Congratulations to Mark Holden from the University of Manchester, UK, for winning the Journal of Materials Chemistry poster prize at the recent 34th Annual British Zeolite Association Conference. Mark’s winning poster was titled “In-situ Atomic Force Microscopy observation of the crystal growth of Sodalite Zincophosphate”.
High-temperature redox chemistry of La1.5+xSr0.5−xCo0.5Ni0.5O4+δ (x = 0.0, 0.2) studied in situ by neutron diffraction. A team from France and the UK has found first structural evidence of the coexistence of both anion vacancies and interstitial anions in a type of materials that could be used for solid oxide fuels. The team used neutron powder diffraction to study the redox behaviour of two n = 1 Ruddlesden–Popper oxides in real time as the sample was heated and exposed to H2. (J. Mater. Chem., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1JM10445D, Advance Article)
What can we learn about battery materials from their magnetic properties? In this Hot Article M. Stanley Whittingham and co-workers discuss how the connection between the magnetic properties and the electronic and atomic structure in Li-ion battery materials can been used to reveal details about the electrochemical performance of the battery materials. (J. Mater. Chem., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1JM00024A, Advance Article)
Switchable photoconductivity of quantum dot films using cross-linking ligands with light-sensitive structures. Using a light sensitive ligand to cross-link films of CdSe quantum dots can be used to create electrical junctions with photoswitchable conductivity say a team of US scientists. The team from Northwestern University led by Emily Weiss achieved an enhancement in the current density by an average factor of 6.5 times upon switching from visible excitation to UV excitation, which induces the ligand to switch from an open, non-conductive form to a closed, conductive form. (J. Mater. Chem., 2011, Advance Article DOI:10.1039/C0JM04397D)
Interested to know more? Read the full articles for free until 26th May
A Journal of Materials Chemistry article has been highlighted by the ACS Noteworthy Chemistry website. The article “A one-step strategy for thermal- and pH-responsive graphene oxide interpenetrating polymer hydrogel networks” by Shengtong Sun and Peiyi Wu from Fudan University, China, describes a strategy for making interpenetrating PNIPAM hydrogel networks containing graphene oxide. The cross-linking reaction is highly efficient, resulting in a hydrogel network with better mechanical strength and a two-level structural hierarchy. The hydrogel is also pH-sensitive due to the existence of residual carboxyl groups. (Shengtong Sun and Peiyi Wu, J. Mater. Chem., 2011, 21, 4095-4097.)
Read the original research article here:
Read the most-read Journal of Materials Chemistry articles of March 2011, listed below:
Materials for central nervous system regeneration: bioactive cues. In this review Christiane Gumera, Britta Rauck and Yadong Wang report on how materials-based approaches offer a way to combine synthetic and biological components to help neural regeneration. The authors outline various biomaterials that are promising for central nerve applications and they discuss the array of bioactive cues that are valuable in promoting nerve repair. (J. Mater. Chem., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C0JM04335D, Advance Article)
Organic–inorganic hybrid polysilsesquioxane nanospheres as UVA/UVB absorber and fragrance carrier. A material designed to protect you from the sun could also contain a scent say a team of scientists based in Thailand. The material is based on hybrid organic–silica particles with UVA/UVB absorptive chromophores. In addition to encapsulating fragrant molecules, these materials avoid the photocatalysis property of inorganic UV absorbers, such as TiO2 and ZnO nanoparticles, retain the minimal transdermal penetration and non-sticky nature of particulate silica particles, whilst at the same time harnessing the UV absorption characteristics of organic chromophores. (J. Mater. Chem., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C0JM04271D, Advance Article)
Graphene oxide coated core–shell structured polystyrene microspheres and their electrorheological characteristics under applied electric field. In this Hot Article a team of Korean scientists fabricate and study core–shell structured polystyrene–graphene oxide microspheres. These particles were synthesized by adsorbing graphene oxide sheets onto a polystyrene surface through a strong π–π stacking interaction. Monodispersed polystyrene microspheres were prepared as the core material using a dispersion polymerization, while the shell part of grapheme oxide was synthesized by a modified Hummers method. (J. Mater. Chem., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1JM10323G, Advance Article)
Read these articles for free until 18th May
The submission deadline for the Materials Chemistry in the Emerging Field of Synthetic Biology themed issue is just over a month away. Professor Cameron Alexander (University of Nottingham, UK) and Dr Rachel O’Reilly (Warwick University, UK) will act as the guest editors for this themed issue of Journal of Materials Chemistry. Please contact the Editorial Office if you are interested in contributing to the themed issue.
The deadline for the receipt of manuscripts for this themed issue is 21st May 2011.
Synthetic biology is a rapidly developing area of science with potentially far-reaching consequences. While much publicity has centred on what constitutes this scientific field and what possible ethical issues might be invoked, before there can be any real practical progress there needs to be a fundamental shift in the synthesis aspects of synthetic biology. Biological processes utilise highly evolved self-assembly mechanisms and a plethora of error-correction strategies in order to generate functional materials, which in combination form the working machinery of the cell. For synthetic counterparts, new chemistries will be needed to generate the precise structures that give rise to function, or to modify existing machineries in order to create wholly new behaviours.
Materials chemistry is central to this endeavour. In particular, the long-standing focus on supramolecular structure and order, function at multiple lengthscales, and emergent properties, in materials chemistry equips scientists in this area with an advantageous ‘mindset’ for synthetic biology. The ‘top-down’ approach involves re-engineering existing tools from biology to generate novel functions (IGEM etc), or even organisms (Venter). Modifications of gene circuits to do different tasks than those evolved in nature require an understanding of the biological materials that perform these functions – this is materials chemistry but applied to biological molecules and assemblies (Seeman, Turberfield). The ‘bottom-up’ approach involves completely new structures and functions that can be completely abiotic in origin, but biomimetic (or possibly ‘biosuperior’) in function. Chemistries for forming artificial cell walls (van Hest, others) and artificial actuators (Ryan, others) show how sophisticated properties can arise from relatively simple building blocks, if designed and put together in ingenious ways. The work by Cronin et al shows the extreme abiotic end of emergent synthetic biology, while that of Szostak and Mansy exemplifies a hybrid approach wherein natural components are incorporated into novel frameworks to perform synthetic biology functions. Computational materials chemistry is another important component, as not only can life-like behaviour be programmed in silico, but increasingly, insights from complex computational algorithms can be used to design synthetic biology processes such as vesicle assembly, budding and replication that can be tested in the ‘wet’ laboratory (Krasnogor).
Overall, this themed issue covers the key materials chemistries that will help to define the exciting field of synthetic biology to come. There are many opportunities in this field, and materials chemistry is at its heart. All manuscripts will be refereed in accordance to the standard procedures of Journal of Materials Chemistry, and in this respect invited articles will be treated in the same way as regular submissions to the journal.
We look forward to hearing from you if you’re interested in contributing to this themed issue.
A perfluorinated anion exchange membrane with a 1,4-dimethylpiperazinium cation demonstrated enhanced hydroxide ion conductivity.
The membrane also exhibited a better water uptake than a typical hydrocarbon anion exchange membrane with the same cation. When tested, the membrane showed a remarkable stability of over 30 days in 2 M KOH at 60 °C and good fuel cell performance. Work is ongoing to investigate the attachment of more basic cations to further enhance the hydroxide ion conductivity, fuel cell performance and long term stability.
Interested to know more? Why not read the full article for free: M.-s. J. Jung, C. G. Arges and V. Ramani, J. Mater. Chem., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/c1jm10320b
Researchers from Bar-Ilan University have developed novel hybrid silica nanoparticles (NPs) with highly photoreactive sites on their surface by incorporation of phenyl azide (PA) or benzophenone (BPh) functionality.
It is found that, in contrast to what is stated in the literature, SiO2@PA NPs are much more reactive than SiO2@PFPA ones in solid state photochemical reactions. Additionally, this is the first report of covalent immobilization of NPs into biocompatible parylene C films to form hydrophilic and functional composite films. Amine functionality has also been introduced onto the silica NPs by reaction with APTES. This approach could open up new possibilities for simple and solvent-free functionalization of materials by light.
Interested to know more? Why not read the full article for free: A. Peled, M. Naddaka and J.-P. Lellouche, J. Mater. Chem., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/c1jm00055a
ZnO single butterfly wing scales: synthesis and spatial optical anisotropy. The team from Shanghai Jiao Tong University created ZnO replicas of butterfly wing scales by using the natural scales as templates. The team says this work should help researchers to understand the mechanism behind the optical properties of functional butterfly wing scale replicas. (J. Mater. Chem., 2011, DOI:10.1039/C1JM10678C, Advance Article)
Synthesis and modelling of gold nanostars with tunable morphology and extinction spectrum. Italian scientists have created stable gold nanostars with tunable extinction properties from the visible up to 1800 nm. These nanostars could lead to the improvement of IR diagnostics or chemical sensing the team say. (J. Mater. Chem., 2011, DOI:10.1039/C0JM04519E, Advance Article)
Electrospinning fabrication, structural and mechanical characterization of rod-like virus-based composite nanofibers. A biodegradable fibrous mat that mimics the extracellular matrix has been created by a team from China and the US. The mat is formed by electrospinning tobacco mosaic virus with polyvinyl alcohol into continuous TMV–PVA composite nanofibers. (J. Mater. Chem., 2011, DOI:10.1039/C1JM00078K, Advance Article)
Read the full articles for free until the 9th May
Highly ordered π-extended discotic liquid-crystalline triindoles. In this Hot Paper a team of Spanish chemists create discotic liquid crystals based on a heptacyclic triindole arrangement. The team claim that attaching groups to the indole rings offers a great opportunity to tune the properties of these liquid crystals making them suitable for incorporation into devices. (J. Mater. Chem., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C0JM04395H Advance Article)
Solid-state photochemical and photomechanical properties of molecular crystal nanorods composed of anthracene ester derivatives. A series of photoresponsive molecular crystal nanorods have been created by a team from USA, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon. The photomechanical response of the nanorods is determined by a metastable crystalline intermediate that slowly converts into the low energy solution grown dimer crystal structure over a course of weeks. The team says that the photomechanical response of these structures arises from nonequilibrium crystal forms and cannot be predicted from the equilibrium reactant and product crystals. (J. Mater. Chem., 2011, DOI:10.1039/C1JM10228A Advance Article)
FRET-based probe for fluoride based on a phosphorescent iridium(III) complex containing triarylboron groups. A FRET-based F− probe based on carbazole-fluorene-carbazole as the fluorescent donor and a dimesitylboryl group-functionalized cationic Ir(III) complex as the phosphorescent acceptor has been designed by Chinese scientists. The introduction of dimesitylboryl groups to the Ir(III) complex unit leads to red-shifted and more intense absorption and phosphorescence emission. In addition, the FRET efficiency from the fluorescent donor to the phosphorescent acceptor is enhanced significantly. (J. Mater. Chem., 2011, DOI:10.1039/C1JM00071C Advance Article)
Read all of these Hot Articles for free until 5th May
