Rising Stars and Young Nanoarchitects in Materials Science web collection published

All the articles in the collection have been made free to access for a short time!

We’re delighted to announce that the Rising Stars and Young Nanoarchitects in Materials Science web collection has now been published!

Guest Edited by Katsuhiko Ariga (MANA National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba, Japan) and Martin Pumera (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore), the collection highlights the activities of rising stars in nanomaterials chemistry. All the articles in the collection have been made free to access for a short time. The collection can be found here.

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

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Could wasp venom peptide keep catheters sterile? Journal of Materials Chemistry B article in Chemistry World

Researchers in Singapore have shown a peptide in wasp venom could be used to stop bacteria colonising materials implanted in the body.

Our increasing reliance on implantable devices such as catheters and stents, combined with the rapid evolution of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria has created a challenge for the medical community.

Read the full article by Jess Cocker in Chemistry World
 
Immobilization of Polybia-MPI by allyl glycidyl ether based brush chemistry to generate novel antimicrobial surface
Anindya Basu, Biswajit Mishra and Susanna Su Jan Leong  
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2013, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/C3TB20805B
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Themed Issue on Porous Carbon Materials now published

Porous carbon materials are at the heart of many energy-related and environmental applications.  This themed issue in Journal of Materials Chemistry A covers all aspects of the recent exciting progress in the field, including the synthesis, functionalization, nanostructure, characterization, and application of porous carbons.

Guest editors An-Hui Lu and Sheng Dai introduce the issue in their editorial. The full issue can be found here.

Below is a sample of the Papers, Communications, Highlights and Feature Articles that can be found in the porous carbon materials themed issue:

Feature Articles

Functionalization of porous carbons for catalytic applications
José Luís Figueiredo

Advanced porous carbon electrodes for electrochemical capacitors
Li Li Zhang, Yi Gu and X. S. Zhao

Highlights

Dynamic electrosorption analysis: a viable liquid-phase characterization method for porous carbon?
Chi Cheng, Junwu Zhu, Xiaowei Yang, Ling Qiu, Yufei Wang and Dan Li  

Communications

Salt and sugar: direct synthesis of high surface area carbon materials at low temperatures via hydrothermal carbonization of glucose under hypersaline conditions
Nina Fechler, Stephanie-Angelika Wohlgemuth, Philipp Jäker and Markus Antonietti  

Papers

Synthesis of hierarchical porous carbons for supercapacitors from coal tar pitch with nano-Fe2O3 as template and activation agent coupled with KOH activation
Xiaojun He, Nan Zhao, Jieshan Qiu, Nan Xiao, Moxin Yu, Chang Yu, Xiaoyong Zhang and Mingdong Zheng

Preparation of a freestanding, macroporous reduced graphene oxide film as an efficient and recyclable sorbent for oils and organic solvents
Seung Jae Yang, Jong Hun Kang, Haesol Jung, Taehoon Kim and Chong Rae Park  
 

Magnetic hollow carbon nanospheres for removal of chromium ions
Lu-Hua Zhang, Qiang Sun, Dong-Hai Liu and An-Hui Lu

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 August!

Crystal structure and chemistry of topological insulators
R. J. Cava, Huiwen Ji, M. K. Fuccillo, Q. D. Gibson and Y. S. Hor

DNA-functionalized silver nanoclusters as a chemopalette: tunable fluorescence for turn-on detection of cysteine
Guoliang Liu, Da-Qian Feng, Xiaoyu Mu, Wenjie Zheng. Tianfeng Chen, Li Qi and Dan Li

A novel polymeric precursor for micro/mesoporous nitrogen-doped carbons
Qiang Zhao, Tim-Patrick Fellinger, Markus Antonietti and Jiayin Yuan
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Hot Article: Transition metal oxide alloys as potential solar energy conversion materials

Transition metal oxide alloys as potential solar energy conversion materials

Although calculating the likelihood that the Sun will rise tomorrow is far from trivial, solar power remains an extremely promising source of sustainable energy. Widespread adoption of current-generation photovoltaics (PV) is held back by low efficiency and the high cost of manufacturing the necessary single-crystal silicon. Inexpensive, naturally occurring transition metal oxides (TMOs) such as iron(II) oxide, manganese(II) oxide and nickel(II) oxide would be cost-effective but they currently suffer from extremely low efficiency.

Toroker and Carter recently attempted to tackle this problem using a computational approach. They simulated the effect that combining different TMOs would have on their usefulness in PV applications. They considered four key properties: band gap, the type of states at band edges, the band edge positions and the band gap centre (BGC) offset – a new metric proposed by the authors. Through the simulations, they found it was possible to prepare more useful materials when using combinations of TMOs. For example, the band gaps of MgO, MnO, NiO and ZnO – which are normally too high to absorb solar energy – could be reduced in an alloy formed with FeO.

Their calculations suggest that an alloy of 3:1 NiO:FeO would satisfy all their criteria for a useful PV. They suggest that the next step in the process is to devise a strategy for doping to improve conductivity.

Transition metal oxide alloys as potential solar energy conversion materials

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013, 1, 2474.  DOI:10.1039/C2TA00816E

James Serginson is a guest web writer for the Journal of Materials Chemistry blog. He currently works at Imperial College London carrying out research into nanocomposites.

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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If everything is chemistry then I need to do chemistry

Chemistry World Content Editor Jennifer Newton interviewed Cafer Yavuz from KAIST about his career in Chemistry including his exciting research on materials for carbon dioxide capture.

Read the interview in Chemistry World here.

Read Yavuz’s recent article in Journal of Materials Chemistry:

High capacity carbon dioxide adsorption by inexpensive covalent organic polymers
Hasmukh A. Patel, Ferdi Karadas, Ali Canlier, Joonho Park, Erhan Deniz, Yousung Jung, Mert Atilhan and Cafer T. Yavuz
J. Mater. Chem., 2012,22, 8431-8437
DOI: 10.1039/C2JM30761H

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Journal of Materials Chemistry B Paper featured in Materials Views

A paper by Dr Tal Dvir of Tel Aviv University has been featured in Materials Views: Gold nanofibers improve heart function.

This paper reports on the fabrication of new scaffolds for cardiac tissue engineering, featuring the incorporation of gold nanoparticles into a 3D fibrous matrix. Improved connectivity and electrical signalling transfer were observed in cells cultured on the composite biomaterials, compared to cells cultured on scaffolds without nanoparticles. These scaffolds may potentially lead to a new treatment and an improved outcome for patients whose cardiac tissue has been damaged during a heart attack.

The full research paper can be found here:

Nanoengineering gold particle composite fibers for cardiac tissue engineering
Michal Shevach, Ben M. Maoz, Ron Feiner, Assaf Shapira and Tal Dvir

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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Top 10 most-read Journal of Materials Chemistry C articles – Q2 2013

This month sees the following Journal of Materials Chemistry C articles that are in the top ten most accessed from April – June:

Two-dimensional semiconductors: recent progress and future perspectives 
Xiufeng Song, Jinlian Hu and Haibo Zeng    
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2013,1, 2952-2969 
DOI: 10.1039/C3TC00710C 

Crystallization, phase evolution and ferroelectric properties of sol–gel-synthesized Ba(Ti0.8Zr0.2)O3–x(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3 thin films
Zeng-mei Wang, Kuan Zhao, Xin-li Guo, Wei Sun, Hua-long Jiang, Xue-qin Han, Xu-tang Tao, Zhen-xiang Cheng, Hong-yang Zhao, Hideo Kimura, Guo-liang Yuan, Jiang Yin and Zhi-guo Liu    
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2013,1, 522-530 
DOI: 10.1039/C2TC00020B 

Transparent, flexible conducting graphene hybrid films with a subpercolating network of silver nanowires 
Yang Liu, Quanhong Chang and Lei Huang  
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2013,1, 2970-2974 
DOI: 10.1039/C3TC30178H 

Development of high performance OLEDs for general lighting
Hisahiro Sasabe and Junji Kido 
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2013,1, 1699-1707 
DOI: 10.1039/C2TC00584K 

On the origin of the shift in color in white organic light-emitting diodes 
Shufen Chen, Qiang Wu, Min Kong, Xiaofei Zhao, Zhen Yu, Pengpeng Jia and Wei Huang  
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2013,1, 3508-3524 
DOI: 10.1039/C3TC00766A 

Ferroelectric nanoparticles, wires and tubes: synthesis, characterisation and applications 
Justin Varghese, Roger W. Whatmore and Justin D. Holmes 
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2013,1, 2618-2638 
DOI: 10.1039/C3TC00597F 

Recent advances in mechanochromic luminescent metal complexes 
Xiqi Zhang, Zhenguo Chi, Yi Zhang, Siwei Liu and Jiarui Xu 
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2013,1, 3376-3390 
DOI: 10.1039/C3TC30316K 

High-performance pure blue phosphorescent OLED using a novel bis-heteroleptic iridium(iii) complex with fluorinated bipyridyl ligands
Florian Kessler, Yuichiro Watanabe, Hisahiro Sasabe, Hiroshi Katagiri, Md. K. Nazeeruddin, Michael Grätzel and Junji Kido
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2013,1, 1070-1075 
DOI: 10.1039/C2TC00836J 

Seeded growth route to noble metal nanostructures 
Chuanbo Gao, James Goebl and Yadong Yin 
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2013,1, 3898-3909 
DOI: 10.1039/C3TC30365A 

Ternary and quaternary metal chalcogenide nanocrystals: synthesis, properties and applications
Dmitry Aldakov, Aurélie Lefrançois and Peter Reiss    
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2013,1, 3756-3776 
DOI: 10.1039/C3TC30273C 

Why not take a look at the articles today and blog your thoughts and comments below.

Fancy submitting an article to Journal of Materials Chemistry C? Then why not submit to us today!

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Top 10 most-read Journal of Materials Chemistry B articles – Q2 2013

This month sees the following Journal of Materials Chemistry B articles that are in the top ten most accessed from April – June:

Recent advancements of graphene in biomedicine 
Huacheng Zhang, George Grüner and Yanli Zhao  
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2013,1, 2542-2567 
DOI: 10.1039/C3TB20405G 

Redox active gels: synthesis, structures and applications 
Xiaofeng Sui, Xueling Feng, Mark A. Hempenius and G. Julius Vancso  
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2013,1, 1658-1672 
DOI: 10.1039/C3TB00209H 

Carbon “quantum” dots for optical bioimaging
Pengju G. Luo, Sushant Sahu, Sheng-Tao Yang, Sumit K. Sonkar, Jinping Wang, Haifang Wang, Gregory E. LeCroy, Li Cao and Ya-Ping Sun 
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2013,1, 2116-2127 
DOI: 10.1039/C3TB00018D 

Functionalized-chitosan/quantum dot nano-hybrids for nanomedicine applications: towards biolabeling and biosorbing phosphate metabolites 
Herman S. Mansur, Alexandra A. P. Mansur, Elisabete Curti and Mauro V. De Almeida
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2013,1, 1696-1711 
DOI: 10.1039/C3TB00498H 

One-step preparation of nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots from oxidized debris of graphene oxide 
Chaofan Hu, Yingliang Liu, Yunhua Yang, Jianghu Cui, Zirong Huang, Yaling Wang, Lufeng Yang, Haibo Wang, Yong Xiao and Jianhua Rong    
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2013,1, 39-42 
DOI: 10.1039/C2TB00189F 

Nanoporous microspheres: from controllable synthesis to healthcare applications 
Jun-Bing Fan, Chao Huang, Lei Jiang and Shutao Wang  
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2013,1, 2222-2235 
DOI: 10.1039/C3TB00021D

Luminescent S-doped carbon dots: an emergent architecture for multimodal applications 
Sourov Chandra, Prasun Patra, Shaheen H. Pathan, Shuvrodeb Roy, Shouvik Mitra, Animesh Layek, Radhaballabh Bhar, Panchanan Pramanik and Arunava Goswami  
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2013,1, 2375-2382 
DOI: 10.1039/C3TB00583F 

Multifunctional core–shell upconversion nanoparticles for targeted tumor cells induced by near-infrared light 
Xiaojun Yang, Qianqian Xiao, Caixia Niu, Nan Jin, Jin Ouyang, Xueyuan Xiao and Dacheng He 
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2013,1, 2757-2763
DOI: 10.1039/C3TB00575E 

Biopolymer functionalized reduced graphene oxide with enhanced biocompatibility via mussel inspired coatings/anchors
Chong Cheng, Shengqiang Nie, Shuang Li, Hong Peng, Hang Yang, Lang Ma, Shudong Sun and Changsheng Zhao    
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2013,1, 265-275 
DOI: 10.1039/C2TB00025C 

Core–shell designs of photoluminescent nanodiamonds with porous silica coatings for bioimaging and drug delivery I: fabrication 
Eva von Haartman, Hua Jiang, Andrei A. Khomich, Jixi Zhang, Sergey A. Burikov, Tatiana A. Dolenko, Janne Ruokolainen, Hongchen Gu, Olga A. Shenderova, Igor I. Vlasov and Jessica M. Rosenholm  
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2013,1, 2358-2366 
DOI: 10.1039/C3TB20308E 

Why not take a look at the articles today and blog your thoughts and comments below.

Fancy submitting an article to Journal of Materials Chemistry B? Then why not submit to us today!

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Top 10 most-read Journal of Materials Chemistry A articles – Q2 2013

This month sees the following Journal of Materials Chemistry A articles that are in the top ten most accessed from April – June:

Electrophoretic fabrication of highly robust, efficient, and benign heterojunction photoelectrocatalysts based on graphene-quantum-dot sensitized TiO2 nanotube arrays 
Dengyu Pan, Chen Xi, Zhen Li, Liang Wang, Zhiwen Chen, Bo Lu and Minghong Wu 
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013,1, 3551-3555 
DOI: 10.1039/C3TA00059A 

Enhancing the efficiency of low bandgap conducting polymer bulk heterojunction solar cells using P3HT as a morphology control agent 
Sheng-Yung Chang, Hsueh-Chung Liao, Yu-Tsun Shao, Yu-Ming Sung, Sheng-Hao Hsu, Chun-Chih Ho, Wei-Fang Su and Yang-Fang Chen    
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013,1, 2447-2452 
DOI: 10.1039/C2TA00990K 

Synthesis of visible light-active CeO2 sheets via mussel-inspired CaCO3 mineralization 
Jong Wan Ko, Jae Hong Kim and Chan Beum Park    
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013,1, 241-245 
DOI: 10.1039/C2TA00782G 

Synthesis and crystal chemistry of the hybrid perovskite (CH3NH3)PbI3 for solid-state sensitised solar cell applications 
Tom Baikie, Yanan Fang, Jeannette M. Kadro, Martin Schreyer, Fengxia Wei, Subodh G. Mhaisalkar, Michael Graetzel and Tim J. White
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013,1, 5628-5641 
DOI: 10.1039/C3TA10518K 

Solid electrolyte coated high voltage layered–layered lithium-rich composite cathode: Li1.2Mn0.525Ni0.175Co0.1O2 
Surendra K. Martha, Jagjit Nanda, Yoongu Kim, Raymond R. Unocic, Sreekanth Pannala and Nancy J. Dudney    
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013,1, 5587-5595 
DOI: 10.1039/C3TA10586E 

A facilely prepared polypyrrole–reduced graphene oxide composite with a crumpled surface for high performance supercapacitor electrodes 
Tao Qian, Chenfei Yu, Shishan Wu and Jian Shen    
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013,1, 6539-6542 
DOI: 10.1039/C3TA11146F 

Graphene-based mesoporous nanocomposites of spherical shape with a 2-D layered structure 
Lee-hwa Song, Sung Nam Lim, Kyoung-Ku Kang and Seung Bin Park 
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013,1, 6719-6722 
DOI: 10.1039/C3TA10899F 

Transmetalation: routes to metal exchange within metal–organic frameworks
Marianne Lalonde, Wojciech Bury, Olga Karagiaridi, Zachary Brown, Joseph T. Hupp and Omar K. Farha 
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013,1, 5453-5468 
DOI: 10.1039/C3TA10784A 

Independent control of water retention and acid–base pairing through double-shelled microcapsules to confer membranes with enhanced proton conduction under low humidity 
Jingtao Wang, Zizhuo Zhang, Xiujun Yue, Lingli Nie, Guangwei He, Hong Wu and Zhongyi Jiang 
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013,1, 2267-2277 
DOI: 10.1039/C2TA00186A 

Chemically tailoring the nanostructure of graphene nanosheets to confine sulfur for high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries
Bing Ding, Changzhou Yuan, Laifa Shen, Guiyin Xu, Ping Nie, Qingxue Lai and Xiaogang Zhang  
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013,1, 1096-1101 
DOI: 10.1039/C2TA00396A 

Why not take a look at the articles today and blog your thoughts and comments below.

Fancy submitting an article to Journal of Materials Chemistry A? Then why not submit to us today!

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