Journal of Materials Chemistry Blog

Themed issue on Carbon Bioelectronics now published

18 Jul 2013

The Journal of Materials Chemistry B themed issue on Carbon Bioelectronics has now been published online.
This themed issue highlights the unique advantages carbon-based electronic materials bring to the field of bioelectronics. Guest editors Mohammad Reza Abidian, Andrew T. S. Wee and George G. Malliaras introduce the issue in their editorial. The full issue can be found here.

Below is a sample of the Papers, Communications, Applications and Feature Articles that can be found in the Carbon Bioelectronics themed issue:

Feature Articles:
Hydrogen-bonds in molecular solids- from biological systems to organic electronics
Eric Daniel Głowacki, Mihai Irimia-Vladu, Siegfried Bauer and Niyazi Serdar Sariciftci

Applications:
Water-gated organic field effect transistors – opportunities for biochemical sensing and extracellular signal transduction
T. Cramer, A. Campana, F. Leonardi, S. Casalini, A. Kyndiah, M. Murgia and F. Biscarini

Communications:
Self-deployable current sources fabricated from edible materials
Young Jo Kim, Sang-Eun Chun, Jay Whitacre and Christopher J. Bettinger

Papers:
Thin film hydrophilic electroactive polymer coatings for bioelectrodes
Sungchul Baek, Rylie Green, Anthony Granville, Penny Martens and Laura Poole-Warren

PEDOT:gelatin composites mediate brain endothelial cell adhesion
Manuelle Bongo, Orawan Winther-Jensen, Scott Himmelberger, Xenofon Strakosas, Marc Ramuz, Adel Hama, Eleni Stavrinidou, George G. Malliaras, Alberto Salleo, Bjorn Winther-Jensen and Roisin M. Owens

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Hot Article: Electrochemically assisted bacteria encapsulation in thin hybrid sol–gel films

12 Jul 2013

By James Serginson, web writer.

Electrochemically assisted bacteria encapsulation in thin hybrid sol–gel films

Bacteria are typically cast in one of two roles: either vile, disease-causing microkillers evolving faster than science can keep up or as benevolent, yoghurt-borne wardens of the digestive system. An increasingly important third job is that of efficient, microscopic machines capable of producing complex biomolecules such as DNA or insulin, working as biosensors or acting as highly-specific catalysts.

A recent paper by Ghach et al. focuses on encapsulating bacteria in thin silica films in order to make them more practical for use in bioelectronic sensors. They developed two methods of preparing films. Firstly, a two-step process where bacteria were immobilised on an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode before a silica-based sol was deposited over them. The second method was a one-step where the sol and the bacteria were deposited at the same time (shown above). Trehalose, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and chitosan were also present in the sol to improve cell viability.

Using the two-step process, the researchers found that by varying deposition times it was possible to prepare films with a thickness between 82 nm and 2 μm. With optimum conditions, 95% cell viability was observed after one month. For the one-step process, which resulted in a composite film containing homogeneously dispersed bacteria, it was shown that encapsulated luminescent E. coli still exhibited 50% luminescence after storage for four weeks.

Electrochemically assisted bacteria encapsulation in thin hybrid sol–gel films

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2013, 1, 1052. DOI:10.1039/C2TB00421F

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.

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July’s Hot Articles!

09 Jul 2013

By Katie Bayliss, Development Editor.

Asymmetric PSt-EA/Ni-Silicate hollow microsphere with a hierarchical porous shell
Yufeng Zhou, Wanquan Jiang, Shouhu Xuan, Xinglong Gong, Fang Ye, Sheng Wang and Qunling Fang

Revealing the structural properties of hydrogenated black TiO2 nanocrystals
Ting Xia and Xiaobo Chen

The elastic and optical properties of a bent-core thiadiazole nematic liquid crystal: the role of the bend angle
S. Kaur, L. Tian, H. Liu, C. Greco, A. Ferrarini, J. Seltmann, M. Lehmann and H. F. Gleeson

These papers are free to access until 27th August!

Read more »

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Journal of Materials Chemistry Impact Factor increases to 6.101

24 Jun 2013

By Sam Keltie, Executive Editor.

We are delighted to announce that the 2012 Impact Factor* for Journal of Materials Chemistry is 6.101!

This is the journal’s highest ever value and a continued increase over previous years. This shows the high quality and impact that work published in the journal represents. We would like to thank our authors, referees, readers and Editorial and Advisory Board members for all your contributions to the success of Journal of Materials Chemistry.

We are also delighted to announce that the 2012 Immediacy Index^# for Journal of Materials Chemistry is 1.130!

We envision this success to continue with the three new journals: Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C. Submit your next high impact paper to Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B or C and enjoy all the benefits of being an RSC author!

The 2012 Impact Factor* for Journal of Materials Chemistry is currently missing from the 2012 Journal Citation Reports®, (Thomson Reuters, 2013) due to a technical error by Thomson Reuters. The 2012 Journal Citation Reports® Notice files contains the 2012 Journal of Materials Chemistry date, which can be found here.

Find out how other Royal Society of Chemistry journals are ranked in the latest Impact Factor release.

Top cited Journal of Materials Chemistry articles:

Feature Articles
A review of chemical vapour deposition of graphene on copper
Cecilia Mattevi, Hokwon Kim and Manish Chhowall
Mesoporous silica nanoparticle based nano drug delivery systems: synthesis, controlled drug release and delivery, pharmacokinetics and biocompatibility
Qianjun He and Jianlin Shi
Chemical doping of graphene
Hongtao Liu, Yunqi Liu and Daoben Zhu

Full Papers
Superparamagnetic Fe₃O₄ nanocrystals@graphene composites for energy storage devices
Baojun Li, Huaqiang Cao, Jin Shao, Meizhen Qu and Jamie H. Warner
Reduction of graphite oxide using alcohols
Daniel R. Dreyer, Shanthi Murali, Yanwu Zhu, Rodney S. Ruoff and Christopher W. Bielawski
Graphene modified LiFePO₄ cathode materials for high power lithium ion batteries
Xufeng Zhou, Feng Wang, Yimei Zhu and Zhaoping Liu

Communications
ZnO@graphene composite with enhanced performance for the removal of dye from water
Baojun Li and Huaqiang Cao

*The Impact Factor provides an indication of the average number of citations per paper. Produced annually, Impact Factors are calculated by dividing the number of citations in a year by the number of citeable articles published in the preceding two years. Data based on 2012 Journal Citation Reports®, (Thomson Reuters, 2013). There will be an impact factor for either Journal of Materials Chemistry, or Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C, every year. The 2014 Journal Citation Reports® will include the last impact factor for Journal of Materials Chemistry, and the first impact factors for the three new journals.

^#Immediacy Index is the numbers of citations in a given year to papers published in that year.

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Impact Factor* for Journal of Materials Chemistry

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June’s Hot Articles!

04 Jun 2013

By Katie Bayliss, Development Editor.

These papers are HOT as recommended by referees. All are free to read for 4 weeks!

Design of conductive crown ether based columnar liquid crystals: impact of molecular flexibility and geometry
P. Staffeld, M. Kaller, S. J. Beardsworth, K. Tremel, S. Ludwigs, S. Laschat and F. Giesselmann

A sulfur-assisted strategy to decorate MWCNTs with highly dispersed Pt nanoparticles for counter electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells
Jian Wei Guo, Bo Zhang, Yu Hou, Shuang Yang, Xiao Hua Yang and Hua Gui Yang

Efficient catalytic conversion of ammonia borane to borazine and its use for hexagonal boron nitride (white graphene)
Sung-Kwan Kim, Hyunjin Cho, Myung Jong Kim, Hee-Jun Lee, Jin-hyung Park, Young-Boo Lee, Hwan Chul Kim, Chang Won Yoon, Suk Woo Nam and Sang Ook Kang

These papers are free to access until 16th July!

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Themed Issue on Nanotechnology of Multifunctional Materials

23 May 2013

By Sam Keltie, Executive Editor.

Journal of Materials Chemistry C is planning to produce a themed issue on Nanotechnology of Multifunctional Materials in 2013. Please e-mail the editorial office at materialsC-rsc@rsc.org, if you are interested in contributing an article.

The Guest Editors of the issue will be Professor Fabio Biscarini (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy) and Dr Massimiliano Cavallini (Institute of Nanostructured Materials, CNR Bologna, Italy).

Molecular and polymeric multifunctional materials are relevant to many fields of technology, from optoelectronics, spintronics, information storage, magnetism, biosensing and energy production. They are designed to combine multiple properties and functional groups to control their self-organisation into a variety of supramolecular architectures. The technological control should not be limited to either the molecular level or in bulk, instead should span the different length scales. Devices require the control of size and position, and the integration of different materials.

The deadline for the receipt of manuscripts for this themed issue is 1 July 2013

Manuscripts can be submitted using the RSC’s online submissions service. Please clearly mark that the manuscript is submitted for the themed issue on ‘Nanotechnology of Multifunctional Materials’.

Please would you inform the editorial office by e-mail at materialsC-rsc@rsc.org as soon as possible if you plan to submit to the issue and whether your contribution will be original research or a review-type article. We would like to have a list of authors who intend to contribute as soon as possible.

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Taking the shine off: Journal of Materials Chemistry A article in Chemistry World

22 May 2013

By Hannah Porter, Publishing Assistant.

Painting used to test method with a white dot to show test area (left). Test area before (middle) and after (right) cleaning

Painting restoration could be yet another application for ionic liquids, new research shows. The work paves the way to safer procedures for cleaning paintings.

Over time, varnish applied to the top of oil paintings tends to yellow and accumulate dirt. Current conservation methods involve cleaning paintings with organic solvents but these pose environmental and health risks. Now, researchers in Portugal have demonstrated that using ionic liquids is a less toxic way to remove varnishes from paintings.

Read the full article by Jess Cocker in Chemistry World

Varnish removal from paintings using ionic liquids
Maria Filipa Pacheco, Ana Isabel Pereira, Luís C. Branco and A. Jorge Parola
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3TA10679A

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Xinliang Feng wins the 2013 Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship

16 May 2013

By Sam Keltie, Executive Editor.

We are delighted to announce Professor Xinliang Feng has won the 2013 Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship.

Professor Feng is the fourth winner of the Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship. The Journal of Materials Chemistry Executive Editorial Board chose Professor Feng in recognition of the contribution he has made to the materials chemistry field.

Professor Feng will present the lectureship at ICMAT 2013 later this year and will be presented with the award by the Managing Editor of the journals Dr Liz Dunn.

Profesor Feng received his Bachelor’s degree in analytic chemistry from the China University of Geosciences in 2001. Then he obtained his Master’s degree in organic chemistry from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in March 2004, where he worked on the synthesis of fluorinated ion-exchange resins and polymer-supported organic catalysts. Later on he moved to Professor Herbert Mayr’s group at the University of Munich in April 2004 for a short period to conduct research on the nucelofugality and electrofugality in organic solvolysis. In September 2004, he joined the group of Professor Klaus Mullen at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research for a PhD thesis on the synthesis and supramolecular chemistry of novel polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, where he obtained his PhD degree in April 2008.

In December 2007, he was appointed as project leader at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research. And since 2011, he became an adjunct distinguished professor at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University and was appointed as the director for the Institute of Advanced Organic Materials.

His current scientific interests include the synthesis and self-organization of extended graphene molecules, novel conjugated oligomers and polymers, and testing for applications in organic electronic devices, processable graphene sheets for transparent electrodes and organic electronics, functional organic nanomaterials for energy oriented application, graphene-based 2D nanomaterials and low-dimensional nanostructured functional carbon-rich as well as hybrid materials for energy storage and conversion, 2D conjugated and supramolecular polymers for opto-electronic applications.

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Hot Article: The reaction between Nafion sulfonyl fluoride precursor membrane and 1,4-dimethylpiperazine does not yield reliable anion-exchange membranes

13 May 2013

By Katie Bayliss, Development Editor.

This article has been made free to access for a short time!

Alkaline polymer electrolyte fuel cells (APEFCs) have received much attention as next generation, platinum free fuel cells for future energy applications. A significant challenge to the development of APEFCs is the fabrication of suitable anion-exchange membranes (AEMs) for use within the fuel cells. Recently, a synthesis based on the reaction of Nafion® sulfonyl fluoride membranes with diamine 1, 4-dimethylpiperazine has been proposed as a method for making AEMs.

In this Hot Article, Varcoe and co-workers investigate the Nafion-based systems using a combination of vibration spectroscopy, solid state NMR and measurement of ion exchange capabilities. They find strong evidence that membranes synthesised by the reported procedure are predominantly in the cation-exchange form. These findings suggest that, contrary to previous reports, the membranes are not suitable for use in electrochemical devices requiring anion exchange polymer electrolytes, such as APEFCs.

The reaction between Nafion sulfonyl fluoride precursor membrane and 1, 4-dimethylpiperazine does not yield reliable anion-exchange membranes

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013,1, 1018-1021 DOI: 10.1039/C2TA00955B

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Top 10 most-read Journal of Materials Chemistry C articles in March

08 May 2013

By Hannah Porter, Publishing Assistant.

This month sees the following Journal of Materials Chemistry C articles that are in the top ten most accessed for March:

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

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

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

Dihydropyrroloindoledione-based copolymers for organic electronics
Joseph W. Rumer, Sheng-Yao Dai, Matthew Levick, Youngju Kim, Marie-Beatrice Madec, Raja S. Ashraf, Zhenggang Huang, Stephan Rossbauer, Bob Schroeder, Laure Biniek, Scott E. Watkins, Thomas D. Anthopoulos, Rene A. J. Janssen, James R. Durrant, David J. Procter and Iain McCulloch
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2013,1, 2711-2716
DOI: 10.1039/C3TC30184B

Advances in the synthesis of ZnO nanomaterials for varistor devices
Suresh C. Pillai, John M. Kelly, Raghavendra Ramesh and Declan E. McCormack
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3TC00575E

Hierarchically self-assembled helical aromatic conjugated polymers
Kazuyoshi Watanabe, Kiyoshi Suda and Kazuo Akagi
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2013,1, 2797-2805
DOI: 10.1039/C3TC00045A

Solution-processed core-extended naphthalene diimides toward organic n-type and ambipolar semiconductors
Kazuyoshi Watanabe, Kiyoshi Suda and Kazuo Akagi
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2013,1, 2688-2695
DOI: 10.1039/C3TC00799E

A host material consisting of a phosphinic amide directly linked donor–acceptor structure for efficient blue phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes
Atsushi Wada, Takuma Yasuda, Qisheng Zhang, Yu Seok Yang, Isao Takasu, Shintaro Enomoto and Chihaya Adachi
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2013,1, 2404-2407
DOI: 10.1039/C3TC00939D

High performance ink-jet printed diketopyrrolopyrrole-based copolymer thin-film transistors using a solution-processed aluminium oxide dielectric on a flexible substrate
Sung Hoon Kim, Il Kang, Youn Goo Kim, Hye Rim Hwang, Yun-Hi Kim, Soon-Ki Kwon and Jin Jang
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2013,1, 2408-2411
DOI: 10.1039/C3TC00718A

Fused porphyrinoids as promising near-infrared absorbing dyes
Hirotaka Mori, Takayuki Tanaka and Atsuhiro
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2013,1, 2500-2519
DOI: 10.1039/C3TC00932G

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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Journal of Materials Chemistry Blog

Themed issue on Carbon Bioelectronics now published

Hot Article: Electrochemically assisted bacteria encapsulation in thin hybrid sol–gel films

July’s Hot Articles!

Journal of Materials Chemistry Impact Factor increases to 6.101

June’s Hot Articles!

Themed Issue on Nanotechnology of Multifunctional Materials

Taking the shine off: Journal of Materials Chemistry A article in Chemistry World

Xinliang Feng wins the 2013 Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship

Hot Article: The reaction between Nafion sulfonyl fluoride precursor membrane and 1,4-dimethylpiperazine does not yield reliable anion-exchange membranes

Top 10 most-read Journal of Materials Chemistry C articles in March

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