Journal of Materials Chemistry Blog

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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Burning magnesium metal in dry ice forms nanosheets of graphene say US scientists. 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. The synthetic process is cost effective and can be used to produce few-layer graphene in large quantities.

Amartya Chakrabarti, Jun Lu, Jennifer C. Skrabutenas, Tao Xu, Zhili Xiao, John A. Maguire and Narayan S. Hosmane, J. Mater. Chem., 2011, DOI:10.1039/C1JM11227A (Advance Article)

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Read the full issue here: 

The Highlight article on the front cover is Fabrication of quantum dot-based photonic materials from small to large via interfacial self-assembly by Ziyi Yu, Cai-Feng Wang and Su Chen at Nanjing University of Technology, China. The inside front cover features a paper on Electrospinning fabrication, structural and mechanical characterization of rod-like virus-based composite nanofibers by Xiaodong Li, Qian Wang and co-workers at the University of South Carolina and the Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

6 articles in the issue were selected as hot articles:

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Congratulations to Brian Yalisi from the University of KwaZulu Natal for winning the Student Poster Prize Platinum at the recent 11th International Conference on Frontiers of Polymers and Advanced Materials. Brian is supervised by Professor Andrew Forbes and his poster was titled “Properties of Pulsed Laser-deposited C-NiO Thin Films”. The poster prize was sponsored by Journal of Materials Chemistry and Sigma-Aldrich.

Brian Yalisi with his winning poster.

Congratulations also to Ilse Wepener from the University of Pretoria who won the Student Poster Prize Gold sponsored by Sigma-Aldrich for her poster “Nano-calcium phosphate generation: uses in bone repair”.

Here are the most-read Journal of Materials Chemistry articles for April 2011:

Mesoporous silica nanoparticle based nano drug delivery systems: synthesis, controlled drug release and delivery, pharmacokinetics and biocompatibility
Qianjun He and Jianlin Shi, J. Mater. Chem., 2011, 21, 5845-5855

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

Top down method for synthesis of highly conducting graphene by exfoliation of graphite oxide using focused solar radiation
Varrla Eswaraiah, Sasidharannair Sasikaladevi Jyothirmayee Aravind and Sundara Ramaprabhu, J. Mater. Chem., 2011, 21, 6800-6803

Fabrication of quantum dot-based photonic materials from small to large via interfacial self-assembly       
Ziyi Yu, Cai-Feng Wang and Su Chen, J. Mater. Chem., 2011, Advance Article

Chemical doping of graphene
Hongtao Liu, Yunqi Liu and Daoben Zhu, J. Mater. Chem., 2011, 21, 3335-3345

Mechanically strong and highly conductive graphene aerogel and its use as electrodes for electrochemical power sources
Xuetong Zhang, Zhuyin Sui, Bin Xu, Shufang Yue, Yunjun Luo, Wanchu Zhan and Bin Liu, J. Mater. Chem., 2011, 21, 6494-6497

Graphene uniformly decorated with gold nanodots: in situ synthesis, enhanced dispersibility and applications
Xi Yang, Mingsheng Xu, Weiming Qiu, Xiaoqiang Chen, Meng Deng, Jinglin Zhang, Hideo Iwai, Eiichiro Watanabe and Hongzheng Chen, J. Mater. Chem., 2011, 21, 8096-8103

Bi4Ti3O12 nanosheets/TiO2 submicron fibers heterostructures: in situ fabrication and high visible light photocatalytic activity
Tieping Cao, Yuejun Li, Changhua Wang, Zhenyi Zhang, Mingyi Zhang, Changlu Shao and Yichun Liu, J. Mater. Chem., 2011, 21, 6922-6927

Facile synthesis of hybrid nanostructures from nanoparticles, nanorods and nanowires  
Jiayuan Mao, Xueqin Cao, Junwei Zhen, Huilin Shao, Hongwei Gu, Jianmei Lu and Jackie Y. Ying, J. Mater. Chem., 2011, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C1JM10349K

Assembly of chemically modified graphene: methods and applications
Yuxi Xu and Gaoquan Shi, J. Mater. Chem., 2011, 21, 3311-3323

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