We are pleased to announce this open call for papers for our upcoming themed collection on Rare Earth Materials to be published in Journal of Materials Chemistry C. For more details about the themed collection, including how to submit, please visit this blog post.

This collection is guest edited by:

Professor Ashlee Howarth (Concordia University, Canada)

Ashlee J. Howarth is an Associate Professor and Concordia University Research Chair at Concordia University in Montréal. She was born and raised in London, Ontario. She obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Western Ontario in 2009, and then went on to do her PhD in inorganic materials chemistry at the University of British Columbia under the supervision of Michael O. Wolf. Before joining the faculty at Concordia, she completed an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship at Northwestern University with Joseph T. Hupp and Omar K. Farha. At Concordia, the Howarth group is focused on the design and synthesis of rare-earth cluster-based metal–organic frameworks targeting applications in pollution remediation, catalysis, drug delivery, X-ray detection, and chemical sensing.

Professor Takao Mori (National Institute for Materials Science, Japan)

Takao Mori received his PhD in 1996 at Univ. Tokyo, Dept. Physics. He is a Field Director at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in Japan. Professor of the Univ. Tsukuba Graduate School and elected Board Member of the International Thermoelectric Society (ITS) and ITS President from July 2023. Mori is a Senior Editor of Materials Today Physics, an Editorial or Advisory Board Member of Journal of Solid State Chemistry, Advances in Applied Ceramics, Device, Journal of Materiomics, Joule. His current research interests include development of thermoelectric materials and enhancement principles, magnetism, synthesis and properties of borides, inorganic materials. He has published over 350 papers, 25 book chapters, and 35 patents.

Professor Zhiguo Xia (South China University of Technology, China)

Zhiguo Xia is a professor at the State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China. He obtained his PhD degree (Chemistry) in 2008 from Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. His current research interests focus on the inorganic luminescence materials, including the rare earth doped phosphors and the luminescent metal halides, and mainly developed their structural design, synthesis and discovery and structure-property correlation investigations. Dr. Zhiguo Xia has published over 200 peer reviewed publications (h-index of 87), and 5 book chapters. He is an associated editor of “Journal of Materials Chemistry C from 2022”.

Open call for papers – Rare Earth Materials

Submit your work by 6 September 2024

We are pleased to announce this open call for papers for our upcoming themed collection on Rare Earth Materials to be published in Journal of Materials Chemistry C.

This collection is guest edited by Professor Ashlee Howarth (Concordia University, Canada), Professor Takao Mori (National Institute for Materials Science, Japan), Professor Zhiguo Xia (South China University of Technology, China).

Submissions to the journal should contain chemistry in a materials context and should fit within the scope of Journal of Materials Chemistry C. Please see the journal’s website for more information on the journal’s scope, standards, article types and author guidelines. Please see this blog post for further information about the guest editors.

For this open call, we welcome full Papers and Communications.

Open for Submissions until 6^th September 2024

If you would like to contribute to this themed collection, please submit your article directly through the Journal of Materials Chemistry C submission service. Please mention that your submission is a contribution to the Rare Earth Materials collection in the “Themed issues” section of the submission form and add a “Note to the Editor” that this is from the Open Call. Please do not mention the themed collection in your cover letter.

All submissions will be subject to assessment against the journal’s usual scope and standards criteria and sent for peer review only if appropriate. Accepted articles will be published online as soon as they are ready and added to the web collection.

We sincerely hope that you will be able to contribute your latest research to this themed collection. We look forward to receiving your manuscripts.

We are delighted to announce that nominations are now OPEN for the prestigious 2024 Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship. Do you know an outstanding emerging scientist in the field of materials chemistry who deserves recognition? Nominate them today for a chance to win this respected award!

Established in 2010, this international lectureship honours early-career scientists who have made significant contributions to the field of materials chemistry, with previous recipients including Shaojun Guo, Christopher Bettinger, Henry Snaith, Maria Escudero-Escribano and last year’s winner Jovana Milić.

For more information and details on eligibility criteria and how to nominate a candidate, please visit the Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship webpage.

The deadline for nominations is 5 June 2024

Nominate a candidate now

Find out more about our 2023 Lectureship winner, Dr Jovana Milić, and our two runners-up, Dr Kwabena Bediako and Dr Laure Biniek or why not check out our fantastic 2023 shortlisted candidates.

You are of course welcome to circulate this information more widely with any colleagues who might be interested in making a nomination.

We look forward to receiving your nominations!

Interview with Professor Xiaowei Zhan (Peking University, China)

Scientific Editor, Journal of Materials Chemistry A

What aspect of your research are you most excited about at the moment?

A: My group focuses on organic photovoltaics (OPV). The active layer in OPV device consists of electron donor and electron acceptor. Although fullerenes were prevailing acceptor materials in OPV from 1995 to 2015, I doubted if this choice was correct considering their fatal flaws such as weak visible light absorption. In 2006 my group started the non-fullerene OPV research. In 2015 we invented the milestone molecule ITIC and pioneered the concept of fused ring electron acceptor (FREA). Now around 350 research groups from >20 countries have utilized the FREA to fabricate OPV devices with the champion efficiency of >20%. The FREA has subverted previously predominant fullerenes, and is inaugurating a new era of the OPV field.

What do you find most challenging about your research?

A: Since efficiencies over 20% have been achieved for FREA-based OPV devices, the next challenge should be how to advance the field from lab to fab. Based on the unique features of OPV such as light weight, flexibility and semi-transparency, integration of OPV into special scenarios can make a breakthrough in commercialization of OPV. Through concerted efforts, practical application of OPV can be expected in near future.

What does it mean to you to have been appointed as Scientific Editor for Journal of Materials Chemistry A?

A: It is my great honor and pleasure to serve the materials chemistry community in the field of renewable energy especially organic photovoltaics.

How do you feel about Journal of Materials Chemistry A as a place to publish research?

A: Journal of Materials Chemistry A is well recognized as one of renowned journals in chemistry and materials science, especially as one of the most important journals in the field of organic photovoltaics. I have co-authored 36 papers in this journal.

What is one piece of career-related advice or wisdom that you would like to share with early career scientists?

A: I think important personalities for scientific research include curiosity, creativity, uniqueness, devotion and persistence.