RSC Publishing Blog

Last year marked the benzene molecule’s 200th anniversary since Michael Faraday’s seminal discovery. Benzene is an iconic and ubiquitous molecule in chemistry – one that has profoundly shaped the modern world. Read the themed collection now.

Guest edited by Ben Feringa (University of Groningen) and Nazario Martin (University Complutense of Madrid, and IMDEA-Nanoscience), this collection takes a broad perspective on carbon-based systems, for both fundamental and applied research, that can be regarded as benzene’s direct heirs. The scope of the collection focused on the concepts of aromaticity and antiaromaticity, as well as on molecular and material systems predominantly composed of carbon. This includes Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), nanographenes derived from top-down synthesis, molecular nanographenes from bottom-up synthesis, graphene and its derivatives (graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide), as well as carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, and benzene-based molecular machines. Additionally, the scope extends to (anti)aromatic compounds synthesized via on-surface methodologies.

Editorial

Benzene at 200: from a simple ring to a universe of fused aromatic carbon (open access) Nazario Martín, Ben L. Feringa, Chem. Sci., 2026, 17, 12167–12168.

Reviews

Communications

We are delighted to introduce you to our Editors-in-Chief of the two new, recently announced Royal Society of Chemistry journals: EES Batteries and EES Solar, part of the EES family journals.

Dr Qiang Zhang is a full professor in the Chemical Engineering Department, Tsinghua University, China. His group mainly focuses on advanced energy chemistry and energy materials, including dendrite-free lithium metal anodes, lithium sulfur batteries, electrolytes, solid state batteries, and energy electrocatalysis. Find out more here and on Dr Zhang’s group webpage here. You can also read some of Dr Zhang’s recent research below:

A brief history of zinc–air batteries: 140 years of epic adventures
Jia-Ning Liu, Chang-Xin Zhao, Juan Wang, Ding Ren, Bo-Quan Li and Qiang Zhang
Energy Environ. Sci., 2022,15, 4542-4553.

A data-driven bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst with a record-breaking ΔE = 0.57 V for ampere-hour-scale zinc-air batteries
Jia-Ning Liu, Chang-Xin Zhao, Juan Wang, Xuan-Qi Fang, Chen-Xi Bi, Bo-Quan Li, Qiang Zhang
Joule, 2024, 8, 1804-1819.

Prof. Michael Saliba is a full professor and the director of the Institute for Photovoltaics (ipv) at the University of Stuttgart. He holds a dual appointment at the Helmholtz Research Center Jülich, Germany. His research focuses on a fundamental understanding of optoelectronic materials with an emphasis on emerging perovskites for a sustainable energy future. Find out more here and read some of Professor Saliba’s recent research below:

All-perovskite tandem solar cells: from fundamentals to technological progress
Jaekeun Lim, Nam-Gyu Park, Sang Il Seok and Michael Saliba
Energy Environ. Sci., 2024, 17, 4390-4425.

Overcoming ionic migration in perovskite solar cells through alkali metals
Clara A. Aranda, Agustin O. Alvarez, Vladimir S. Chivrony, Chittaranjan Das, Monika Rai, Michael Saliba
Joule, 2024, 8, 241-254.

EES Batteries and EES Solar open for submissions later this year, sign up for email alerts below to be one of the first to find out news about the journals.

Exceptional research in batteries, energy storage, solar energy and photovoltaics now has a dedicated home with the Royal Society of Chemistry.

EES Batteries and EES Solar are part of the EES journal family, which is known for delivering outstanding publications. This is where progress begins.

“I am delighted to be the inaugural Editor-in-Chief of EES Batteries and intend for this journal to be established as a cornerstone of innovation, and a beacon for sustainable energy solutions that actively shape the future of energy technologies globally.” Qiang Zhang – EES Batteries	“I am driven to advance the global transition to a sustainable energy future, and to shape EES Solar into a premier platform to exchange ideas and drive the progression of solar research.” Michael Saliba – EES Solar

Placing pharmaceutics at the forefront of health solutions

RSC Pharmaceutics will be a place for you to explore and publish crucial research in pharmaceutics. This journal will harness the power of chemistry and related disciplines to build a healthier world for all. You can expect compelling publications that cover emerging technologies and techniques in pharmaceutics, including drug delivery, precision medicine and enhanced drug targeting. Find out more on our webpage.

Introducing our editor-in-chief

There are many exciting updates to come, including details on our editorial board and scope. Sign up for alerts to hear more.

Where did the idea for RSC Mechanochemistry come from?

We decided to create RSC Mechanochemistry after top researchers from our community approached us directly with a new, innovative journal proposal.

Meet our Editors-in-Chief

James Batteas Texas A&M University	Tomislav Friščić University of Birmingham

The idea behind RSC Mechanochemistry is compelling. This journal will be a platform for scientists to examine all aspects of mechanochemistry, from the fundamentals to applied work in many disciplines.

Find out more on the journal webpage.

Until now, there has been no dedicated mechanochemistry journal. The launch of RSC Mechanochemistry changes this.

We will be sharing more news soon, including details on our editorial board and scope. Sign up for email alerts to stay updated.

Discover new journals to publish your applied research

Discover the journal

Discover the journal

RSC Applied Interfaces is an interdisciplinary home for articles on applied interfacial and surface research. While RSC Applied Polymers offers a dedicated platform for work on the application of natural and synthetic polymers. These two new titles complement our current portfolio, which includes journals on materials and polymer research. We want to give you more options to discover and publish innovative articles across the spectrum of interfacial and polymer science. Both of these journals are gold open access, and we will be covering all article processing charges until mid-2025.

Introducing our editors-in-chief

Sign up for email alerts for RSC Applied Interfaces and RSC Applied Polymers to receive future updates

We are delighted to announce two RSC receptions taking place at the American Chemical Society (ACS) Fall meeting in Chicago, USA, and the EuChemS Chemistry Congress in Lisbon, Portugal at the end of this month.

Both symposia will celebrate our recent three journal launches:

• EES Catalysis publishing exceptional research on energy and environmental catalysis – now open for submissions
• RSC Sustainability is dedicated to sustainable chemistry and new solutions – now open for submissions
• Sustainable Food Technology cultivates sustainable solutions to food processing and engineering challenges – opening for submissions next week.

Join us at our receptions to celebrate

If you are planning to attend either ACS Fall or the EuChemS Chemistry Congress, we’d love you to join our receptions.

• ACS Fall: join us on the RSC stand on Tuesday 23^rd August at 5-6pm
• EuChemS: Come find us at our Royal Society of Chemistry stand to get your invitation.

We look forward to meeting you there,

Royal Society of Chemistry

On behalf of

Shizhang Qiao Editor-in-Chief EES Catalysis	Tom Welton Editor-in-Chief RSC Sustainability	Jorge Barros Velázquez Editor-in-Chief Sustainable Food Technology

We are delighted to welcome Professor Shizhang Qiao, The University of Adelaide, Australia, as the inaugural Editor-in-Chief of EES Catalysis, a new open access journal publishing high quality research on energy and environmental catalysis.

Learn more about our new Editor-in-Chief

Professor Shizhang Qiao is chair professor at the School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials, and the founding director of the Centre for Materials in Energy and Catalysis, University of Adelaide. His research expertise is in nanostructured materials for electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, batteries and other new energy technologies.

Find out more about Professor Qiao on the EES Catalysis webpage.

You can read some of Professor Qiao’s research in these papers below:

Design of electrocatalysts for oxygen- and hydrogen-involving energy conversion reactions

Yan Jiao, Yao Zheng, Mietek Jaroniec and Shizhang Qiao

Chem. Soc. Rev., 2015, 44, 2060-2086

Role of oxygen-bound reaction intermediates in selective electrochemical CO₂ reduction

Xing Zhi, Anthony Vasileff, Yao Zheng, Yan Jiao and Shizhang Qiao

Energy Environ. Sci., 2021, 14, 3912-3930

EES Catalysis will open for submissions in August 2022. Sign up here to receive updates.

Please join us in welcoming Professor Qiao to EES Catalysis.

We are delighted to welcome Professor Jorge Barros Velázquez, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, as the inaugural Editor-in-Chief of Sustainable Food Technology a new open access journal publishing sustainable approaches to food processing and engineering.

“We need to find the solutions to our biggest challenges in food production and processing. Sustainable Food Technology acts as a forum for scientists worldwide who wish to produce better, safer foods that respect our environment. I am more than delighted to be part of this exciting project.”

Learn more about our new Editor-In-Chief

Since 2007, Jorge Barros Velázquez has been a professor of food technology at the University of Santiago de Compostela, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Food Science. Jorge obtained his PhD in food microbiology in 1992. His post-doc experience includes the National Food Biotechnology Centre (Cork, Ireland) and the Institute for Marine Research (Vigo, Spain). Since 1992, Jorge has been involved in the direction of more than 30 scientific projects on food microbiology, food technology and food safety – and has participated in another 15 projects.

Jorge’s research interests include the development of novel preservation tools for seafood and other animal foods, such as the use of lactic acid bacteria and their bacteriocins, natural organic acids, essential oils, algae extracts or seafood wastes, as well as active food packaging strategies.

Find out more about Professor Barros Velázquez on our Sustainable Food Technology webpage.

Read Foodomics, a book edited by Jorge, here:

Foodomics: Omic Strategies and Applications in Food Science

Editor: Jorge Barros Velázquez, Royal Society of Chemistry, 2021.

Sustainable Food Technology will open for submissions in August 2022 so make sure to sign up to receive the latest updates.

Please join us in welcoming Professor Barros Velázquez to Sustainable Food Technology.

We are delighted to welcome Professor Tom Welton, Imperial College London, UK, as the inaugural Editor-in-Chief of RSC Sustainability, a new open access journal publishing solution-focused research to solve sustainability challenges.

“With UNEP’s decision the create a Science-Policy Interface for Chemicals and Waste in March 2022, the time is ripe for the creation of RSC Sustainability. I believe this new journal has the potential to become the first choice for the publication of solutions-focussed research that informs this SPI, and, beyond this, welcome all chemical science contributions to enable any of the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Learn more about our new Editor-in-Chief

Tom Welton is Professor of Sustainable Chemistry at Imperial College London. He has published over 150 papers and has received several awards, including various lectureships, was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC, 2007) and Officer in the Order of the British Empire (OBE, 2017). From 2020 to 2022 he served as president of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He is a vocal champion of inclusion and diversity in the chemical sciences.

His research focusses on Sustainable and Green Chemistry, aiming to make related industries more environmentally and economically sustainable. Throughout his career his work has focussed on the use of ionic liquids with uses in organic, inorganic and physical chemistry. He is interested in the fundamental properties of ionic liquids and how they can be used as alternative solvents or electrolytes. Tom also works on the clean synthesis and processing of biomass-derived polymers to replace petrochemical-based plastics and understanding how ionic liquids can play a role in making these processes more sustainable.

Read some of his recent contributions below:

A review on machine learning algorithms for the ionic liquid chemical space

Spyridon Koutsoukos, Frederik Philippi, Francisco Malaret and Tom Welton

Chemical Science, 2021, 12, 6820-6843

Investigation of the influence of natural deep eutectic solvents (NaDES) in the properties of chitosan-stabilised films

Antonella Rozaria Nefeli Pontillo, Spyridon Koutsoukos, Tom Welton and Anastasia Detsi

Materials Advances, 2021, 2, 3954-3964

Themed issue on Non-traditional solvent effects in organic reactions

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics and Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, 2021

Guest Editors: Jason Harper, Barbara Kirchner, Paulina Pavez and Tom Welton

RSC Sustainability will open for submissions in August 2022 so make sure to sign up to receive the latest updates.

Please join us in welcoming Professor Welton to RSC Sustainability.