Journal of Materials Chemistry Blog

A communication in Journal of Materials Chemistry was featured in a news story on the BBC website. The article describes the conversion of carbon dioxide to few-layer graphene by burning magnesium metal in dry ice to form nanosheets of graphene. The researchers from Northern Illinois University, USA, and Southern Methodist University, USA, say that the exact mechanism for the formation of graphene is still under investigation but the team thinks that the rapid reaction kinetically favours graphene over graphite.

Read the original article here: Amartya Chakrabarti, Jun Lu, Jennifer C. Skrabutenas, Tao Xu, Zhili Xiao, John A. Maguire and Narayan S. Hosmane, J. Mater. Chem., 2011, 9491-9493

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Congratulations to Professor Linda Nazar (University of Waterloo, Canada) for being named as one of the recipients of the 2011 Distinguished Woman in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering award. The award is organised as part of the ACS Challenge Grant-International Year of Chemistry Celebration.

Professor Linda Nazar is a member of the Journal of Materials Chemistry Editorial Board and acted as a guest editor for the recent Advanced materials for lithium batteries themed issue. Here’s a selection of papers by Professor Nazar.

Professor Clare Grey (University of Cambridge, UK) has been elected as a fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of her pioneering research in using solid state NMR to study structure and function in inorganic materials. More details on the Royal Society website…

Professor Grey is also member of the Journal of Materials Chemistry advisory board. Here’s a reminder of some of the research Professor Grey has published in RSC journals:

On the outside cover is a paper on Electrochemistry-controlled metal ion release from silicone elastomer nanocomposites through combination of different metal nanoparticles by Anne Hahn, Sebastian Günther, Philipp Wagener and Stephan Barcikowski. In the paper the team report on the retardation and enhancement of metal ion release for time- and rate-controlled design of bioactive nanocomposites.

The Inside front cover highlights the work of Yonit Boguslavsky, Tania Fadida, Yossi Talyosef and Jean-Paul Lellouche and their paper on Controlling the wettability properties of polyester fibers using grafted functional nanomaterials. The paper describes a simple method for controlling the wettability properties of poly(ethyleneterephthalate) fibers. PET fibers were modified using silica nanoparticles to obtain a hydrophilic surface and multi-walled carbon nanotubes to create a hydrophobic surface.

You can read the whole issue here:

Hot Articles in issue 28:

• Color tuning of Novel 2,1,3-Naphthothiadiazole and 2,1,3-Benzoselenadiazole based D-A-D′ Type dopants to realize highly efficient saturated red emission in non-polar solvents
• Electrochemistry-controlled metal ion release from silicone elastomer nanocomposites through combination of different metal nanoparticles
• γ-Cyclodextrin–folate complex-functionalized quantum dots for tumor-targeting and site-specific labeling
• Controlling the wettability properties of polyester fibers using grafted functional nanomaterials

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Scientists in Singapore have prepared a coating for metals that heals itself after being scratched to prevent corrosion of the metal underneath. 

Unlike other examples of such coatings, this one, developed by Mingxing Huang and Jinglei Yang of Nanyang Technological University, requires no catalyst and can be used at 40 degrees Celsius.

The team prepared the coating by encapsulating the highly reactive compound hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) inside polymer shells to form microcapsules. They then dispersed the microcapsules into epoxy resin and applied this coating to steel. When the coating was scratched, the punctured microcapsules released the HDI, which reacted with water to form polyurea and this sealed the damaged region… Read the rest of the article in Chemistry World or the paper by Mingxing Huang and Jinglei Yang here.

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Read the most-read Journal of Materials Chemistry articles of May 2011, listed below:

A magnetic-field-assisted solution-phase route to cobalt thin film composed of cobalt nanosheets
Hao Li and Shijun Liao
J. Mater. Chem., 2009, 19, 5207-5211

The oxidation of aniline to produce “polyaniline”: a process yielding many different nanoscale structures
Henry D. Tran, Julio M. D’Arcy, Yue Wang, Peter J. Beltramo, Veronica A. Strong and Richard B. Kaner
J. Mater. Chem., 2011, 21, 3534-3550

An all-inorganic type-II heterojunction array with nearly full solar spectral response based on ZnO/ZnSe core/shell nanowires         
Zhiming Wu, Yong Zhang, Jinjian Zheng, Xiangan Lin, Xiaohang Chen, Binwang Huang, Huiqiong Wang, Kai Huang, Shuping Li and Junyong Kang
J. Mater. Chem., 2011, 21, 6020-6026

Synthesis of high-reactive facets dominated anatase TiO2
Ci Zhang Wen, Hai Bo Jiang, Shi Zhang Qiao, Hua Gui Yang and Gao Qing (Max) Lu
J. Mater. Chem., 2011, 21, 7052-7061   

Synthesis and self-assembly of complex hollow materials
Hua Chun Zeng
J. Mater. Chem., 2011, 21, 7511-7526

TiO2 nanotubes: Structure optimization for solar cells
Junfeng Yan and Feng Zhou
J. Mater. Chem., 2011, 21, 9406-9418          

3D lithium ion batteries—from fundamentals to fabrication
Matthew Roberts, Phil Johns, John Owen, Daniel Brandell, Kristina Edstrom, Gaber El Enany, Claude Guery, Diana Golodnitsky, Matt Lacey, Cyrille Lecoeur, Hadar Mazor, Emanuel Peled, Emilie Perre, Manikoth M. Shaijumon, Patrice Simon and Pierre-Louis Taberna
J. Mater. Chem., 2011, 21, 9876-9890

The chemistry of graphene
Kian Ping Loh, Qiaoliang Bao, Priscilla Kailian Ang and Jiaxiang Yang
J. Mater. Chem., 2010, 20, 2277-2289

Chrysanthemum-like α-FeOOH microspheres produced by a simple green method and their outstanding ability in heavy metal ion removal
Hui Li, Wei Li, Yanjun Zhang, Taishan Wang, Bao Wang, Wei Xu, Li Jiang, Weiguo Song, Chunying Shu and Chunru Wang
J. Mater. Chem., 2011, 21, 7878-7881

Fluorescent magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical applications
Nataliya Chekina, Daniel Horák, Pavla Jendelová, Miroslava Trchová, Milan J. Beneš, Martin Hrubý, Vít Herynek, Karolina Turnovcová and Eva Syková
J. Mater. Chem., 2011, 21, 7630-7639
       

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The outside front cover showcases a Feature Article on Biosensors based on one-dimensional nanostructures by Ian Matthew Feigel, Harindra Vedala and Alexander Star. A paper by Xudong Wang and co-workers on Evolution of zinc oxide nanostructures through kinetics control is highlighted on the inside front cover.

Hot Articles in Issue 25:

• Highly efficient solution-processed green and red electrophosphorescent devices enabled by small-molecule bipolar host material
• Nematic self-organization of regioselectively polyfunctionalized [60]fullerene

Read the full issue here:

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We are delighted to announce Liberato Manna has won the 2011 Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship.

Professor Manna is the second winner of the Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship. The Editorial Board chose Professor Manna in recognition of the contribution he has made to the materials chemistry field. Professor Manna will present the lectureship at 3 conferences (details will be announced shortly).

Liberato Manna received both his MSc (1996) and his PhD (2001) in Chemistry from the University of Bari, Italy. During his PhD and later as a postdoc, he worked at UC Berkeley. In 2003 he became researcher at the National Nanotechnology Lab in Lecce, Italy, and in 2009 he was appointed head of the Nanochemistry Department at the Italian Institute of Technology, Genova, Italy. Since 2010 he is also professor of Quantum Nanoscience at TU Delft, The Netherlands. His research interests are the synthesis, structural characterization and assembly of inorganic nanostructures for applications in energy, photonics and biology.

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Announcing the 7th International Symposium on Stimuli-Responsive Materials (October 24-26th, 2011 in Hattiesburg, MS, USA). Leading scientists from a variety of disciplines will discuss recent advances in adaptive materials at the interfaces of chemistry, physics, biology, and engineering. This symposium will build on a successful six year history of assembling experts in the area of stimuli-responsive/smart materials to discuss issues related to fundamental science and real-world applicability.

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