Chemical Society Reviews Blog

A high profile white paper A Sustainable Global Society: How Can Materials Chemistry Help? was launched internationally on 27 March.

The output of the Chemical Sciences and Society Summit (CS3) 2010, which took place in London, September 2010, outlines five key areas in which materials chemists, through collaboration with other scientists, industry and policy makers, can seize exciting opportunities to address global challenges. This project was driven by the RSC and is a collaboration between the chemical societies of China, Germany, Japan, the US, the UK and national funding bodies. Around 30 leading materials chemists from the participating nations participated in CS3 2010 and the white paper is a reflection of the outcome of the summit, in particular their view of the future direction for materials chemistry.

View the official website of the white paper.

Read the 27 March press release.

Also of interest:
Chem Soc Rev themed issue on Hybrid Materials

Motor proteins power a plethora of complex tasks inside cells. By walking step by step along polymeric filaments, these molecular motors carry out tasks essential to life. In recent years, biological molecular walkers have been inspiring scientists to develop artifical systems that can mimic their dynamics.

In their Chem Soc Rev critical review, David Leigh and Max von Delius from the University of Edinburgh, UK, provide an overview of molecules that can walk along tracks – from naturally occurring walkers from the dynein, myosin and kinesin families to synthetic systems based on DNA or small molecule building blocks.

Download the review today – it’s a big step towards keeping up-to-date with the most exciting research on molecular motors and machines.

Did you know….?
David Leigh is a Chemical Science Associate Editor welcoming submissions of exceptional research in the area of supramolecular chemistry. For more information, visit the Chemical Science website or contact the Editorial Office.

I am delighted to announce that Dr Rachel O’Reilly from the University of Warwick, UK, has been appointed as a new Chem Soc Rev Editorial Board member.

Rachel is an expert in the design, synthesis and application of polymeric materials. She is a strong supporter of RSC journals, including recently contributing to the ChemComm Emerging Investigators issue and guest editing the Polymer Chemistry Emerging Investigator issue.

She brings a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm to the Chem Soc Rev Editorial Board and we look forward to working with her.

If you have an idea for a review or themed issue, let us know. Sign up for the Chem Soc Rev e-alert to be notified when the latest issue is online.

Also of interest:
Cylindrical micelles from the living crystallization-driven self-assembly of poly(lactide)-containing block copolymers
Nikos Petzetakis, Andrew P. Dove and Rachel K. O’Reilly, Chem. Sci., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C0SC00596G

Reversible morphological switching of nanostructures in solution
Adam O. Moughton, Joseph P. Patterson and Rachel K. O’Reilly, Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 355-357

Radical reactions play a large role in organic synthesis; however, chemists are often disappointed when they obtain poor yields. But, say Keith Ingold and colleagues, a judicious choice of solvent could be the solution, if you’ll pardon the pun.

In their Chem Soc Rev review, rated as ‘hot’ by the referees, the team focus on kinetic solvent effects that often have a dramatic effect on the yield of many radical-based organic syntheses.

Distinguishing the folklore from the facts, this review is essential reading for all students contemplating a career in synthetic organic chemistry (and no doubt many of their supervisors, who may have been perpetuating the myth).

Love is in the air and also, it would seem, in our journals too. Here’s the general chemistry team’s tips for creating the right chemistry for your Valentine’s Day:

1. All you need is love? Not quite, but it’s a good start Gabriele Froböse, Rolf Froböse, Lust and Love Is it more than chemistry?, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, 2006

2.  Say it with flowers Flowerlike supramolecular architectures assembled from C-60 equipped with a pyridine substituent Xuan Zhang, Takashi Nakanishi, Tetsuya Ogawa, Akinori Saeki, Shu Seki, Yanfei Shen, Yusuke Yamauchi and Masayuki Takeuchi, Chem. Commun., 2010, 46, 8752-8754

3.  Put some fizz into your relationship Recent advances in the science of champagne bubbles Gérard Liger-Belair, Guillaume Polidori and Philippe Jeandet, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2008, 37, 2490-2511

4.  If you’re really serious, a ring wouldn’t hurt Design synthesis and photocatalytic activity of a novel lilac-like silver-vanadate hybrid solid based on dicyclic rings of [V4O12](4-) with {Ag7}(7+) cluster Yan Hu, Fang Luo and Fangfang Dong, Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 761-763

5.  And remember: diamonds are a girl’s best friend Playing the surface game-Diels-Alder reactions on diamond nanoparticles Gerald Jarre, Yuejiang Liang, Patrick Betz, Daniel Lang and Anke Krueger, Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 544-546

6. First comes love then comes….? Marriage of porphyrin chemistry with metal-catalysed reactions Hiroshi Shinokubo and Atsuhiro Osuka, Chem. Commun., 2009, 1011-1021

Do you have any more suggestions for forming bonds with your loved one? Post them below to share the love.

Have a happy Valentine’s Day!

Joanne

Our referees found these Chem Soc Rev articles particularly interesting. Download them and let us know if you agree. And if you like them, cite them.

Multifunctionality in hybrid magnetic materials based on bimetallic oxalate complexes
Miguel Clemente-León, Eugenio Coronado, Carlos Martí-Gastaldo and Francisco M. Romero
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2011, 40, 473-497

Titanium oxo-clusters: precursors for a Lego-like construction of nanostructured hybrid materials
Laurence Rozes and Clément Sanchez 
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2011, 40, 1006-1030

Kinetic subtleties of nitroxide mediated polymerization
Denis Bertin, Didier Gigmes, Sylvain R. A. Marque and Paul Tordo 
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C0CS00110D

Catalytic C–H amination: the stereoselectivity issue
Florence Collet, Camille Lescot and Philippe Dauban 
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C0CS00095G

 Zebrafish as a good vertebrate model for molecular imaging using fluorescent probes
Sung-Kyun Ko, Xiaoqiang Chen, Juyoung Yoon and Injae Shin
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C0CS00118J

Linking heterometallic rings for quantum information processing and amusement
Grigore A. Timco, Thomas B. Faust, Floriana Tuna and Richard E. P. Winpenny 
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C0CS00151A

Framework-structured weak ferromagnets
Dan-Feng Weng, Zhe-Ming Wang and Song Gao
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C0CS00093K

Transition-metal catalyzed oxidative cross-coupling reactions to form C–C bonds involving organometallic reagents as nucleophiles
Wei Shi, Chao Liu and Aiwen Lei 
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C0CS00125B

Chemomechanics: chemical kinetics for multiscale phenomena  
Zhen Huang and Roman Boulatov 
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C0CS00148A

I am delighted to announce a host of new Chem Soc Rev Advisory Editorial Board members, who join the team on 1st January 2011. All experts in their respective fields, they will help shape the journal’s future and ensure its ongoing success. We look forward to working with them all.

We have also recently appointed two Chem Soc Rev Associate Editors. Find out who….

We’d love to receive your feedback and ideas for Chem Soc Rev. Please leave your comments below or email us.

Professor Dwayne Heard is Head of Chemistry at the University of Leeds, and works in atmospheric chemistry, measuring the concentration of key reactive intermediates. Professor Heard is the chairman of the RSC Faraday Division Standing Committee on Conferences (which oversees Faraday Discussions), a member of Faraday Council and he serves on the board of Chemical Society Reviews.

You work in the field of atmospheric chemistry, looking at the OH radical, and have worked in some exciting places. Which has been your favourite?

I would say Borneo: we were taking measurements in the middle of the rainforest, with monkeys, king cobras, pygmy elephants and lots of leeches. It was certainly an adventure – I had to take three planes and a 4×4 to even get close. I enjoyed it but it was difficult and can be quite stressful. You are there to get the measurements you need, and if you don’t get them, all that time and resources are wasted.

Read the full interview  and if you have any additional questions for Dwayne, add them below.

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Professors Philip Gale (Southampton) and Douglas Stephan (Toronto) have been appointed as the new Chem Soc Rev Associate Editors, effective from 1st January 2011.

Phil will be the Associate Editor, Reviews, covering supramolecular, macrocyclic and coordination chemistry. Phil has been a very active member of the Editorial Board since 2005, including acting as a guest editor for the recent Supramolecular Chemistry of Anionic Species themed issue

Doug will be the Associate Editor, Reviews, covering inorganic and organometallic chemistry, including main group and transition metal chemistry, organometallic reactivity and catalysis, ligand design, applications of catalysis in organic chemistry, materials and polymer synthesis. Doug joined the Editorial Board at the beginning of 2010 and has proved to be an invaluable member thanks to his enthusiasm and expertise.

I am delighted to welcome them to their new roles.

If you are interested in writing a review for Chem Soc Rev, please contact the Editorial Office.

Escalating global energy demand along with the limited supply of fossil fuels and mandates to minimise CO₂ emissions has increased demand for alternative energy sources. Li-ion batteries have played a key role competing with Ni-MH batteries to supply power for small electronics since Sony launched the first generation Li-ion battery in the early 1990s. Recently, Li-ion batteries have predominantly provided the electrical power necessary to operate small portable electronic devices such as cellular phones, laptop computers, and camcorders. In addition, they have been used in both hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and back-up electricity storage units for renewable energy sources which require a large unit.

In 2008, sales of rechargeable Li-ion batteries reached 10 billion dollars and are currently growing at nearly 10 per cent per year. Furthermore sales are expected to grow dramatically if Li-ion batteries can be successfully implemented in HEVs or plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs).

A Li-ion battery is mainly composed of a carbonaceous anode (generally graphite), a carbonate-based organic electrolyte with a Li-containing salt (e.g. LiPF₆), and a Li metal oxide cathode (generally LiCoO₂). Li ions are inserted between graphite and LiCoO₂ through the electrolyte during charge and discharge, respectively. Since the demand for safe Li-ion batteries exhibiting high power, large capacity, and high rate capability is ever increasing, research has been carried out worldwide to find new electrode materials to replace the currently used materials.

Alloying different metals with lithium could give rise to better Li-ion batteries

Li metal can electrochemically alloy and de-alloy with other metals at room temperature in an organic electrolyte electrochemical cell. Li-alloying reactions with metallic or semi-metallic elements and various compounds have been investigated during the past few decades. Although these alloying materials provide a larger specific capacity than graphite, except for a few transition metal oxides, they generally suffer from a large irreversible capacity at the first cycle and poor cycling behavior due to a large volume change during cycling.

If the microstructure of the electrode materials can be designed properly, the volume change during lithiation and delithiation would be compromised to some extent. In 1997, Fuji announced its Stalion battery, which employed an amorphous tin composite oxide (TCO) anode, but it was not commercialised because of its large irreversible capacity during the first cycle. Since then, Sony developed its Nexelion battery in 2005 using an anode material mainly composed of a Sn/Co/C composite with Ti metal synthesised by a high energy mechanical milling process. Not only composite materials, but also nanosized particles and nanostructured materials have also been suggested to alleviate the mechanical strain generated due to the volume change as the Li ions are inserted to and extracted from the host electrode materials.

A number of scientists have examined alloy-based anodes, in particular, focusing on the Group IV and Group V elements and their composites for Li-ion batteries. Research on Group IV elements has been performed using several material concepts based on nano-architecturing of materials, active/inactive composite, intermetallic compound, and the use of carbonaceous material as a matrix phase. Group V elements-based intermetallics can lead to interesting crystalline structures that enable new concepts for anode materials, such as topotactic reaction, quasi-intercalation reaction and other interesting insertion and conversion reactions, to be designed.

Although research on the alloy-based anode materials for Li-ion battery has a long history since 1971, a breakthrough is required to bring out their full potential for Li-ion battery. Development for alloy-based anodes will remain a highly competitive field providing us with an excellent and fascinating energy source.

Read more in the review ‘Li-alloy based anode materials for Li secondary batteries’ in Chemical Society Reviews.  And if you are interested in energy-related research, check out the Renewable Energy themed issue.