As day 2 dawned, many of the international speakers were sleep-deprived due to jet lag and the fantastic Japanese hospitality. To ensure everyone remained focused it was essential that the science was of the highest order. Delegates were not disappointed!
Toni Llobet gave an impressive presentation on ruthenium-based water oxidation catalysts. These have been attached to surfaces so they can be incorporated into devices. Toni briefly spoke about his newest system, giving the analogy of a caged lion. This certainly got the attention of the audience. The new system has been designed only to allow water oxidation and not organics due to size constraints. Furthermore, as the ruthenium molecules are anchored to a surface, they can not attack and destroy each other.
Following another hefty lunch, it was the turn of the ChemComm speakers. Associate Editor Jonathan Sessler was first up, talking about results he recently published in Science. Following Jonathan, both ChemComm speakers (Luet Wong and Adrian Mulholland) gave outstanding talks to around 150 delegates. In the latter, Adrian highlighted that quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) ‘would not save the world’ but certainly has a place in understanding reactivity, as currently the methods give good alignment with experimental data.
To finish the day, Harry Gray received the 60th Japanese Coordination Chemistry Award and spoke on the topic of electron transfer in bioinorganic chemistry. It was a beautiful talk, in Harry’s own unique style, covering 50 years of research. There were a few malfunctions with laser pointers but Felix Castellano stepped in to assist. His blue laser pointer was particularly impressive, very cool and expensive at $300.
The highlight of the day was the symposium banquet. There was plenty of great food and drink, with Harry Gray lead the celebratory opening of the saki barrel. I also enjoyed the traditional Chinese music entertainment. Thanks to the efforts of Shinobu Itoh (Dalton Transactions Regional Associate Editor for Japan) and Susumu Kitagawa (CrystEngComm Editorial Board member), RSC journals other than ChemComm were also well promoted.
The end of the banquet also marked the end to the first part of the ChemComm Symposium. Next stop Ehwa Womens University in Seoul, Korea.
