Green Chemistry Blog

Arjan W. Kleij received his MSc (1996) and PhD (2000, with honors) from the University of Utrecht (NL) working on recyclable dendrimer- and polymer-supported homogeneous catalysts. In 2000, he moved to industry and worked for more than 3 years (in total) first at Avantium in its pharmaceutical branch, and later on at Hexion as a research scientist. In the period 2002-2005, he was a postdoc at the UAM in Madrid (Spain), and subsequently at the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands). In 2006, he moved to the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) and became Group Leader, and was promoted to ICREA Professor in 2011.

Arjan’s interests span the areas of chemo- and stereo-selective organic synthesis, the development of engineering biopolymers and catalytic renewable carbon valorization. He has (co)authored around 248 papers and 7 patent applications with >19000 citations (h-index 75). He is the recipient of a NWO Talent Fellowship, was named an ICREA junior fellow (2006) and FRSC (2021), and received the RSEQ Scientific Excellence Award (2020), the SCQ Scientific Excellence Award (2023), and the European Sustainable Chemistry Award (2023). Since 2024, he is an executive management member of the Green Chemistry Division (GEQV) of the Spanish Chemical Society (RSEQ).

“I am truly excited to be part of the Editorial Board of Green Chemistry allowing me to serve and promote the international green & sustainable chemistry community in a wider context. All simple and more complex chemical processes require a close, critical assessment as to improve and optimize them to realize a joint healthy and sustainable future, and Green Chemistry offers a well-established and recognized forum to discuss the latest stimulating advancements” – Arjan W. Kleij
Read some of Arjan’s publications in Green Chemistry:

	Continuous organocatalytic flow synthesis of 2-substituted oxazolidinones using carbon dioxide Green Chem., 2022, 24, 4628-4633 DOI: 10.1039/D2GC00503D
	Recent progress in the catalytic transformation of carbon dioxide into biosourced organic carbonates Green Chem., 2021, 23, 1077-1113 DOI: 10.1039/D0GC03824E
	Fully bio-derived CO2 polymers for non-isocyanate based polyurethane synthesis Green Chem., 2020, 22, 969-978 DOI: 10.1039/C9GC03488A

Read some of Arjan’s Royal Society of Chemistry publications here

Dr Zhenzhen Yang is a staff scientist in the Chemical Sciences Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. She earned her Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Nankai University in 2013. Then she worked at the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences for five years (2013-2018) as an assistant/associate professor. Afterwards, she worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Tennessee Knoxville (2018-2020). Her research focuses on the development of functionalized ionic liquids, porous organic networks, membranes, and inorganic scaffolds towards gas separation, energy storage applications, catalyst design, synthesis towards CO2 utilization, hydrogenation/dehydrogenation procedures, and plastic upcycling.

“It is a great honour for me to join the editorial team of Green Chemistry and contribute to advancing research in sustainable and green chemistry. I look forward to working with researchers worldwide to promote cutting-edge advancements that drive a greener future” – Zhenzhen Yang

Read some of Zhenzhen’s Royal Society of Chemistry publications

	Porous liquids: an integrated platform for gas storage and catalysis Chem. Sci., 2024, 15, 17720-17738 DOI: 10.1039/D4SC04288C
	Entropy stabilized cubic Li7La3Zr2O12 with reduced lithium diffusion activation energy: studied using solid-state NMR spectroscopy RSC Adv., 2023, 13, 19856-19861 DOI: 10.1039/D3RA02206D
	Mechanochemistry-driven phase transformation of crystalline covalent triazine frameworks assisted by alkaline molten salts J. Mater. Chem. A, 2022, 10, 14310-14315 DOI: 10.1039/D2TA02117J

Please join us in welcoming Zhenzhen!

We are delighted to announce that Jean-Philippe Tessonnier (Iowa State University, USA) has been appointed as a new Associate Editor in Green Chemistry.

Jean-Philippe Tessonnier is the Richard C. Seagrave Professor in Chemical and Biological Engineering at Iowa State University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) and a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Prof. Tessonnier earned his Ph.D. from the University of Strasbourg, France, before joining the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society in Berlin, Germany, where he worked as a postdoctoral researcher under the guidance of Prof. Robert Schlögl. He later moved to the University of Delaware, USA, to join Prof. Mark Barteau’s group and started his independent career at Iowa State in 2012. His research interests are at the intersection of heterogeneous catalysis, electrocatalysis, and organic electrosynthesis. His group specializes in innovative technologies that streamline biocatalysis and electrocatalysis for the distributed manufacturing of chemicals and sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) using renewable carbon and energy resources.

“I am honoured and excited to join Green Chemistry as an Associate Editor. I look forward to collaborating with leading authors and reviewers to advance the field and contribute to the journal’s growth, particularly in the areas of biomass conversion, catalysis, and electrocatalysis” – Jean-Philippe Tessonnier

Read some of Jean-Philippe’s Open Access articles in Green Chemistry 

	Structure sensitivity of the electrochemical hydrogenation of cis,cis-muconic acid to hexenedioic acid and adipic acid Green Chem., 2024, 26, 4506-4517 DOI: 10.1039/D3GC03021K
	Local reactivity descriptors to decipher the electrochemical hydrogenation of unsaturated carboxylic acids Green Chem., 2023, 25, 10387-10397 DOI: 10.1039/D3GC02909C
	Comparative study of the solvolytic deconstruction of corn stover lignin in batch and flow-through reactors Green Chem., 2021, 23, 7731-7742 DOI: 10.1039/D1GC02420E

Read some of Jean-Philippe’s Royal Society of Chemistry publications here

Please join us in welcoming Jean-Philippe!

We are delighted to announce that Jing He has been appointed as a new Editorial Board Member in Green Chemistry.

Jing He is a Professor at the College of Chemistry at the Beijing University of Chemical Technology. She has been engaged in heterogeneous catalysis and catalytic engineering with a view for the catalytic valorisation of biomass, confined catalysis for asymmetric synthesis, and photo-assisted catalysis for CO2 and/or CH4 conversion. She holds a prestigious position as one of the four Vice-Chairs of the Green Chemistry Committee of the Chinese Chemical Society.

“Green Chemistry is more than a discipline – it is a responsibility. “Green Chemistry” is more than a sharing channel – it is the goal. For a brighter tomorrow, let’s redefine the role of chemistry in a sustainable world.” – Jing He

Please join us in welcoming Jing He

We are delighted to announce that Luigi Vaccaro (University of Perugia, Italy) has been appointed as a new Associate Editor in Green Chemistry

Luigi is a Full Professor at the University of Perugia, where he leads the Green S.O.C. group, http://greensoc.chm.unipg.it. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), and before joining Green Chemistry, he was an Associate Editor for RSC Advances (2015-2024). His recognitions include the Europa Medal from the Society of Chemical Industry – London (2001), the ADP Award from Merck’s Chemistry Council for “Creative work in organic chemistry” (2006 and 2007), the G. Ciamician Medal of the Società Chimica Italiana (2007), the Lady Davis (2018) Visiting Professorship, the Pino Medal from the Organic and Industrial Divisions of the Italian Chemical Society (2023). His research is aimed at developing different aspects of chemistry to define sustainable and optimized chemical processes, combining the use of safer organic solvents, heterogeneous catalysis, and continuous-flow technology.“I am honoured for this new role as an Associate Editor of Green Chemistry. Catalysis, circularity, waste-minimisation, and innovative technologies are just a few shades of the complex greater picture that green chemistry represents. I am sure that research contributions in these areas that quantitatively prove advances in terms of sustainability have and will always find a home in this journal.” – Luigi Vaccaro
Read some of Luigi’s Open Access papers in Green Chemistry: 

• Microwave assisted batch and continuous flow Suzuki–Miyaura reactions in GVL using a Pd/PiNe biowaste-derived heterogeneous catalyst
  Federica Valentini, Benedetta Di Erasmo, Marta Ciani, Shaomin Chen, Yanlong Gu and  Luigi Vaccaro
  Green Chem., 2024,26, 4871-4879. DOI: 10.1039/D4GC00497C

• A waste-minimized approach for the synthesis of iodinated organic borazines
  Dario Marchionni, Daniele Gernini, Alireza Nazari Khodadadi, Ejdi Cela, Fan Huanga  and  Luigi Vaccaro
  Green Chem., 2024, Advance Article. DOI: 10.1039/D4GC00699B, part our 2024 Green Chemistry Hot Articles themed collection.

• Introducing the Use of a Recyclable Solid Electrolyte for Waste Minimization in Electrosynthesis: Preparation of 2-aryl-benzoxazoles in flow
  Francesco Ferlin, Federica Valentini, Filippo Campana and Luigi Vaccaro
  Green Chem., 2024, Advance Article. DOI: 10.1039/D4GC00930D

Read more of Luigi’s Royal Society of Chemistry publications here

Please join us in welcoming Luigi!

“We are really grateful for Luigi’s hard work and support of RSC Advances during the past 9 years, and wish him all the best in his new role with Green Chemistry” – Laura Fisher, Executive Editor, RSC Advances

We are delighted to announce that Charlotte Williams (University of Oxford, United Kingdom) has been appointed as new Editorial Board Member in Green Chemistry.

Charlotte K. Williams OBE FRS is a professor of Inorganic Chemistry and Associate Head of Department (Research) in Oxford Chemistry. She is also an EPSRC Established Career Research Fellow. She heads-up a research group investigating polymerization catalysis and polymer chemistry with a particular focus on improving polymer sustainability. Her work involves close collaboration with scientists and engineers in both academic and industrial laboratories.

In 2011, Charlotte founded econic technologies which sells catalysts and processes facilitating carbon dioxide utilization (http://econic-technologies.com/). From 2003-2016, Charlotte was an academic in the Chemistry department at Imperial College London, serving as Head of Inorganic Chemistry teaching and Head of Materials Chemistry. Earlier in her career, she was a postdoctoral researcher at Cambridge University (2002-2003), working with Andrew Holmes and Richard Friend (Organometallic polymers for electronics), and at the University of Minnesota (2001-2002) working with Bill Tolman and Marc Hillmyer (zinc catalysts for lactide polymerization). She obtained her BSc and PhD from Imperial College London, the latter supervised by Vernon Gibson and Nick Long on ethene polymerization catalysis.

Her work has been recognised by prizes and awards including the Royal Society Leverhulme Medal (2022), the RSC Tilden Medal (2021) an OBE from Queen Elizabeth II for Services to Chemistry (2020), Macro Group UK Medal (2019), The Dechema Otto Roelen Medal (2018), The UK Catalysis Hub Sir John Meurig Thomas Medal (2017), the Royal Society of Chemistry Corday Morgan Medal (2016) and the Women in Science and Engineering Tech-Start Up Award (2015).

Please join us in welcoming Charlotte!

Celebrate the 15^th Anniversary of companion journal Polymer Chemistry in a special collection here

We are delighted to announce that Jean-Paul Lange (University of Twente and Shell Projects & Technology, The Netherlands) has been appointed as new Editorial Board Member in Green Chemistry.

Jean-Paul is the senior Principal Science Expert at Shell Projects & Technology in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where he has been exploring novel catalytic processes for producing fuels and chemicals from natural gas and oil and, for more than twenty years also from biomass and plastic wastes. His research embraces heterogeneous catalysis, chemical engineering, conceptual process design, manufacturing economics and technology strategy. Jean-Paul is also a Professor in Chemical Biorefining at the University of Twente, the Netherlands, where he is investigating thermo-chemical and -catalytic routes to convert biomass to fuels and chemicals and to recycle plastic wastes. Before joining Shell, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Lehigh University in Bethlehem (Pennsylvania, USA), got his PhD at the Fritz-Haber Institute (Max Planck Society) in Berlin (Germany) and graduated from the University of Namur (Belgium). He has co-authored more than 120 patent series, 80 scientific publications, and 10 book chapters and is co-editor of one scientific book. He also contributes to public science through various advisory boards in the Netherlands, Europe for the CEFIC and the European Commission.

“Green Chemistry is sterile if not applied. It prefers simplicity over sophistication, resilience over sensitivity”. – Jean-Paul Lange

Please join us in welcoming Jean-Paul!

We are delighted to announce that Serenella Sala (European Commission – Joint Research Centre, Italy) has been appointed as a new Board Member in Green Chemistry.

Serenella is the Head of Unit of the Land Resources and Supply Chain Assessments Unit within the Sustainable Resource Directorate at the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC). Environmental scientist by background, with a PhD in applied ecology, her research activities support European policies and focus on assessing sustainability by applying methodologies and models for sustainable development, integrated environmental assessment, life cycle assessment, risk assessment. The focus is on the eco-innovation of process and products as well as resource efficiency. She joined the JRC in 2010. Between 2001 and 2010, Serenella was the coordinator of the Research Unit on Sustainable Development (GRISS) at the Department of Environmental Science at University of Milano Bicocca, where she worked as a scientific project leader for several environmental projects supporting sustainability assessment in both the private and public sector. She actively promoted public and private partnership on eco-innovation and resource efficiency and contributed to harmonisation of methods and models for life cycle impact assessment at international level.

“Let’s learn from nature how to develop our production and consumption systems in a sustainable way”. – Serenella Sala

Please join us in welcoming Serenella!