March 2014 – PCCP Blog

Archive for March, 2014

This week’s HOT PCCP articles

31 Mar 2014

Please take a look at this week’s HOT articles. These are all free to access for a limited time!

A Co(II)-Ru(II) dyad relevant to light-driven water oxidation catalysis
Alejandro Montellano López, Mirco Natali, Erica Pizzolato, Claudio Chiorboli, Marcella Bonchio, Andrea Sartorel and Franco Scandola
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3CP55369H

Kink Energy and Kink Dipole Moment on Vicinal Au(001) in Halide Electrolytes
M. Al-Shakran, G. Beltramo and M. Giesen
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00448E

Beyond the Volcano Limitations in Electrocatalysis – Oxygen Evolution Reaction
Niels Bendtsen Halck, Valery Petrykin, Petr Krtil and Jan Rossmeisl
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00571F

Evidence of Short-Range Electron Transfer of a Redox Enzyme on Graphene Oxide Electrodes
Marccus V. A. Martins, Andressa R. Pereira, Roberto A. S. Luz, Rodrigo M. Iost and Frank N. Crespilho
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00452C

Salt-Bridge Structure in Solution Revealed by 2D-IR Spectroscopy
Adriana Huerta-Viga, Sérgio R. Domingos, Saeed Amirjalayer and Sander Woutersen
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00233D

Recent Developments in Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy
Sharon E. Ashbrook, Daniel M. Dawson and Valerie R. Seymour
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00578C

Optical three dimensional coherent spectroscopy
Steven T. Cundiff
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00176A

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Faraday Discussions Award Symposium – University College London, February 2014

27 Mar 2014

Faraday Discussions Award winners, from left to right, Dr Andrew Goodwin, Professor Bert Weckhuysen, Professor Shik Chi (Edman)Tsang, Aron Walsh, Professor Geoff Thornton, representing the Faraday Division President, Alisa Becker, RSC Programme Manager, Physical Sciences, Secretary to the Faraday Division

Written by Sarah Thirkell, Development Editor

PCCP Advisory Board member Professor Bert Weckhuysen was among the 2013 RSC Prize and Award winners honoured at a symposium held by the Faraday Division on 26 February 2014 at University College London (UCL).

The Faraday Division presented four RSC Prizes and Awards:

• Professor Bert Weckhuysen (Utrecht University) – the Bourke award

• Dr Andrew Goodwin (University of Oxford) – the Marlow award

• Professor Shik Chi (Edman) Tsang (University of Oxford) – the Surfaces and Interfaces award

• Dr Aron Walsh (University of Bath) – the Harrison-Meldola memorial prize

Professor Weckhuysen also serves as an Advisory Board member for Chemical Society Reviews, while Dr Aron Walsh is the current winner of the Journal of Materials Chemistry A Emerging Investigator award.

The four honourees gave excellent presentations about their research before being awarded a medal and certificate by Professor Geoff Thornton, on behalf of the President of the Faraday Division.

You may be interested in reading a selection of these award winners’ recent publications:

Structural investigation of a hydrogen bond order–disorder transition in a polar one-dimensional confined ice
Jaspar Adamson, Nicholas P. Funnell, Amber L. Thompson and Andrew L. Goodwin
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2014, 16, 2654-2659 DOI: 10.1039/C3CP53994F

Geometric switching of linear to area negative thermal expansion in uniaxial metal–organic frameworks
Ines E. Collings, Matthew G. Tucker, David A. Keen and Andrew L. Goodwin
CrystEngComm, 2014, Advance Article DOI: 10.1039/C3CE42165A

Recent advances in secondary ion mass spectrometry of solid acid catalysts: large zeolite crystals under bombardment
Jan P. Hofmann, Marcus Rohnke and Bert M. Weckhuysen
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2014, 16, 5465-5474 DOI: 10.1039/C3CP54337D

Transition metal-catalyzed oxidative double bond cleavage of simple and bio-derived alkenes and unsaturated fatty acids
Peter Spannring, Pieter C. A. Bruijnincx, Bert Weckhuysen and Bert Klein Gebbink
Catal. Sci. Technol. 2014, Accepted Manuscript, DOI: 10.1039/C3CY01095C

Hydrogenolysis of ethylene glycol to methanol over modified RANEY® catalysts
Cheng-Tar Wu, Jin Qu, Joseph Elliot, Kai Man Kerry Yu and Shik Chi Edman Tsang
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2013, 15, 9043-9050 DOI: 10.1039/C3CP51619A

Palladium on iron oxide nanoparticles: the morphological effect of the support in glycerol hydrogenolysis
Junwei Ge, Ziyan Zeng, Fenglin Liao, Weiran Zheng, Xinlin Hong and Shik Edman Tsang
Green Chem. 2013, 15, 2064-2069 DOI: 10.1039/C3GC40712H

Computational screening of structural and compositional factors for electrically conductive coordination polymers
Davide Tiana, Christopher H. Hendon, Aron Walsh and Thomas P. Vaid
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2014, Advanced Article DOI: 10.1039/C3CP00008K

Conductive metal–organic frameworks and networks: fact or fantasy?
Christopher H. Hendon, Davide Tiana and Aron Walsh
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2012, 14, 13120-13132 DOI: 10.1039/C2CP41099K

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This week’s HOT articles

27 Mar 2014

Take a look at this week’s HOT articles, which are free to access for a limited time:

The concept, reality and utility of single-site heterogeneous catalysts (SSHCs)
John Meurig Thomas
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00513A

Hybrid inorganic–organic tandem solar cells for broad absorption of the solar spectrum
M. J. Speirs, B. G. H. M. Groeneveld, L. Protesescu, C. Piliego, M. V. Kovalenko and M. A. Loi
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00846D

Evaluation of nonspecific interactions between quantum dots and proteins
Qing-Ying Luo, Yi Lin, Jun Peng, Shu-Lin Liu, Zhi-Ling Zhang, Zhi-Quan Tian and Dai-Wen Pang
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00572D

The effect of electronic energy loss on irradiation-induced grain growth in nanocrystalline oxides
Yanwen Zhang, Dilpuneet S. Aidhy, Tamas Varga, Sandra Moll, Philip D. Edmondson, Fereydoon Namavar, Ke Jin, Christopher N. Ostrouchov and William J. Weber
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00392F

Understanding the superior photocatalytic activity of noble metals modified titania under UV and visible light irradiation
Ali Bumajdad and Metwally Madkour
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014,16, 7146-7158
DOI: 10.1039/C3CP54411G

Unveiling mode-selected electron–phonon interactions in metal films by helium atom scattering
G. Benedek, M. Bernasconi, K.-P. Bohnen, D. Campi, E. V. Chulkov, P. M. Echenique, R. Heid, I. Yu. Sklyadneva and J. P. Toennies
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014,16, 7159-7172
DOI: 10.1039/C3CP54834A

Fullerene assemblies toward photo-energy conversions
Yanfei Shen and Takashi Nakanishi
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014,16, 7199-7204
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00221K

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Astrochemistry – PCCP themed collection, Issue 8

19 Mar 2014

PCCP is delighted to present an excellent collection of articles on the theme of astrochemistry, Guest Edited by Wendy A. Brown. Read her Editorial to find out more.

The outside front cover features Formation of hydroxyacetonitrile (HOCH2CN) and polyoxymethylene (POM)-derivatives in comets from formaldehyde (CH2O) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN) activated by water by Grégoire Danger, Albert Rimola, Ninette Abou Mrad, Fabrice Duvernay, Gaël Roussin, Patrice Theule and Thierry Chiavassa

The Astrochemistry themed collection features a broad range of Papers and Communications and features the following Perspective article:

Three milieux for interstellar chemistry: gas, dust, and ice
Eric Herbst
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, 16, 3344
DOI:10.1039/C3CP54065K

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This week’s HOT articles

17 Mar 2014

Take a look at this week’s HOT articles, which are free to access for a limited time:

Oxidation state of cross-over manganese species on the graphite electrode of lithium-ion cells
Sanketh R. Gowda, Kevin G. Gallagher, Jason R. Croy, Martin Bettge, Michael M. Thackeray and Mahalingam Balasubramanian
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00764F, Communication

Vortex-induced aggregation in superfluid helium droplets
Daniel Spence, Elspeth Latimer, Cheng Feng, Adrian Boatwright, Andrew M. Ellis and Shengfu Yang
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00525B, Communication

Electronic structure investigation of the evanescent AtO+ ion
André Severo Pereira Gomes, Florent Réal, Nicolas Galland, Celestino Angeli, Renzo Cimiraglia and Valérie Vallet
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3CP55294B, Paper

Dynamics of metal uptake by charged soft biointerphases: impacts of depletion, internalisation, adsorption and excretion
Jérôme F. L. Duval and Elise Rotureau
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00210E, Paper

Separating the redox couple for highly efficient solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells
Juan Li, Wei Zhang, Lu Zhang and Zhong-Sheng Wang
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00628C, Paper Graphical abstract: Separating the redox couple for highly efficient solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells

An inelastic neutron scattering study of dietary phenolic acids
M. Paula M. Marques, Luís A. E. Batista de Carvalho, Rosendo Valero, Nelson F. L. Machado and Stewart F. Parker
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00338A, Paper

Analytical tools for single-molecule fluorescence imaging in cellulo
M. C. Leake
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00219A, Perspective

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This week’s HOT articles

11 Mar 2014

Take a look at this week’s HOT articles, which are free to access for a limited time:

Porphyrin-based sensor nanoarchitectonics in diverse physical detection modes
Shinsuke Ishihara, Jan Labuta, Wim Van Rossom, Daisuke Ishikawa, Kosuke Minami, Jonathan P. Hill and Katsuhiko Ariga Graphical abstract: Porphyrin-based sensor nanoarchitectonics in diverse physical detection modes
DOI: 10.1039/C3CP55431G, Perspective

Manipulating the excitation transfer in Photosystem I using a Fabry–Perot metal resonator with optical subwavelength dimensions
Alexander Konrad, Anna-Lisa Trost, Sepideh Skandary, Martin Hussels, Alfred J. Meixner, Navasard V. Karapetyan and Marc Brecht
DOI: 10.1039/C3CP55195D, Paper

Static 1H dynamic nuclear polarization with the biradical TOTAPOL: a transition between the solid effect and the cross effect
Daphna Shimon, Akiva Feintuch, Daniella Goldfarb and Shimon Vega
DOI: 10.1039/C3CP55504F, Paper

Low-temperature combustion chemistry of novel biofuels: resonance-stabilized QOOH in the oxidation of diethyl ketone
Adam M. Scheer, Oliver Welz, Judit Zádor, David L. Osborn and Craig A. Taatjes
DOI: 10.1039/C3CP55468F, Paper

Molecules in the mirror: how SERS backgrounds arise from the quantum method of images
Stephen M. Barnett, Nadine Harris and Jeremy J. Baumberg
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00093E, Communication

A nine-dimensional global potential energy surface for NH4(X2A1) and kinetics studies on the H + NH3 ↔ H2 + NH2 reaction
Jun Li and Hua Guo
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00241E, Paper

Floating orbital molecular dynamics simulations
Eva Perlt, Marc Brüssel and Barbara Kirchner
DOI: 10.1039/C3CP54797C, Paper Graphical abstract: Central-transition double-quantum sideband NMR spectroscopy of half-integer quadrupolar nuclei: estimating internuclear distances and probing clusters within multi-spin networks

Central-transition double-quantum sideband NMR spectroscopy of half-integer quadrupolar nuclei: estimating internuclear distances and probing clusters within multi-spin networks
Andreas Brinkmann and Mattias Edén
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00029C, Paper

Optical manipulation of single molecules in the living cell
Kamilla Norregaard, Liselotte Jauffred, Kirstine Berg-Sørensen and Lene Broeng Oddershede
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00208C, Perspective

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Potential new use for boron in carbon dioxide capture

03 Mar 2014

It is a problem that everybody is familiar with; the increasing levels of carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere as a direct consequence of the industrial activity of humanity are contributing to climate change. New carbon capture technologies are therefore big business and big politics, with enormous quantities of time, money and rhetoric devoted to the subject the world over. There is an expectation that scientists will somehow save the human population from itself, preferably quickly, safely, cheaply and without the general populace having to radically alter their lifestyles.

Whilst I’m not necessarily saying they’ve found the answer, Sun and co-workers have certainly hit on an idea that merits further exploration with their study of solid boron as a new candidate for carbon dioxide capture. Their calculations predict that the amphoteric nature of certain boron allotropes means that they will spontaneously form strong Lewis acid-base interactions with multiple carbon dioxide molecules per individual boron structure.

I’m sure that there are plenty of researchers out there who could experimentally verify the predictions of this computational study (which the authors state was motivated by the desire for somebody to do just that) and develop their findings to the potential benefit of the entire planet.

The only question, surely, is who will get there first?

By Victoria Parkes

Are you up for the challenge? Read the full details of this PCCP article now:

A computational study of carbon dioxide adsorption on solid boron
Qiao Sun, Meng Wang, Zhen Li, Aijun Du and Debra J Searles
DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00044G

If you enjoyed this, you may also be interested in our Faraday Discussion on Carbon Dioxide Utilisation which will take place in Sheffield in 2015 – find out more on the website.

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PCCP Blog

Archive for March, 2014

This week’s HOT PCCP articles

Faraday Discussions Award Symposium – University College London, February 2014

This week’s HOT articles

Astrochemistry – PCCP themed collection, Issue 8

This week’s HOT articles

This week’s HOT articles

Potential new use for boron in carbon dioxide capture

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