Journal of Materials Chemistry Blog

A method to chemically save information in quaternary code using dyes could change how we approach data storage

Source: © Royal Society of Chemistry The researchers used their quaternary code to save and read different RNA nucleotide sequences (top) and could even create more intricate patterns like an owl

A flexible, transparent polymer film endowed with two small molecules can glow in three different colours, enabling data storage in a quaternary code. This chemical approach to data storage could allow more information to be stored in a smaller space than is possible with binary systems.

Modern storage devices need to be portable, robust and capable of carrying large amounts of data. One way to store information is through optical data storage. Data is recorded by making patterns that can be read back with the aid of light. Most techniques use binary code – systems that allow two different states, 1 and 0, for each data unit – to store information. Efforts have been made to increase the amount of information that these systems can store, mainly by physically reducing the size of each data unit. However, increasing the number of states each data unit could adopt, such as ternary (0, 1, 2) data storage, may lead to an exponential increase in information density.

To read the full article visit Chemistry World.

Beyond binary: optical data storage with 0, 1, 2, and 3 in polymer films
Peiran Wei, Bowen Li, Al de Leon and Emily Pentzer
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2017, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C7TC00929A, Paper

The Journal of Materials Chemistry Executive Editorial Board is pleased to announce that the 2017 Journal of Materials Chemistry lectureship is now open for nominations.

This annual lectureship honours an early-career scientist who has made a significant contribution to the field of materials chemistry.

Professor Christopher Bettinger was awarded the 2016 Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship by the Journal of Materials Chemistry Executive Editorial Board, and presented his lecture at the 2017 Spring MRS in Arizona, USA on 19 April 2017.

Qualification

To be eligible for the Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship, the candidate should be in the early stage 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 of materials chemistry.

Description

The recipient of the award will be asked to present a 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 £1,000 to the recipient for travel and accommodation costs, and will present the winner with the award at this lecture. The award recipient will also be asked to contribute an invited 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’s prestigious Executive Editorial Board.

Nominations

Those wishing to make a nomination should send details of the nominee, including a brief curriculum vita (no longer than 2 pages) and a letter supporting the nomination (no longer than 2 pages), to the Journal of Materials Chemistry Editorial Office by 16th June 2017. Please note that self-nomination is permitted, and you may re-nominate previous candidates.

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

Electrospinning carbon nanofibre into an electrocatalyst paves the way to flexible energy storage devices

Scientists from China and Singapore have used electrospinning to make a free-standing catalyst for generating hydrogen and oxygen that could be made on an industrial scale.

Oxygen reduction and hydrogen evolution are electrocatalysed in water splitting devices. The best catalysts are usually platinum-based, but they are costly and not very durable, which limits their use on a large scale.

To read the full article visit Chemistry World.

Design and synthesis of porous channel-rich carbon nanofibers for self-standing oxygen reduction reaction and hydrogen evolution reaction bifunctional catalysts in alkaline medium
Dongxiao Ji, Shengjie Peng, Jia Lu, Linlin Li, Shengyuan Yang, Guorui Yang, Xiaohong Qin, Madhavi Srinivasan and Seeram Ramakrishna
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2017, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C7TA00828G, Paper

Scientists in China have turned wood into a transparent material that could be used as a replacement for glass in energy efficient buildings.

Windows are a key factor in making buildings more energy efficient, by helping to control heat and light levels. For instance, windows that transmit visible light but block infra-red light could reduce the need for air conditioning in buildings. ‘Lighting and air conditioning account for 30-40% of the total energy used in buildings, most of which is exchanged via windows,’ says Yanfeng Gao, one of the authors of the research and a professor at Shanghai University.

Source: © Royal Society of Chemistry
A model house with transparent wood windows (left hand house) had a cooler interior than one with glass windows. The cooling effect is improved by adding caesium tungsten oxide nanoparticles (top row)

To read the fill article visit Chemistry World.

Transparent wood containing CsxWO3 nanoparticles for heat-shielding window applications
Ziya Yu, Yongji Yao, Jianing Yao, Liangmiao Zhang, Zhang Chen, Yanfeng Gao and Hongjie Luo
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2017,5, 6019-6024
DOI: 10.1039/C7TA00261K, Communication

We are delighted to announce that Photoinduced Processes in Nucleic Acids and Proteins: Faraday Discussion will be held at Kerala, India on the 11 – 13 January 2018. Abstracts are now invited for this event so submit today and take advantage of this excellent opportunity to present your work alongside scientists from across the globe.

Paper submission deadline August 21st 2017

Oral abstract submission deadline April 24th 2017

Poster abstract submission 16th October 2017

Themes include: Light induced charge and energy transport in nucleic acids and proteins, Photocrosslinking between nucleic acids and proteins, Light induced damage and repair in nucleic acids and proteins, Bionanophotonics

For full details of speakers and conference themes, please visit the event web page below:

http://www.rsc.org/events/detail/24607/photoinduced-processes-in-nucleic-acids-and-proteins-faraday-discussion

Compression stockings could gain a massage function thanks to stress-memory polymers

Following the success of Peer Review Week in September 2016 (dedicated to reviewer recognition) during which we published a list of our top reviewers, we are delighted to announce that we will continue to recognise the contribution that our reviewers make to the journal by announcing our Outstanding Reviewers each year.

We would like to highlight the Outstanding Reviewers for Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C in 2016, as selected by the editorial team, for their significant contribution to the journal. The reviewers have been chosen based on the number, timeliness and quality of the reports completed over the last 12 months.

We would like to say a big thank you to those individuals listed here as well as to all of the reviewers that have supported the journal. Each Outstanding Reviewer will receive a certificate to give recognition for their significant contribution.

Journal of Materials Chemistry A

Dr Longjun Li, University of Texas at Austin
Dr Zhao-Qing Liu, Guangzhou University
Professor David Lou, Nanyang Technological University
Dr Seung Son, Sungkyunkwan University
Professor Bao Yu Xia, Huazhong University of Science & Technology
Dr Xingbin Yan, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics
Dr Le Yu, Nanyang Technological University
Professor Yu Xin Zhang, Chongqing University
Dr Bote Zhao, Georgia Tech
Dr Weijia Zhou, South China University of Technology

Journal of Materials Chemistry B

Professor Hong Ding, Florida International University
Dr Damien Dupin, Parque Tecnológico de San Sebastián
Dr Ahmed El-Fiqi, University College London
Dr Naoki Kawazoe, National Institute for Materials Science
Dr Zhanjun Li, Jinan University
Dr Xiaolong Liu, Mengchao Hepatobiliary Hospital of Fujian Medical University
Dr Pratap Naha, University of Pennsylvania
Dr Lakshminarayana Polavarapu, Universidade de Vigo
Dr Gang Wei, Bremen University
Professor Chengtie Wu, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Journal of Materials Chemistry C

Dr Zhigao Hu, East China Normal University
Dr Branko Kolaric, Centre Namurois des Systèmes complexes
Professor Jing-Feng Li, Tsinghua University
Professor Jun Lin, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry
Professor Anjun Qin, South China University of Technology
Professor Chong-Xin Shan, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics
Professor Shi-Jian Su, South China University of Technology
Dr Ka Leung Wong, Hong Kong Baptist University
Professor Zhiguo Xia, University of Science and Technology Beijing
Dr Qiang Zhao, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications

We would also like to thank the Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C board and the materials community for their continued support of the journal, as authors, reviewers and readers.

If you would like to become a reviewer for our journal, just email us with details of your research interests and an up-to-date CV or résumé. You can find more details in our author and reviewer resource centre

To be the Royal Institution Christmas Lecturer for this 80th anniversary year has been a huge honour and I was excited that our celebration of energy offered a wonderful opportunity to explain how current research on clean energy technologies is founded on the RI’s rich heritage of discovery by greats such as Michael Faraday. It’s amazing to think that I presented the CHRISTMAS LECTURES 80 years after they were televised for the first time in 1936 at Alexandra Palace, walking distance from where I grew up in Crouch End, north London.

RIGB Saiful PR Shots

The preparations and filming for the BBC broadcast were challenging and stressful, but working with great teams at the Ri and Windfall Films was lots of fun. I think I felt the added pressure (and expectation) compared to a conference talk or university lectures, since these lectures were for the BBC and going out to a TV audience of millions of people all over the country.

In the end, it was an exciting experience to do a range of visual (and dangerous) demonstrations with the help of former Christmas Lecturers as special guests. There were lots of memorable moments for me including Richard Dawkins facing a spikey pendulum, Monica Grady in a Faraday cage, Danielle George in a fast Tesla car, the Rube Goldberg cascade, seeing my insides with a capsule endoscope and achieving a Guinness world record lemon battery (using more than 1,000 lemons!).

Like an electric spark, I hope the lectures ignited a spark of excitement and deeper understanding of energy. I also want children to understand that the pursuit of science is the proper way to unravel the mysteries of the world around us, and is full of beauty and exciting discovery. I’d also like people to understand that chemistry plays a crucial role in developing new, clean energy technologies, one of the biggest challenges facing our society today.

It’s been a real privilege to follow in the footsteps of the scientists I’ve grown up reading about and watching on television like David Attenborough, Nancy Rothwell and Carl Sagan. So I am thrilled to be the latest on that list.

Royal Institution Lectures online: http://richannel.org/christmas-lectures?_ga=1.46389923.547910815.1485872290

Brief Bio

Saiful is Professor of Materials Chemistry at the University of Bath with research interests in the area of advanced computer modelling of new materials for lithium batteries and perovskite solar cells. He is one of the RSC 175 Faces of Chemistry and recipient of the 2013 RSC Sustainable Energy Award. 

Research Link: http://people.bath.ac.uk/msi20/

Photo credits: Paul Wilkinson