Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Foaming security system gives thieves a surprise

Thieves could inadvertently destroy their intended loot if they attack a cash machine made from a material being developed by scientists in Switzerland. The self-defending system was inspired by a beetle and requires no electrical components, so could be cheaper and simpler than current security systems.

The visual effect and corresponding temperature evolution upon mechanical rupture

The visual effect and corresponding temperature evolution upon mechanical rupture

Interested? Read the full story at Chemistry World.

Self-defending anti-vandalism surfaces based on mechanically triggered mixing of reactants in polymer foils
Jonas G. Halter, Nicholas H. Cohrs, Nora Hild, Daniela Paunescu, Robert N. Grass and Wendelin Jan Stark  
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2014, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/C3TA15326F

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Themed Issue on the Fabrication Technology of Nanomaterials

Fabrication Technology of Nanomaterials brings together scaleable, high throughput nano and multiscale fabricaton techniques applied to pultifunctional materials.  The aim of thi sissue is to highlight the important contributions in this research area as well as highlighting the impact of nanostructured materials.

This issue was Guest Edited by Professor Fabio Biscarini and Dr massimilliano Cavallini of the Institute of Nanostructured Materials, CNR Bologna, Italy.  The full issue can be found here.

Below is a sample of the Papers, Applications, Communication and Feature Articles that can be found in the fabrication technology of nanomaterials themed issue:

Feature Article

Continuous and high-throughput nanopatterning methodologies based on mechanical deformation
Jong G. Ok, Se Hyun Ahn, Moon Kyu Kwak and L. Jay Guo

Application

Micro/nano-scale materials and structures for constructing neuronal networks and addressing neurons
Zhuo Huang and Xingyu Jiang

Communication

Nanofabrication of TaS2 conducting layers nanopatterned with Ta2O5 insulating regions via AFM
Eugenio Coronado, Alicia Forment-Aliaga, Efren Navarro-Moratalla, Elena Pinilla-Cienfuegos and Andres Castellanos-Gomez

Paper

Carbon nanorods and graphene-like nanosheets by hot filament CVD: growth mechanisms and electron field emission
B. B. Wang, K. Ostrikov, T. van der Laan, K. Zheng, J. J. Wang, Y. P. Yan and X. J. Quan

To keep up-to-date with all the latest research, sign-up to our RSS feed or Table of contents alert.

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Hot Articles for January!

Metal-ion doped luminescent thin films for optoelectronic applications
Yang Zhang and Jianhua Hao

Photon upconversion facilitated molecular solar energy storage
Karl Börjesson, Damir Dzebo, Bo Albinsson and Kasper Moth-Poulsen

In Situ synthesis and thermoelectric properties of PbTe-graphene nanocomposites by utilizing a facile and novel wet chemical method
Jingdu Dong, Wei Liu, Han Li, Xianli Su, Xinfeng Tang and Ctirad Uher

These papers are free to access until 3rd March 2014 

To keep up-to-date with all the latest research, sign up to our RSS feed or Table of contents alert 

(more…)

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2014 Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship – Nominations now open!

Now in its 5th year, we are looking for nominations from you for the next Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship recipient.

We are pleased to announce that the 2014 Lectureship is now open for nominations. This annual lectureship honours a younger scientist who has made a significant contribution to the field of materials chemistry.

Xinliang Feng, the winner of the 2013 lectureship, was chosen as last year’s recipient by the Journal of Materials Chemistry Executive Editorial Board.

Qualification
To be eligible for the Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship, the candidate should be in the earlier stages of their scientific career, typically within 10 years of attaining their doctorate or equivalent degree, and will have made a significant contribution to the field.

Description
The recipient of the award will be asked to present one Journal of Materials Chemistry lecture, at a conference decided upon by the recipient and the Editorial Office. The Journal of Materials Chemistry Editorial Office will provide the sum of £1000 to the recipient for travel and accommodation costs. The award recipient will be presented with the award at this lecture. They will also be asked to contribute a lead article to the journal and will have their work showcased on the back cover of the issue in which their article is published.

Selection
The recipient of the lectureship will be selected and endorsed by the Journal of Materials Chemistry Executive Editorial Board.

Nominations
Those wishing to make a nomination should send details of the nominee including a brief C.V. (no longer than 2 pages) together with a letter supporting the nomination (no longer than 2 pages), to the Journal of Materials Chemistry Editorial Office by 28 March 2014. Please note that self-nomination is permitted.

Send a nomination here today: materials-rsc@rsc.org

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Happy holidays from Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B & C!

All of us in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C Editorial team would like to wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year! The Editorial office will be closed from 24th December 2013 and will reopen on 2 January 2014.

We’re really looking forward to 2014, which will see some great themed issues in all of the Journal of Materials Chemistry family of journals as well as the 2014 Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship (opening for nominations early in the year).

Don’t miss out on all the journal news – follow us on twitter @JMaterChem and and like us on Facebook!

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Poster prize winners at the 2013 International Symposium on Stimuli-Responsive Materials

Many congratulations to the winners at the 2013 International Symposium on Stimuli-Responsive Materials!

Chosen by an independent panel, the winners were: Akira Matsumoto (Institute of Biomaterials and Bioengineering at Tokyo Medical and Dental University) for the Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B & C poster prize, Justin Poelma for Polymer Chemistry and Saemi Oh for Soft Matter (University of California, Santa Barbara).

The symposium which focuses on the field of stimuli-responsive materials from academia, industry, and government took place in October (20 – 22) this year at the Hilton Sonoma Wine Country in Santa Rosa, CA and was co-sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Akira Matsumoto

Akira Matsumoto receiving his poster prize for Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B, C

Justin Poelma

Justin Poelma receiving his prize for Polmer Chemistry

Saemi Oh winning the Soft Matter poster prize

 Follow the latest journal news on Twitter @JMaterChem or go to our Facebook page.

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Self-defending seeds

A two-layered protective coating that releases cyanide when bitten into could protect seeds from pests, say scientists in Switzerland. The system only becomes toxic when the layers are mixed, eliminating many of the problems of current pesticides.

Protecting agricultural crops against pests is a worldwide concern, particularly in developing countries, but pesticides can contaminate the surrounding environment, and can also hurt harmless insects like honey bees.

Malonitrile (MN) and hydroxynitrile lyase (HNL) only create hydrogen cyanide (HCN) upon rupture of the separating layer

Malonitrile (MN) and hydroxynitrile lyase (HNL) only create hydrogen cyanide (HCN) upon rupture of the separating layer

Read the full story in Chemistry World.

Induced cyanogenesis from hydroxynitrile lyase and mandelonitrile on wheat with polylactic acid multilayer-coating produces self-defending seeds
Wendelin J. Stark et al.
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3TA14249C

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Renewables pair up to power tiny generator

A current is generated by airflow resonating the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) film

A current is generated by airflow resonating the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) film

Tiny generators that harvest light and wind energy together have been developed by scientists in China. This technology works 24 hours a day to generate power and could run sensors or LEDs, or even charge lithium-ion batteries.

Shrinking triboelectric generators into today’s tiny gadgets limits their output. Friction between two films within the device generates the power but when miniaturised, the wear of these electrodes hinders this process.

Read the full article at Chemistry World today!

Nanogenerator for Harvesting Airflow Energy and Light Energy
Chenguo Hu, et al.
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/C3TA14421F, Paper

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Free colour in journal articles

Here at the Royal Society of Chemistry we are constantly looking to improve our procedures to make things easier for our journal authors.

And we are glad to say that we can now offer free colour for all images and figures in all of our journals, in print and online.

We believe this will further improve the efficiency of our submission, editing and publication processes, and enhance the readers’ experience as well.

So that’s one more reason to choose to publish with us.

View this video to hear from international researchers on why they choose Royal Society of Chemistry journals.

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Recipe for a jelly-based fuel cell catalyst

An international team of researchers have used gelatin as their starting material to make doped-carbon electrocatalysts. They might not wobble but they could one day replace platinum in fuel cells.

The gelatin foam doesn’t look like jelly (a). The scanning electron microscope image of the foam (b) shows lots of tiny bubbles

The gelatin foam doesn’t look like jelly (a). The scanning electron microscope image of the foam (b) shows lots of tiny bubbles

Zoe Schnepp from the University of Birmingham in the UK and colleagues at the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan wanted to show that you don’t have to compromise on properties by being green.

Read the full article at Chemistry World.

Doped-carbon electrocatalysts with trimodal porosity from a homogeneous polypeptide gel
Zoe Schnepp, et al.
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013, 1, 13576-13581
DOI: 10.1039/C3TA12996A

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