ChemComm Associate Editor Jonathan Sessler to receive the 2014 MSMLG Award

ChemComm warmly congratulates Associate Editor Jonathan Sessler, who will receive the 2014 MSMLG Award at the 4th International Conference on Molecular Sensors and Molecular Logic Gates (MSMLG2014), to be held in Shanghai, China, from 9-12th November.

Professor Jonathan Sessler
Professor Sessler, of the University of Texas at Austin, is to be recognized for his seminal contributions to colorimetric anion, cation, and neutral substrate sensors, as well as for his work on calixpyrrole-based self-assembly and molecular logic device design.

Professor Seiji Shinkai
The MSMLG Award will also be presented to Professor Seiji ShinkaiChemComm sends sincere congratulations! Professor Shinkai, of Kyushu University, Japan, designed the first molecular machines and played an integral part in the development of various functional calixarenes.  We invite you to check out our recent cross-journal collection of articles – including a good number from ChemComm – especially published in celebration of Seiji Shinkai’s 70th Birthday.

MSMLG2014
The International Conference on Molecular Sensors and Molecular Logic Gates is a biennial conference organized by the East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST). Over 350 delegates from 25 countries are expected to attend. They will discuss innovative research and development in the fields of molecular sensors and molecular logic gates, molecular recognition and supramolecular self-assembly, and related research areas.

The Royal Society of Chemistry is a proud supporter of MSMLG 2014, sponsoring two poster prizes, the winners of which will each receive a hardbound copy of ‘Molecular Logic-based Computation’ from the RSC Books list.

For more information on the conference and to see the line-up of speakers, visit http://www.msmlg2014.org/.

Look out for ChemComm’s upcoming themed collection on Molecular Logic Gates and Information Processing in early 2015!

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Bubble power: Driving self-propelled machines with acetylene bubbles

Iain Larmour is a guest web writer for ChemSci. He has researched a wide variety of topics during his years in the lab including nanostructured surfaces for water repellency and developing nanoparticle systems for bioanalysis by surface enhanced optical spectroscopies. He currently works in science management. In his spare time he enjoys reading, photography, art and inventing.

Self-propelled micro/nanomachines were once the thing of science-fiction, but as so often is the case, fiction has become reality in recent years. Such devices could in the future find uses in environmental remediation and biomedical applications. Researchers around the world have been making progress on designing these machines, and it is a novel fuel-free autonomous self-propelled motor which is the focus of this Chemical Communication by Martin Pumera and team from the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences at Nanyang Technological University.

Rather than focus on oxygen bubble propulsion, which often requires the use of high levels of toxic hydrogen peroxide, they have developed an acetylene bubble based motor. To achieve this they utilised the reaction of water and calcium carbide, which produces acetylene and calcium hydroxide. This approach makes use of the water that will be found in the most common application environments, but does not require reactive metals such as magnesium and aluminium. The work expands the scope of bubble-propulsion beyond hydrogen and oxygen and gives designers of micro/nanomachines greater power unit choices in their designs.

Acetylene bubble powered motor in water.

The most important part of the research reported in this Communication is the optimisation of an encapsulation layer around the calcium carbide to control the reaction. However, to find out what this layer is made of and how to prepare it you will have to read the article today.

To read the details, check out the Chem Comm article in full:

Acetylene bubble-powered autonomous capsules: towards in situ fuel
James Guo Sheng Moo, Hong Wang and Martin Pumera
Chem. Commun., 2014, 50, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC07218A
   

    

    

    

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ChemComm Emerging Investigator Lectureship 2015 – nominations open

Deadline for nominations: 8th December 2014 – nominate now!

We are delighted to invite nominations for ChemComm Emerging Investigator Lectureship 2015. The Lectureship, which is awarded annually, will recognise an emerging scientist in the early stages of their independent academic career.

To qualify
To be eligible for the ChemComm Emerging Investigator Lectureship, the candidate should have completed their PhD on or after 4th September 2006. The candidate should also have published at least one article in ChemComm during the course of their independent career.

Lectureship details
The recipient of the Lectureship will be invited to present a lecture at three different locations over a 12 month period. It is expected that at least one of the locations will be a conference. The recipient will receive a contribution of £1500 towards travel and accommodation costs. S/he will also be presented with a certificate and be asked to contribute a ChemComm Feature Article.

Nominations
Those wishing to make a nomination should send the following details to the ChemComm Editorial Office by Monday 8th December 2014:

  • Recommendation letter, including the name, contact details and website URL of the nominee.
  • A one page CV for the nominee, including their date of birth, summary of education and career, list of up to five independent publications, total numbers of publications and patents and other indicators of esteem and evidence of independence.
  • A copy of the candidate’s best publication to date (as judged by the nominator).
  • Two supporting letters of recommendation from two independent referees. These should not be someone from the same institution or the candidate’s post doc or PhD supervisor.

The nominator and independent referees are requested to comment on the candidate’s presenting skills.

Please note that self nomination is not permitted.

Selection procedure
The ChemComm Editorial Board will draw up a short-list of candidates based on the information provided by the referees and nominator. Short-listed candidates will be asked to provide a supporting statement justifying why they deserve the Lectureship. The recipients of the Lectureship will then be selected and endorsed by the ChemComm Editorial Board, and will be announced in Spring 2015.

Previous winners

2014 Xinliang Feng Xinliang Feng (Technische Universität Dresden, Germany) for advanced organic materials
2014 Tomislav Friscic Tomislav Friščić (McGill University, Canada) for organic chemistry
2014 Simon Humphrey Simon M. Humphrey (University of Texas, USA) for inorganic chemistry
2013 Louise A. Berben (University of California Davis, USA) for synthetic and physical inorganic chemistry
2013 Marina Kuimova (Imperial College London, UK) for biophysical chemistry
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Nominations open for the Cram Lehn Pedersen Prize in Supramolecular Chemistry 2015

Apply by 31st December 2014

Nominations are now open for the Cram Lehn Pedersen Prize in Supramolecular Chemistry. The prize, sponsored by ChemComm, is organised by the committee of the International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry and is awarded each year to a young supramolecular chemist.

The Cram Lehn Pedersen Prize is named in honour of the winners of the 1987 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and recognizes significant original and independent work in supramolecular chemistry. Previous winners include Oren Schermann, Tomoki Ogoshi, and Jonathan Nitschke.

The Prize
The winner will receive:

  • £2000
  • free registration for the ISMSC meeting in Strasbourg, France
  • the opportunity to give a lecture at the ISMSC as well as undertake a short lecture tour after the meeting, in consultation with the Editor of ChemComm

Eligibility
To be eligible for the award you must be within 10 years of receiving your PhD on 31st December 2014

Nomination Instructions
You may nominate yourself or someone else. Please send CV, list of publications (divided into publications from PhD and postdoc and publications from independent work), and, if desired, a letter of support to Prof. Roger Harrison (ISMSC Secretary) at rgharris@chem.byu.edu by 31st December 2014

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Just Mix – Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework Synthesis

Iain Larmour is a guest web writer for ChemSci. He has researched a wide variety of topics during his years in the lab including nanostructured surfaces for water repellency and developing nanoparticle systems for bioanalysis by surface enhanced optical spectroscopies. He currently works in science management. In his spare time he enjoys reading, photography, art and inventing.

Zeolitic-imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) are a sub-class of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with a wide range of potential uses including: CO2 capture, storage, catalysis, sensing and biomedicine. Unfortunately their synthesis often requires additives or reaction activation, and if they can be made without these it often requires long reaction times or results in low yields, neither of which is ideal for a substance with such wide potential uses.

To overcome this bottleneck in ZIF synthesis, Roland Fischer and his team from the Inorganic Chemistry department in Ruhr Universitat Bochum in Germany have developed a rapid room temperature synthesis approach. I am a great believer in developing approaches that can be carried out at room temperature and pressure and this is one such elegant solution. The authors produce nanocrystals of ZIFs in a very narrow size distribution by careful selection of the precursors and the solvents they are dissolved in. The solutions are then mixed and stirred to create the ZIF crystals; it really is that elegant.

ZIF crystals showing very narrow size distribution

The authors then used these crystals to fabricate thin films on quartz crystal microbalances and used this device to detect volatile organic solvents. This demonstration leads the way into exploring other uses of these ZIFs – after all, they can now be easily made. But to find out which solvent and precursors you need to use, you’ll have to read the paper today!

To read the details, check out the ChemComm article in full:
Rapid room temperature synthesis of zeolitic-imidazolate framework (ZIF) nanocrystals
Min Tu, Christian Wiktor, Christoph Rosler and Roland Fischer
Chem. Commun., 2014, 50, 13258-13260
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC06491G  

    

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Ionic liquid-gas interfaces: more than a surface glance

Richard Massey writes about a hot ChemComm article for Chemistry World

Research by scientists in the UK suggests that small changes in the nature of binary ionic liquid systems can significantly alter their surface composition. The findings may aid the design of ionic liquid films for applications such as gas capture and supported catalysis, where surface adsorption is essential.

Studies on simple one-cation–one-anion mixtures have previously revealed that the outer layers contain a greater concentration of alkyl chains than in the bulk…


Read the full article in Chemistry World»

Read the original journal article in ChemComm – it’s free to access until 20 November:
Fine tuning the ionic liquid–vacuum outer atomic surface using ion mixtures
Ignacio J. Villar-Garcia, Sarah Fearn, Nur L. Ismail, Alastair J. S. McIntosh and Kevin R. J. Lovelock  
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC06307D

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FBNCO: all the 2p-block elements in one molecule

Jennifer Newton writes about a hot ChemComm article for Chemistry World

Scientists in Italy have made a molecule with one of each of the 2p-block elements. Well, almost. There’s no neon in FBNCO but it would be a bit unfair to expect them to include an element with no known chemistry.

Read the full article in Chemistry World»

You can read the original journal article in ChemComm – it’s free to access until 17th November 2014:
All the 2p-block elements in a molecule: experimental and theoretical studies of FBNCO and FBNCO+
Anna Troiani, Stefania Garzoli, Federico Pepi, Andreina Ricci, Marzio Rosi, Chiara Salvitti and Giulia de Petris  
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC05217J

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Hot ChemComm articles for October

All of the referee-recommended articles below are free to access until 9th November 2014

Relay cooperation of K2S2O8 and O2 in oxytrifluoromethylation of alkenes using CF3SO2Na
Qingquan Lu, Chao Liu, Zhiyuan Huang, Yiyang Ma, Jian Zhang and Aiwen Lei  
Chem. Commun., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC06328G, Communication

C4CC06328G GA


All the 2p-block elements in a molecule: experimental and theoretical studies of FBNCO and FBNCO+
Anna Troiani, Stefania Garzoli, Federico Pepi, Andreina Ricci, Marzio Rosi, Chiara Salvitti and Giulia de Petris  
Chem. Commun., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC05217J, Communication

C4CC05217J GA


Hierarchical porous metal–organic framework monoliths
Adham Ahmed, Mark Forster, Rob Clowes, Peter Myers and Haifei Zhang  
Chem. Commun., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC06967F, Communication

C4CC06967F GA


Live cell off-target identification of lapatinib using ligand-directed tosyl chemistry
Kei Yamaura, Keiko Kuwata, Tomonori Tamura, Yoshiyuki Kioi, Yousuke Takaoka, Shigeki Kiyonaka and Itaru Hamachi  
Chem. Commun., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC05885B, Communication

C4CC05885B GA


Organic nanoparticles with aggregation-induced emission for tracking bone marrow stromal cells in the rat ischemic stroke model
Kai Li, Mie Yamamoto, Su Jing Chan, Mun Yee Chiam, Wei Qin, Peter Tsun Hon Wong, Evelyn King Fai Yim, Ben Zhong Tang and Bin Liu  
Chem. Commun., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC06921H, Communication

C4CC06921H GA


The coaction of tonic and phasic dopamine dynamics
Christopher W. Atcherley, Kevin M. Wood, Kate L. Parent, Parastoo Hashemi and Michael L. Heien  
Chem. Commun., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC06165A, Communication

C4CC06165A GA

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Assessing covalency in the hydrogen bond zoo

Jennifer Newton writes about a hot ChemComm article for Chemistry World

Covalency, a term describing bonding by sharing electrons, divides opinion when mentioned alongside hydrogen bonding. Worried that the concept of hydrogen bonding has been getting fuzzier over time, scientists in Germany have sought a fresh look at the very nature of these bonds, and how much covalency they involve.

Richard Dronskowski and colleagues at RWTH Aachen University collected evidence from hydrogen-bonded molecular crystals to elucidate how these crystals are held together and compare the covalency of long and short hydrogen bonds.


Read the full article in Chemistry World»

Read the original journal article in ChemComm – it’s free to access until 13th November:
Covalency of hydrogen bonds in solids revisited
Volker L. Deringer, Ulli Englert and Richard Dronskowski  
Chem. Commun., 2014,50, 11547-11549, DOI: 10.1039/C4CC04716H

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Top 25 ChemComm articles April–June 2014

We are delighted to share with you the top 25 most downloaded articles in ChemComm from April–June 2014. 

Top 25 most downloaded ChemComm articles for Q2 2014

Nanoparticles act as protein carriers during cellular internalization
Gerard W. Doorley and Christine K. Payne
DOI: 10.1039/C2CC16937A

Alzheimer’s disease amyloid beta converting left-handed Z-DNA back to right-handed B-form
Jie Geng, Chuanqi Zhao, Jinsong Ren and Xiaogang Qu
DOI: 10.1039/C0CC02049D

Polyfunctional benzylic zinc chlorides by the direct insertion of magnesium into benzylic chlorides in the presence of LiCl and ZnCl2
Albrecht Metzger, Fabian M. Piller and Paul Knochel
DOI: 10.1039/B812396A

Proton-regulated rectified ionic transport through solid-state conical nanopores modified with phosphate-bearing polymer brushes
Basit Yameen, Mubarak Ali, Reinhard Neumann, Wolfgang Ensinger, Wolfgang Knoll and Omar Azzaroni
DOI: 10.1039/B920870D

Wet chemical synthesis of silver nanorods and nanowires of controllable aspect ratio
Nikhil R. Jana, Latha Gearheart and Catherine J. Murphy
DOI: 10.1039/B100521I

Self-assembly of functional columnar liquid crystals
Takashi Kato, Takuma Yasuda, Yuko Kamikawa and Masafumi Yoshio
DOI: 10.1039/B816624B

Multifunctional catalysis by Pd-polyoxometalate: one-step conversion of acetone to methyl isobutyl ketone
Robert D. Hetterley, Elena F. Kozhevnikova and Ivan V. Kozhevnikov
DOI: 10.1039/B515325E

A robust, catalytic metal–organic framework with open 2,2′-bipyridine sites

Honghan Fei and Seth M. Cohen
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC01607F

Examination of native chemical ligation using peptidyl prolyl thioesters
Takahiro Nakamura, Akira Shigenaga, Kohei Sato, Yusuke Tsuda, Ken Sakamoto and Akira Otaka
DOI: 10.1039/C3CC47228K

Photo- and electro-chromism of diarylethene modified ITO electrodes—towards molecular based read–write–erase information storage
Jetsuda Areephong, Wesley R. Browne, Nathalie Katsonis and Ben L. Feringa
DOI: 10.1039/B608502D

Aggregation-induced emission: phenomenon, mechanism and applications
Yuning Hong, Jacky W. Y. Lam and Ben Zhong Tang
DOI: 10.1039/B904665H

Direct arylation of pyridines without the use of a transition metal catalyst
Yahui Li, Wei Liu and Chunxiang Kuang
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC02546F

One-pot synthesis of magnetic particle-embedded porous carbon composites from metal–organic frameworks and their sorption properties
Hee Jung Lee, Won Cho, Eunji Lim and Moonhyun Oh
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC01914H

Interaction of modified liposomes with Bacillus spores
Sergey Kazakov, Marian Kaholek, Tao Ji, Charles L. Turnbough, Jr and Kalle Levon
DOI: 10.1039/B312389H

A facile one-pot method to high-quality Ag-graphene composite nanosheets for efficient surface-enhanced Raman scattering
Zhe Zhang, Fugang Xu, Wenshu Yang, Mingyi Guo, Xiaodan Wang, Bailin Zhang and Jilin Tang
DOI: 10.1039/C1CC11125F

Graphene quantum dots: emergent nanolights for bioimaging, sensors, catalysis and photovoltaic devices

Jianhua Shen, Yihua Zhu, Xiaoling Yang and Chunzhong Li
DOI: 10.1039/C2CC00110A

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes and graphene composite structures for energy and catalytic applications
Won Jun Lee, Uday Narayan Maiti, Ju Min Lee, Joonwon Lim, Tae Hee Han and Sang Ouk Kim
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC00146J

Novel hole transporting materials with a linear π-conjugated structure for highly efficient perovskite solar cells
Junjie Wang, Shirong Wang, Xianggao Li, Lifeng Zhu, Qingbo Meng, Yin Xiao and Dongmei Li
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC01637H

Metal-free oxidative synthesis of quinazolinones via dual amination of sp3 C–H bonds

Dan Zhao, Teng Wang and Jian-Xin Li
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC02648A

A dual functional additive for the HTM layer in perovskite solar cells
Hong Zhang, Yantao Shi, Feng Yan, Liang Wang, Kai Wang, Yujin Xing, Qingshun Dong and Tingli Ma
DOI: 10.1039/C3CC49458F

Copper-catalyzed olefinic C–H difluoroacetylation of enamides
Gilles Caillot, Jérémy Dufour, Marie-Charlotte Belhomme, Thomas Poisson, Laurence Grimaud, Xavier Pannecoucke and Isabelle Gillaizeau
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC01994F

Room-temperature Cu(II)-catalyzed aromatic C–H azidation for the synthesis of ortho-azido anilines with excellent regioselectivity

Yunpeng Fan, Wen Wan, Guobin Ma, Wei Gao, Haizhen Jiang, Shizheng Zhu and Jian Hao
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC01481B

Metal-mediated transformations of small molecules
Louise A. Berben and Jason B. Love
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC90123A
From themed collection Metal-Mediated Transformations of Small Molecules

A highly efficient mesoscopic solar cell based on CH3NH3PbI3−xClx fabricated via sequential solution deposition
Yingzhuang Ma, Lingling Zheng, Yao-Hsien Chung, Saisai Chu, Lixin Xiao, Zhijian Chen, Shufeng Wang, Bo Qu, Qihuang Gong, Zhaoxin Wu and Xun Hou
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC01962H

Reduction of graphene oxide viaL-ascorbic acid
Jiali Zhang, Haijun Yang, Guangxia Shen, Ping Cheng, Jingyan Zhang and Shouwu Guo
DOI: 10.1039/B917705A 


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