Chemical Science Blog

Chemical Science prize winner at IPEROP19

08 Feb 2019

Chemical Science, Sustainable Energy & Fuels, and Energy & Environmental Science were delighted to recently support the Perovskite, Organic Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics (IPEROP19) conference that took place in Kyoto, Japan from 28-29^th January 2019. On behalf of the Royal Society of Chemistry, we would like to congratulate the following prize winners who won a £200 book voucher each. A particular mention to the Chemical Science winner, Chieh-Ting Lin of Professor James Durrant’s group at Imperial College London:

Chemical Science winner: Lin, Chieh-Ting (Imperial College London)
“Probing the Enhanced Stability Against Oxygen Induced Photodegradation by Selection of Transport Layer and Defect Passivation”

Energy & Environmental Science winner: Yamaguchi, Mayu (Waseda University)
“Perovskite Precursor Solution Tuned with Polymer Addition for Effective Formation of the Photovoltaic Layer”

James Durrant (Sustainable Energy & Fuels Editor-in-Chief), Mayu Yamaguchi, Juan Bisquert (Energy & Environmental Science and Sustainable Energy & Fuels Advisory Board member)

Sustainable Energy & Fuels winner Mantulnikovs, Konstantins (EPFL)
“Differential Response of the Photoluminescence and Photocurrent of Polycrystalline CH3NH3PbI3 and CH3NH3PbBr3 to the Exposure to Oxygen and Nitrogen”

Juan Bisquert (Energy & Environmental Science and Sustainable Energy & Fuels Advisory Board member), James Durrant (Sustainable Energy & Fuels Editor-in-Chief), Konstantins Mantulnikovs, Hideo Ohkita and Atsushi Wakamiya

Awards presented by James Durrant, Editor-in-Chief of Sustainable Energy & Fuels

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Toshiharu Teranishi joins Chemical Science as an Associate Editor

31 Jan 2019

By Sarah Whitbread.

We are delighted to announce that Professor Toshiharu Teranishi has joined Chemical Science as our newest Associate Editor.

Professor Teranishi is a Professor at the Institute for Chemical Research at Kyoto University. He received his PhD from The University of Tokyo under the direction of Prof. Naoki Toshima in 1994, and spent seven and a half years at Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology as an Assistant Professor and an Associate Professor. In 2004, he moved to University of Tsukuba as a Full Professor, and moved to Kyoto University in 2011. He is a vice president of the Society of Nano Science and Technology, Japan, and an associate member of Science Council of Japan.

His current research interests include the precise structural control of inorganic nanomaterials and structure-specific functions for high-performance devices and photo-energy conversion and welcomes submissions in these areas.

Toshiharu has selected 5 fantastic Chemical Science articles that he would like to share with you. We hope you enjoy reading them!

Perspective

Plasmon-induced charge separation: chemistry and wide applications
Tetsu Tatsuma, Hiroyasu Nishi and Takuya Ishida
Chem. Sci., 2017, 8, 3325-3337
DOI: 10.1039/C7SC00031F

Edge Articles

Bio-inspired design: bulk iron–nickel sulfide allows for efficient solvent-dependent CO2 reduction
Stefan Piontek, Kai junge Puring, Daniel Siegmund, Mathias Smialkowski, Ilya Sinev, David Tetzlaff, Beatriz Roldan Cuenya and Ulf-Peter Apfel
Chem. Sci., 2019, 10, 1075-1081
DOI: 10.1039/C8SC03555E

Understanding the visible-light photocatalytic activity of GaN:ZnO solid solution: the role of Rh2−yCryO3 cocatalyst and charge carrier lifetimes over tens of seconds
Robert Godin, Takashi Hisatomi, Kazunari Domen and James R. Durrant
Chem. Sci., 2018, 9, 7546-7555
DOI: 10.1039/C8SC02348D

Efficient cleavage of aryl ether C–O linkages by Rh–Ni and Ru–Ni nanoscale catalysts operating in water
Safak Bulut, Sviatlana Siankevich, Antoine P. van Muyden, Duncan T. L. Alexander, Georgios Savoglidis, Jiaguang Zhang, Vassily Hatzimanikatis, Ning Yan and Paul J. Dyson
Chem. Sci., 2018, 9, 5530-5535
DOI: 10.1039/C8SC00742J

Visualizing the bidirectional electron transfer in a Schottky junction consisting of single CdS nanoparticles and a planar gold film
Zhimin Li, Yimin Fang, Yongjie Wang, Yingyan Jiang, Tao Liu and Wei Wang
Chem. Sci., 2017, 8, 5019-5023
DOI: 10.1039/C7SC00990A

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Infographics – ChemSci Pick of the Week

30 Jan 2019

By Sarah Whitbread.

As part of our ChemSci Pick of the Week scheme, two of our newest Picks now come with handy infographics! Check them out below:

Hollow nanoreactors for Pd-catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura coupling and O-propargyl cleavage reactions in bio-relevant aqueous media

Paolo Destito, Ana Sousa-Castillo, José R. Couceiro, Fernando López, Miguel A. Correa-Duarte and José L. Mascareñas

10.1039/C8SC04390F

A Molecular Picture of Surface Interactions of Organic Compounds on Prevalent Indoor Surfaces: Limonene Adsorption on SiO₂

Yuan Fang, Pascale Lakey, Saleh Riahi, Andrew McDonald, Mona Shrestha, Douglas J Tobias, Manabu Shiraiwa and Vicki Grassian

10.1039/C8SC05560B

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Yi-Tao Long joins Chemical Science as an Associate Editor

22 Jan 2019

By William King.

We are delighted to announce that Professor Yi-Tao Long has joined Chemical Science as an Associate Editor.

Yi-Tao is a Professor of Analytical Chemistry at Nanjing University in China. He received his B.S. in Chemistry at Shandong University in 1989 and his Ph.D. under the supervision of Professor Hongyuan Chen from Nanjing University in 1998. After undertaking two-year postdoctoral studies at Heidelberg University, Yi-Tao worked at the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Alberta in Canada for over five years. Following one more year of research at UC Berkeley, he started his independent career at the East China University of Science and Technology in 2007.

Yi-Tao’s research interests focus on the development of new electrochemical measurement methods to reveal the characteristics and dynamics of single entities. This involves nanopore single molecule electroanalysis, biointerface spectroelectrochemistry and integrated biosensors.

Yi-Tao looks forward to receiving cutting-edge submissions that lead to the frontiers of analytical science and electrochemistry.

Below is a selection of articles published in Chemical Science which Yi-Tao would like to highlight – all free to read! We hope you enjoy them.

A lithium-ion-active aerolysin nanopore for effectively trapping long single-stranded DNA
Zheng-Li Hu, Meng-Yin Li, Shao-Chuang Liu, Yi-Lun Ying and Yi-Tao Long
Chem. Sci., 2019, 10, 354-358
DOI: 10.1039/C8SC03927E, Edge Article

Impact and oxidation of single silver nanoparticles at electrode surfaces: one shot versus multiple events
Jon Ustarroz, Minkyung Kang, Erin Bullions and Patrick R. Unwin
Chem. Sci., 2017, 8, 1841-1853
DOI: 10.1039/C6SC04483B, Edge Article

Electrochemical imaging of cells and tissues
Tzu-En Lin, Stefania Rapino, Hubert H. Girault and Andreas Lesch
Chem. Sci., 2018, 9, 4546-4554
DOI: 10.1039/C8SC01035H, Minireview

Selective single molecule nanopore sensing of proteins using DNA aptamer-functionalised gold nanoparticles
Xiaoyan Lin, Aleksandar P. Ivanov and Joshua B. Edel
Chem. Sci., 2017, 8, 3905-3912
DOI: 10.1039/C7SC00415J, Edge Article

Enhanced annihilation electrochemiluminescence by nanofluidic confinement
Hanan Al-Kutubi, Silvia Voci, Liza Rassaei, Neso Sojic and Klaus Mathwig
Chem. Sci., 2018, 9, 8946-8950
DOI: 10.1039/C8SC03209B, Edge Article

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Professor Paolo Melchiorre joins Chemical Science as an Associate Editor

14 Jan 2019

By Sarah Rainford, Deputy Editor.

We are delighted to introduce Professor Paolo Melchiorre as Chemical Science Associate Editor, handling submissions in the area of organic chemistry.

Paolo currently splits his time between two institutions, the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Genoa as a Tenured Senior Scientist, and the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) in Tarragona as a Professor and Senior Group Leader. Paolo’s research is centered around the development of asymmetric organocatalytic and photochemical processes that can be used as tools to solve problems in organic synthesis. His aim is to utilise photoorganocatalysis for the development of environmentally friendly reaction processes, presenting innovative solutions to common synthetic problems.

Paolo now joins the Chemical Science team as an Associate Editor and looks forward to handling submissions in the areas of organic chemistry, photochemistry, asymmetric catalysis and organocatalysis.

Below is a selection of articles published in Chemical Science that Paolo would like to highlight as being particularly impactful:

Characterizing chain processes in visible light photoredox catalysis
Megan A. Cismesia and Tehshik P. Yoon
Chem. Sci. 2015, 6, 5426-5434
DOI: 10.1039/C5SC02185E, Edge Article

Synergistic catalysis: A powerful synthetic strategy for new reaction development
Anna E. Allena and David W.C. MacMillan
Chem. Sci. 2012, 3, 633-658
DOI: 10.1039/C2SC00907B, Perspective

Nickel-catalyzed transamidation of aliphatic amide derivatives
Jacob E. Dander, Emma L. Bakera and Neil K. Garg
Chem. Sci. 2017, 8, 6433-6438
DOI: 10.1039/C7SC01980G, Edge Article

Site-selective bromination of sp³ C-H bonds
Shyam Sathyamoorthi, Shibdas Banerjee, J. Du Bois, Noah Z. Burns and Richard N. Zare
Chem. Sci. 2018, 9, 100-104
DOI: 10.1039/C7SC04611A, Edge Article

Harnessing non-covalent interactions to exert control over regioselectivity and site-selectivity in catalytic reactions
Holly J. Davis and Robert J. Phipps
Chem. Sci. 2017, 8, 864-877
DOI: 10.1039/C6SC04157D, Edge Article

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HOT Chemical Science articles for December

11 Jan 2019

By Carri Cotton.

We are happy to present a selection of our HOT articles over the past month. To see all of our HOT referee-recommended articles from 2018, please find the collection here.

As always, Chemical Science articles are free to access.

Reaction-free and MMP-independent fluorescent probes for long-term mitochondria visualization and tracking

Ruoyao Zhang, Guangle Niu, Xuechen Li, Lifang Guo, Huamiao Zhang, Rui Yang, Yuncong Chen, Xiaoqiang Yu and Ben Zhong Tang

Chem. Sci., 2019, Advance Article

DOI: 10.1039/C8SC05119D, Edge Article

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Monitoring metal–amyloid-β complexation by a FRET-based probe: design, detection, and inhibitor screening

Hyuck Jin Lee, Young Geun Lee, Juhye Kang, Seung Hyun Yang, Ju Hwan Kim, Amar B.T. Ghisaidoobe, Hyo Jin Kang, Sang-Rae Lee, Mi Hee Lim and Sang J. Chung

Chem. Sci., 2019, Accepted Manuscript

DOI: 10.1039/C8SC04943B, Edge Article

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Fluorinated synthetic anion carriers: experimental and computational insights into membrane partitioning and transmembrane chloride transport mechanism

Michael J. Spooner, Hongyu Li, Igor Marques, Pedro M. R. Costa, Xin Wu, Ethan N. W. Howe, Nathalie Busschaert, Stephen J. Moore, Mark E. Light, David N. Sheppard, Vítor Félix and Philip A. Gale

Chem. Sci., 2019, Accepted Manuscript

DOI: 10.1039/C8SC05155K, Edge Article

______________________________________________________

How machine learning can assist the interpretation of ab initio molecular dynamics simulations and conceptual understanding of chemistry

Florian Häse, Ignacio Fdez. Galván, Alán Aspuru-Guzik, Roland Lindh and Morgane Vacher

Chem. Sci., 2019, Accepted Manuscript

DOI: 10.1039/C8SC04516J, Edge Article

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Synergistic Self-Seeding in One-Dimension: a Route to Patchy and Block Comicelles with Uniform and Controllable Length

Jiangping Xu, Hang Zhou, Qing Yu, Gerald Guerin, Ian Manners and Mitchell A. Winnik

Chem. Sci., 2019, Advance Article

DOI: 10.1039/C8SC04705G, Edge Article

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Optical control of the antigen translocation by syntethic photo-conditional viral inhibitors

M. Braner, N. Koller, J. Knauer, V. Herbring, S. Hank, R. Wieneke and R. Tampé

Chem. Sci., 2019, Advance Article

DOI: 10.1039/C8SC04863K, Edge Article

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Bristol Synthesis Meeting 2019

08 Jan 2019

By Sarah Rainford, Deputy Editor.

The Bristol Synthesis Meeting will be taking place this year on Tuesday 9th April at the University of Bristol. Chemical Science are proud to sponsor this meeting, and one of our Assistant Editors Sarah Sharp will be attending. We look forward to seeing you there.

With an inspiring line-up of speakers including Professor Craig Townsend, Professor Michinori Suginome, Professor Helma Wennemers, Professor Dean Toste and Professor Ilan Marek, this is not one to miss. Registration is now open at the Bristol Synthesis Meeting webpage.

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Andrei Yudin joins Chemical Science as an Associate Editor

20 Dec 2018

By Sarah Rainford, Deputy Editor.

We are delighted to introduce Professor Andrei Yudin as Chemical Science Associate Editor, handling submissions in the area of organic chemistry.

Andrei is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Toronto, where his group specialise in chemical synthesis with a focus on the preparation of novel biologically active molecules. Andrei and his group pioneered work on the preparation of amphoteric reagents, developing structurally distinct intermediates that were viewed as impossible to prepare prior to their studies. The group have been highlighted for the preparation of a library of difficult-to-prepare azridine aldehydes and α-boryl aldehydes that can be applied in the preparation of medically relevant peptidomimetics.

Andrei is the current Editor-in-Chief of the Royal Society of Chemistry journal, Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, and runs a blog series providing regular updates on the progress within his group, found at https://amphoteros.com/.

Andrei has now joined the team at Chemical Science and looks forward to receiving submissions in the areas of organic synthesis, transition metal catalysis, peptide preparation and macrocyclisation.

Below is a selection of articles published in Chemical Science that Andrei would like to highlight:

Oxygen transfer in electrophilic epoxidation probed by ¹⁷O NMR: differentiating between oxidants and role of spectator metal oxo
Christian Ehinger, Christopher P. Gordon and Christophe Coperet
Chem. Sci., 2019, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C8SC04868A, Edge Article

A divergent synthetic pathway for pyrimidine-embedded medium-sized azacycles through an N-quaternizing strategy
Yoona Choi, Heejun Kim and Seung Bum Park
Chem. Sci., 2019, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C8SC04061C, Edge Article

We also highlight a few of Andrei’s contributions to Chemical Science from the last few years:

3-Cyanoallyl boronates are versatile building blocks in the synthesis of polysubstituted thiophenes
Wenjie Shao, Sherif J. Kaldas and Andrei K. Yudin
Chem. Sci., 2017, 8, 4431-4436
DOI: 10.1039/C7SC00831G, Edge Article

The reactivity and conformational control of cyclic tetrapeptides derived from aziridine-containing amino acids
Benjamin K. W. Chung, Christopher J. White, Conor C. G. Scully and Andrei K. Yudin
Chem. Sci., 2016, 7, 6662-6668
DOI: 10.1039/C6SC01687A, Edge Article

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Andrew Cooper – our new Editor-in-Chief of Chemical Science

18 Dec 2018

By William King.

We are delighted to announce Professor Andrew Cooper as the new Editor-in-Chief of Chemical Science.

Andrew Cooper is Professor of Chemistry, Director of the Centre for Materials Discovery and Director of the Materials Innovation Factory at the University of Liverpool. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and has won several prizes and awards for his research.

Professor Cooper’s research interests lie in polymeric materials, supercritical fluids, microporous materials, hydrogen storage, metal nanoparticles, organometallics, emulsion-templated materials, and high-throughput materials methodology.

As we thank Professor Daniel Nocera for his valuable contributions to the journal during his term as Editor-in-Chief of Chemical Science over the past four years, we warmly welcome Professor Cooper as he leads the journal to continued success.

As the Royal Society of Chemistry’s flagship journal, Chemical Science publishes findings of exceptional significance from across the chemical sciences. Chemical Science is free to read, and free to publish in – with all publication charges currently waived.

Professor Cooper joins us in inviting you to submit your most exceptional research to Chemical Science today!

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Carbon Coating Promotes CO2 Reduction on Nickel Surfaces

18 Dec 2018

By Tianyu Liu.

Reducing CO₂ into fuels such as CO or hydrocarbons is a promising strategy to reduce the net emission of greenhouse gases and mitigate climate change. The CO₂ reduction reaction, however, is an energy-costly process. Therefore, CO₂ reduction catalysts are necessary to enhance the CO₂ conversion efficiency and minimize the overall energy demand.

Researchers are developing high-performance yet inexpensive CO₂ reduction catalysts. Noble metals such as Au, Ag and Pd exhibit high CO₂-to-CO conversion efficiency, but their scarcity restricts their large-scale practicability. Metallic Fe, Co and Ni are active in reducing CO₂ and therefore, have been identified as alternatives to the noble metal catalysts.

Recently in Chem. Sci., a group of scientists led by Zhenyu Sun from Beijing University of Chemical Technology and Yousung Jung from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) pushed the CO₂-reduction activity of Ni metal to a new height. The researchers synthesized carbon-supported Ni nanocrystals via pyrolysis of Ni-based metal organic frameworks (MOFs) in argon. The resultant Ni nanoparticles had an average diameter of ~30 nm and were embedded in N-doped carbon scaffolds (Fig. 1a). Each nanoparticle was uniformly coated with a thin layer of amorphous carbon (Fig. 1b).

Figure 1. (a) The elemental mapping of the carbon-supported Ni nanoparticles. Green dots and blue regions are Ni nanoparticles and carbon matrices, respectively. (b) The scanning transmission electron microscope image showing the thin carbon coating on a Ni nanoparticle surface. (c) The CO2-to-CO conversion efficiencies at different applied potentials. Ni-NC_ATPA@C and Ni-NC_TPA@C are carbon-supported Ni nanoparticles derived from MOFs with 2-amino-terephthalic acid and terephthalic acid organic linkers, respectively. NC_ATPA@C is the Ni-free carbon powder derived from ATPA.

The CO₂-to-CO conversion efficiencies of these Ni-C nanocomposites were the highest among all the reported carbon-supported Ni nanoparticles. The best Ni catalyst achieved a maximal efficiency of ~94% at an overpotential of 0.59 V, while previously reported Ni-C catalysts typically exhibited efficiencies lower than 25%. The significantly improved conversion efficiency was associated with the thin carbon coating. This coating prevented the Ni nanoparticles from directly contacting with aqueous electrolytes, and thus minimized hydrogen evolution reaction, a side reaction that decreased the conversion efficiency.

This work highlights the instrumental role of the surface carbon layers in promoting the CO₂-reduction activity of Ni nanoparticles. The carbon-coating strategy could be extended to other low-cost transition metals, which may lead to a variety of cost-effective CO₂-reduction catalysts.

To find out more please read:

Carbon-Supported Ni Nanoparticles for Efficient CO₂ Electroreduction

Mingwen Jia, Changhyeok Choi, Tai-Sing Wu, Chen Ma, Peng Kang, Hengcong Tao, Qun Fan, Song Hong, Shizhen Liu, Yun-Liang Soo, Yousung Jung, Jieshan Qiu and Zhenyu Sun

Chem. Sci., 2018, 9, 8775-8780

About the blogger:

Tianyu Liu obtained his Ph.D. (2017) in Chemistry from University of California, Santa Cruz in the United States. He is passionate about scientific communication to introduce cutting-edge research to both the general public and scientists with diverse research expertise. He is a blog writer for Chem. Commun. and Chem. Sci. More information about him can be found at http://liutianyuresearch.weebly.com/.

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Chemical Science Blog

Chemical Science prize winner at IPEROP19

Toshiharu Teranishi joins Chemical Science as an Associate Editor

Infographics – ChemSci Pick of the Week

Yi-Tao Long joins Chemical Science as an Associate Editor

Professor Paolo Melchiorre joins Chemical Science as an Associate Editor

HOT Chemical Science articles for December

Bristol Synthesis Meeting 2019

Andrei Yudin joins Chemical Science as an Associate Editor

Andrew Cooper – our new Editor-in-Chief of Chemical Science

Carbon Coating Promotes CO2 Reduction on Nickel Surfaces

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