high quality.

  Yuanting Su received his BSc Degree from Liaocheng University in 2009. Then, he moved to Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, CAS and obtained his MSc Degree in 2012 under the guidance of Prof. Xiao-Juan Yang and Prof. Biao Wu. He earned his PhD in 2015 from Nanjing University under the supervision of Prof. Xinping Wang, studying the isolation of main group element radical species. He stayed as a Research Fellow at Prof. Rei Kinjo’s group at Nanyang Technological University (Sep. 2015 to Sep. 2019), Singapore, focusing on small molecule activation by main group element compounds. In Nov. 2019, he joined the College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University as an Associate Professor. His current research interests are new main group species and their applications in small molecule activation and functional materials.

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ChemComm Milestones – Bin Wang

We are excited to share the success of Bin Wang’s first-time independent article in ChemComm; ‘tert-Butyl nitrite triggered radical cascade reaction for synthesizing isoxazoles by a one-pot multicomponent strategy‘ included in the full milestones collection. 

Read our interview with Bin below.

What are the main areas of research in your lab and what motivated you to take this direction?

Our laboratory currently focuses on the glycosylation reaction of nitrogen-containing heterocycles to acquire drug-like molecules. Many bioactive components in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) contain glycosyl groups, which increase the water solubility of these molecules. According to the decoction method used in TCM, these compounds are more likely to be the active components of TCM. Additionally, in the development of synthetic drugs, glycosyl groups are often introduced into poorly soluble lead compounds to increase their hydrophilicity, improve the bioavailability of the target drugs, and finally increase the potential druggability.

Can you set this article in a wider context?

As early as 1888, the synthesis of isoxazole derivatives was first documented through the condensation/cyclization reaction of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds with hydroxylamine by Claisen. Subsequently, two typical strategies for the synthesis of isoxazoles involve 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides; and alkynes and cyclo-isomerization of alkynyl ketoxime compounds.

In this article, we describe a novel and efficient multicomponent cascade reaction that involves sequential acylation/oximation/annulation processes in the presence of alkenes, aldehydes, TBN, and H2O, providing access to diversely disubstituted isoxazoles in one-pot. This strategy features H2O as a rare oxygen source of the isoxazole ring, commercially available substrates, and the construction of diverse new bonds in a single pot, which is distinct from already reported studies. These characteristics meet exactly the needs of environmental protection.

Additionally, we applied the established method to provide 32 isoxazole derivatives, and antioxidant experiments showed that these compounds have positive radical scavenging capacity, especially isoxazole 4al reaching 60% scavenging power at a concentration of 2 μmol/mL, suggesting that these molecules could be utilized as lead compounds for anti-aging drugs.

What do you hope your lab can achieve in the coming year?

In the next year, we will focus on carbohydrate chemistry, especially around the glycosylation reaction to achieve the synthesis of antioxidant and/or anti-inflammatory substances.

Describe your journey to becoming an independent researcher.

After completing my master’s degree in physical chemistry (Hunan University, China), I pursued a Ph.D. in organic chemistry for synthesis methodology to explore the functionalization of alkenes or alkynes in the aqueous phase. (University of Science and Technology of China, China), followed by an Associate Professor position focused on the synthesis of nitrogen-containing heterocycles to acquire drug-like molecules (Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, China). Subsequently, I accepted a visiting scholar position from the Georg-August-University of Goettingen, working on glycosylation reactions. Currently, my research group consists of 1 Ph.D. student, 7 masters, and 9 undergraduates. Inspired by the experiences described above and with an interest in exploring TCMs, I begin my independent career to navigate new fields between nitrogen-containing heterocycles and carbohydrate chemistry.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been give?

“Do important and useful chemistry”. Innovation and practicality could go hand in hand. The application of chemical synthesis to solve problems in social life is more in agreement with the needs of human development, for instance, the total synthesis of natural products, synthesizing drug molecules, etc. Therefore, in the course of my academic research, this word has been guiding and inspiring me.

Why did you choose to publish in ChemComm?

ChemComm is a highly readable journal. The novelty of the published paper and the rapid publication process attracted me deeply to publish my first research article.

Dr. Bin Wang completed his Ph.D. at the University of Science and Technology of China working with Prof. Zhiyong Wang, where he explored the functionalization of alkenes or alkynes in the aqueous phase. In 2021, he accepted a visiting scholar position in the group of Prof. Dr. Lutz Ackermann at the Georg-August University of Goettingen, working on synthetic methodology. Currently, he holds the position of Associate Professor position at the Key Laboratory of Xin’an Medicine of the Ministry of Education of the Anhui University of Chinese Medicine. His research is focused on the application of glycosylation to acquire drug-like molecules.

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