Journal of Materials Chemistry Blog

Hot Articles for August!

07 Aug 2013

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

06 Aug 2013

By James Serginson, web writer.

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.

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If everything is chemistry then I need to do chemistry

05 Aug 2013

By Hannah Porter, Publishing Assistant.

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

02 Aug 2013

By Katie Bayliss, Development Editor.

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

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

24 Jul 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 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(Ti_0.8Zr_0.2)O₃–x(Ba_0.7Ca_0.3)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.

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

23 Jul 2013

By Hannah Porter, Publishing Assistant.

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.

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

22 Jul 2013

By Hannah Porter, Publishing Assistant.

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: Li_1.2Mn_0.525Ni_0.175Co_0.1O₂
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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Themed issue on Carbon Bioelectronics now published

18 Jul 2013

By Katie Bayliss, Development Editor.

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 Blog

Hot Articles for August!

Hot Article: Transition metal oxide alloys as potential solar energy conversion materials

If everything is chemistry then I need to do chemistry

Journal of Materials Chemistry B Paper featured in Materials Views

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

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

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

Themed issue on Carbon Bioelectronics now published

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

July’s Hot Articles!

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