Journal of Materials Chemistry Blog

Next generation lithium–sulfur batteries given DNA boost

12 Feb 2015

Written by William Bergius for Chemistry World

In a creative application of rational design, scientists in China have turned to nature to help overcome one of the key challenges facing the most probable successor to the lithium ion (Li-ion) battery. Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries are cheaper, more sustainable and already capable of delivering up to three times the energy density of most Li-ion cells. However, they are held back by poor stability; a problem these researchers have confronted by functionalising the electrodes with DNA.

Li–S cells typically consist of a lithium metal anode and a carbon–sulfur cathode separated by a liquid electrolyte. Lithium ions dissolve from the anode during discharge, reacting with sulfur to form lithium polysulfides (Li₂S_x) at the cathode, while the reverse occurs on charging. Some of the polysulfide intermediates are unfortunately soluble in the electrolyte and their dissolution from the cathode leads to irreversible loss of the active sulfur, adversely affecting cell performance.

Interested? Read the full story at Chemistry World.

Functionalising electrodes with DNA significantly enhances performance © Shutterstock

The original article can be read below:

High-performance lithium/sulfur batteries by decorating CMK-3/S cathodes with DNA
Qiyang Li, Chenggang Zhou, Zhuan Ji, Bo Han, Liang Feng and Jinping Wu
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4TA06083K

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Poster prize winners at the 5th DEA-BRNS Interdisciplinary Symposium on Materials Chemistry (ISMC-2014)

04 Feb 2015

By Katie Lim, Deputy Editor.

Congratulations to Mr S. J. Pawar from North Maharashtra University and Mr. S. P. Mundinamani from Karnatak University for winning the Nanoscale and Journal of Materials Chemistry A poster prizes, respectively, at the 5th DEA-BRNS Interdisciplinary Symposium on Materials Chemistry (ISMC-2014).

Mr Pawar receiving the Nanoscale poster prize

Mr Pawar won the Nanoscale prize for his poster entitled “Silver Nanoparticle Based Catalytic Conversion of 4-nitrophenol to Paracetamol in Aqueous Medium”, and Mr Mundinamani’s poster entitled “Supercapacitors Based on CdO Thin Films” won the Journal of Materials Chemistry A poster prize.

The conference took place at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai on the 9-13th December 2014. Further information about the conference can be found on the event website.

ISMC-2014

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Plant plaster protects wine from vine decline

27 Jan 2015

By Aliya Anwar.

Written by Jonathan Midgley for Chemistry World

Esca is a big problem for the wine industry © Shutterstock

A breathable and biodegradable adhesive patch to block fungal invasion of vine pruning wounds has been developed by nanotechnology scientists in the US.

Symptoms of fungal disease esca, or vine decline, include reduced yields, stunted growth and even the sudden death of vines. Esca is prevalent throughout the world and poses a significant threat to the wine industry – some countries have lost 40% of their grape harvest to the fungus. Often whole collections of vines have to be removed and replaced. No fungicide treatment is available – sodium arsenite was previously used for control in Europe, but is now banned for health reasons.

Interested? To read the full article, please visit Chemistry World.

The original article can be accessed below:

Biodegradable and Biocompatible Soy Protein/Polymer/Adhesive Sticky Nano-textured Interfacial Membranes for Prevention of Esca Fungi Invasion into Pruning Cuts and Wounds of Vines
Soumyadip Sett, Min Wook Lee, Martin Weith, B Pourdeyhimi and Alexander Yarin
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2015, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/C4TB01887G

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35th Australasian Polymer Symposium (35APS)

27 Jan 2015

By Sarah Thirkell, Development Editor.

12-15 July 2015 QT Hotel, Gold Coast

We are pleased to announce the 35th Australasian Polymer Symposium which will be held at the QT Hotel, Gold Coast, Australia, on 12-15th July 2015.

Browse the programme

The programme is live so take a look now. Keynote speakers include: Professor David Haddleton, Dr Elodie Bourgeat-Lami and Professor Zhibo Li.

Submit your abstract

There are a range of themes covering many areas of polymer research running throughout the symposium, so check out the themes and submit your abstract now.

Register

Registration is NOW OPEN. Register before 13th March for the Early Bird discount. Sign up for what is sure to be another stimulating polymer science forum in 2015.

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2nd Workshop on Shape-Responsive Fluorophores

07 Jan 2015

By Aliya Anwar.

The 2nd Workshop on Shape-Responsive Fluorophores will be held at the Telluride Intermediate School in Colorado, USA on June 23 – 27th 2015.

Telluride

The workshop will focus on the phenomenology, origin, and the practical application of shape-selective fluorophores, and will include a wide variety of both theorists and experimenters working actively on these systems. We expect that the Telluride meeting will bring together the scientists, both academic and industrial, from all over the world.

Several topics will be explicitly discussed: an aggregation-induced emission phenomenon in a wide range of organic fluorophores; the fluorescent rotors; mechanofluorescence; encapsulation of fluorescent probes in small hosts; and the development of turn-on fluorescent ligands for proteins and DNA/RNA.

The Early Bird (discounted) registration deadline is 15 January 2015. For more information, the Workshop website is available here.

Also of interest

We are delighted to announce that Journal of Materials Chemistry C is planning to produce a themed issue on the topic of Shape-Responsive Fluorophores in early 2016. Please e-mail the Editorial Office at materialsc-rsc@rsc.org if you are interested in contributing an article. The Guest Editors for this issue are the Telluride meeting organisers Dr Kyril Solntsev (Georgia Institute of Technology) and Professor Ben Zhong Tang (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology).

This themed issue will have a broad, inclusive scope and will cover all the aspects of the recent exciting progress in shape-responsive fluorophores, including the synthesis, characterisation, and applications of molecules and functional materials; within the scope of Journal of Materials Chemistry C (materials for optical, magnetic and eletronic devices).

The submission deadline for this themed issue is 1 September 2015.

Manuscripts can be submitted using the Journal online article submission service. Please clearly state that the manuscript is submitted in response to the call for papers for the themed issue on Shape-Responsive Fluorophores.

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Catching water with imitation beetle bumps

22 Dec 2014

By Aliya Anwar.

Written by Victoria Richards for Chemistry World

Inspired by both desert beetles and marine mussels, scientists in Saudi Arabia have devised a new method for creating micropatterned superhydrophobic surfaces that efficiently harvest fog.

The Namib Desert beetle survives by collecting moisture from the air

In semi-arid, desert regions, particularly in coastal areas where morning fog is abundant and rainfall is scarce, fog harvesting can be a crucial source of water. Indeed, the Namib Desert beetle is known to survive by collecting water from fog thanks to its unique back structure. An array of hydrophilic bumps across a waxy superhydrophobic surface collect then route droplets into the beetle’s mouth.

Interested? The full story can be read at Chemistry World.

The original article can be read below:

Inkjet printing for direct micropatterning of a superhydrophobic surface: toward biomimetic fog harvesting surfaces
Lianbin Zhang, Jinbo Wu, Mohamed Nejib Hedhili, Xiulin Yang and Peng Wan
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4TA05862C

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12th International Symposium on Functional π-Electron Systems

17 Dec 2014

By Aliya Anwar.

The 12th International Symposium on Functional pi-Electron Systems (Fpi-12) will be held in Seattle, Washington, USA on July 19 – 24^th 2015.

These conferences have become one of the major conferences in the area of organic electronics, and we hope that Fpi-12 will follow the success of previous Fpi conferences organized in Japan (Osaka in 1989, 1999, and 2006 and Kobe in 1992), USA (Santa Cruz in 1995, Ithaca in 2004, Atlanta in 2009), Europe (Ulm, Germany, in 2002, Graz, Austria, in 2008 and Arcachon, France in 2013), and China (Beijing, in 2011).

Fpi-12 is expected to attract 400-500 participants from all over the world to discuss their new achievements in research fields including:

design and synthesis of new π-conjugated molecules and polymers
organic and polymeric semiconducting materials for thin film transistors
organic and polymeric photovoltaic and photo-detective materials and devices
organic light-emitting materials for display and lighting application
hybrid/perovskite materials and devices
conjugated polymers and oligomers in chemo/bio-sensors
bioelectronics

Abstract submission is open till January 31^st 2015.

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Web collection on molecular materials with the 5th Molecular Materials Meeting @ Singapore 2015

15 Dec 2014

By Sam Keltie, Executive Editor.

We are delighted to announce a cross journal web collection on molecular materials in conjunction with the 5th Molecular Materials Meeting @ Singapore 2015 conference, which will cover the latest developments in molecular materials.

Ten Royal Society of Chemistry journals are encouraging submissions for the collection:

Biomaterials Science
An international, high impact journal bringing together the molecular and mesoscopic interactions of biomaterials and their potential applications
Chemical Communications
Urgent high quality communications from across the chemical sciences.
Green Chemistry
The home of cutting-edge research on the development of alternative sustainable technologies
Journal of Materials Chemistry A
High impact applications, properties and synthesis of exciting new materials for energy and sustainability
Journal of Materials Chemistry B
High impact applications, properties and synthesis of exciting new materials for biology and medicine
Journal of Materials Chemistry C
High impact applications, properties and synthesis of exciting new materials for optical, magnetic and electronic devices
Nanoscale
A high impact peer reviewed journal publishing experimental and theoretical work across the breadth of nanoscience and nanotechnology
Polymer Chemistry
Encompassing all aspects of synthetic and biological macromolecules, and related emerging areas
RSC Advances
An international journal to further the chemical sciences
Soft Matter
Where physics meets chemistry meets biology for fundamental soft matter research.

The overall theme of the conference is “The Next 50 Years in Materials Research”, and this conference will focus on the latest developments and discuss the future of the most promising areas in molecular materials. It will cover a wide range of topics:

Metamaterials and Plasmonics
Hybrid Materials and Nanocomposites
2D Materials and Devices
Biomimetic, Biosynthetic, and Bioinspired Materials
Materials for Sustainability
Materials for Bioapplications and Sensing
Materials for Consumer Care and Healthcare
Materials for Food Nanotechnology

Submissions are welcome to the relevant journal across the themes of the conference.

Articles can be submitted from now until the 1st of May 2015 and the collection will receive promotion at the conference in August. Please indicate in your submission that your manuscript is for consideration for the cross-journal MMM3 2015 web collection. Please note all submissions will be handled following each specific journal’s standard procedures and in that respect articles submitted for the web collection will be treated as regular submissions.

If you have any queries or for more information, please contact the relevant journal Editorial Office: biomaterialsscience-rsc@rsc.org, chemcomm-rsc@rsc.org, green-rsc@rsc.org, materialsa-rsc@rsc.org, materialsb-rsc@rsc.org, materialsc-rsc@rsc.org, nanoscale-rsc@rsc.org, polymers-rsc@rsc.org, advances-rsc@rsc.org or softmatter-rsc@rsc.org.

For your information, Conference abstract submission templates can be found here and you may submit the abstract here: http://bit.ly/1AuY7wU.

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Plastic bottles recycled into cigarette filters

09 Dec 2014

By Aliya Anwar.

Written by Emma Cooper for Chemistry World

A method to recycle the common plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from fizzy drinks bottles into membranes for filtration, including cigarette filter tips, has been developed by scientists in Sweden and the US. The process involves dissolving PET in a solvent mixture of trifluoroacetic acid and dichloromethane, which is then electrospun to produce fibre mats to be used as filters.

PET is widely recycled into engineered plastics, automobiles, fleece fabric, containers and films, however some applications such as protective clothing and membrane separation and filtration still use the more expensive virgin PET. This work, which stemmed from a collaboration between researchers at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and the University of Illinois, provides a proof-of-concept for synthesising filters from recycled PET to give cigarette filters which absorb up to 20 times more cigarette smoke than classic filter tips.

Interested? The full article can be read at Chemistry World.

The original article can be read below:

Electrospinning of recycled PET to generate tough mesomorphic fibre membranes for smoke filtration
I. N. Strain, Q. Wu, A. M. Pourrahimi, M. S. Hedenqvist, R. T. Olsson and R. L. Andersson
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4TA06191H

The filtration capacities of the fibre mats were tested using a cigarette as the smoke source

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Take 1…minute for chemistry in health

27 Nov 2014

By Sarah Thirkell, Development Editor.

Can you explain the importance of chemistry to human health in just 1 minute? If you’re an early-career researcher who is up to the challenge, making a 1 minute video could win you £500.

The chemical sciences will be fundamental in helping us meet the healthcare challenges of the future, and we are committed to ensuring that they contribute to their full potential. As part of our work in this area, we are inviting undergraduate and PhD students, post-docs and those starting out their career in industry to produce an original video that demonstrates the importance of chemistry in health.

We are looking for imaginative ways of showcasing how chemistry helps us address healthcare challenges. Your video should be no longer than 1 minute, and you can use any approach you like.

The winner will receive a £500 cash prize, with a £250 prize for second place and £150 prize for third place up for grabs too.

Stuck for inspiration? Last year’s winning video is a good place to start. John Gleeson’s video was selected based on the effective use of language, dynamic style, creativity and its accurate content.

The closing date for entries to be submitted is 30 January 2015. Our judging panel will select the top five videos. We will then publish the shortlisted videos online and open the judging to the public to determine the winner and the runners up.

For more details on how to enter the competition and who is eligible, join us at the Take 1… page.

Good luck!

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Journal of Materials Chemistry Blog

Next generation lithium–sulfur batteries given DNA boost

Poster prize winners at the 5th DEA-BRNS Interdisciplinary Symposium on Materials Chemistry (ISMC-2014)

Plant plaster protects wine from vine decline

35th Australasian Polymer Symposium (35APS)

2nd Workshop on Shape-Responsive Fluorophores

Catching water with imitation beetle bumps

12th International Symposium on Functional π-Electron Systems

Web collection on molecular materials with the 5th Molecular Materials Meeting @ Singapore 2015

Plastic bottles recycled into cigarette filters

Take 1…minute for chemistry in health

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