PPS Blog

Issue 3 of PPS has been published online. This issue is a collection of papers presented at the 6th European meeting on Solar Chemistry and Photocatalysis: Environmental Applications (SPEA6), which was held in Prague, Czech Republic, in June 2010, and was organized by Josef Krysa and Jaromýr Jirkovsky. The issue is guest edited by Josef Krysa and Sixto Malato.

The cover of the issue features a paper by Rudolf Słota and coworkers on photocatalysis by TiO₂ composites with phthalocyanines and porphyrins. They show the importance of matching the sensitizer to the nature of the TiO₂ (micro- or nanocrystalline).

Also in the issue, Maria Antoniadou and Panagiotis Lianos have made a photoactivated fuel cell that uses organic waste to produce electricity. They tested the system on a number of polyols, but suggest that almost any organic substance can be used. The cell uses UVA light, and can run on the UV component of sunlight.

These papers and the rest of the issue can be read online now.

The February 2011 issue of PPS has been published online. This issue contains the 2010 assessment from the Environmental Effects Assessment Panel of the the United Nations Environment Programme.

The papers in the issue review the latest research on the depletion of the ozone layer and the effects of UV radiation on human health, the environment and materials.

In the 1980s the “ozone hole” was big news and “slip, slop, slap and wrap” and similar campaigns have been heavily promoted in some parts of the world, so it is very interesting reading in the report how effective the Montreal Protocol has been, with the mid-latitude ozone predicted to reach pre-1980 levels by the middle of this century.

Climate change is, of course, not the same as ozone depletion, but the two atmospheric phenomena can’t exist in isolation and the report discusses their interactions. Although the ozone layer is recovering, the report points out that changes in climate (e.g. cloud cover, pollution, other aerosols) also affect the amount of UV-B that reaches the Earth’s surface. Because future climate change is less certain, this means that the effects of UV on health and the environment are still difficult to predict.

Full reports from UNEP have been published every four years (the last was in the March 2007 issue of PPS), and PPS has also published annual progress reports.

As well as the detailed papers, the issue also includes an Executive summary and a FAQ.

Read the whole issue now.

The current themed issue gathers the communications presented at the meeting on “Ciamician–Paternò heritage. Photosciences: a look into the future”, held in Ferrara, Italy, July 16–17, 2010. The participants at the meeting discussed their views on the future of photochemistry. Those are captured in this themed issue (two more perspectives will appear in future issues of PPS). We would like to thank Angelo Albini, University of Pavias, Italy, who guest edited this issue.

Read articles from this themed issue online:

Photochemical & photobiological sciences, 2010, issue 12

Our latest themed issue on Photofunctional proteins: from understanding to engineering, is now online.  The issue was guest edited by Professors Aba Losi, Cristiano Viappiani and Santi Nonell.

It contains various topics such as optogenetics where light-gated proteins originally designed by nature, also known as photoreceptors,are exploited as tools to elegantly photomodulate cell activities. Other topics cover fluorescent proteins and its applications in genetic engineering. Fluorescent proteins have revolutionized the field of molecular biology and in fact this was recognized with the 2008 Nobel Prize awarded to the pioneers in the field Osamu Shimomura, Martin Chalfie and Roger Y. Tsien.

We hope that you will find this themed issue on photofunctional proteins an enjoyable read.

The July issue of Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences is a themed issue dedicated to Jan Verhoeven in honour of the contributions he has made to science, and in particular to the field of molecular photophysics. The issue is Guest Edited by Anthony Harriman from Newcastle University, UK, and the papers in the issue are from his many colleagues who have had, and continue to benefit from, the privilege to work alongside Professor Jan Verhoeven.

To view all of the Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences themed issues visit our website.