Royal Society Of Chemistry Research Articles

Mission-oriented innovation for sustainable polymers in liquid formulation.

Industrial chemical producers and formulators are increasingly conscious of their responsibility in stewarding planetary resources and minimizing harm to the environment. In 2019, the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) engaged an industry task force from across the value chain to drive technical research to classify a new class of polymer-polymers in liquid formulation (PLFs). Building on this, the task force called for step change in sustainability practices for PLFs and instigated a design and development process to identify research themes and priorities that could accelerate innovation in this area. However, a key challenge was that as a novel classification, PLFs were largely unknown outside the chemistry community and entirely absent from the mainstream research agenda. To establish the demand-pull requirements of the value chain for sustainable PLFs, the RSC used a 'mission-oriented' innovation framework to enable the taskforce to co-design an ideal-type portfolio of research and innovation projects, and to set out a realistic roadmap for transition. This perspective article presents a summary of the activities carried out by the task force in its pursuit of mission-oriented innovation for PLFs and describes the strategic design method used to enable cross-value chain consensus on action for PLF sustainability, build system-wide innovation ecosystems and explore common-good scenarios. This article is part of the discussion meeting issue 'Green carbon for the chemical industry of the future'.

(Invited) In Situ spectroscopy of Electrocatalytic and Photocatalytic Interfaces

We explore various aspects of electrochemistry and photoelectrochemistry using in situ spectroscopy of electrode (metal) and photoelectrode (semiconductor) interfaces in situ under electrochemical working conditions. These spectroscopies include sum frequency generation (SFG), transient reflectance/absorption spectroscopy (TAS/TRS), and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Using surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy, we monitor local electric fields using Stark-shifts of nitrile-functionalized silicon photoelectrodes.6 We also report several spectroscopic methods for monitoring local electric fields (within the double layer), local pH,1 photo-induced surface potential and charge transfer2 at electrode surfaces using surface reporter molecules. The Figure below illustrates two surface reporter molecules for determining the local pH, local surface potential, and charge transfer at electrode and photoelectrode surfaces. We also measured the stacking dependence and Resonant interlayer excitation of monolayer WSe2/MoSe2 heterostructures for photocatalytic energy conversion.3 Using sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy, we measure the voltage dependence of the orientation of D2O molecules at a graphene electrode surface, which is related back to the “stiffness of the ensemble”.4 Using transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS), we measure the lifetime of hot electrons photoexcited in plasmon resonant nanostructures.5 Using transient reflectance spectroscopy (TRS), we measure the photoexcited carrier dynamics in a GaP/TiO2 photoelectrode, as well as the electrostatic field dynamics at this semiconductor-liquid interfaces in situ under various electrochemical potentials.6 Here, the electrostatic fields at the surface of the semiconductor are measured via Franz−Keldysh oscillations (FKO). These spectra reveal that the nanoscale TiO2 protection layer enhances the built-in field and charge separation performance of GaP photoelectrodes.7 1 Wang, Y.Y., et al., Measuring Local pKa and pH Using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy of 4‐Mercaptobenzoic Acid. Langmuir, DOI:10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c02073 (2023).2 Li, R., et al., SERS Detection of Charge Transfer at Electrochemical Interfaces Using Surface-Bound Ferrocene. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 127, 14263 (2023).3 Chen, J., et al., Stacking Independence and Resonant Interlayer Excitation of Monolayer WSe2/MoSe2 Heterostructures for Photocatalytic Energy Conversion. ACS Applied Nano Materials, DOI:10.1021/acsanm.9b01898 (2020).4 Montenegro, A., et al., Field-Dependent Orientation and Free Energy of D2O at an Electrode Surface Observed via SFG Spectroscopy. Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 126, 20831 (2022).5 Wang, Y., et al., In Situ Investigation of Ultrafast Dynamics of Hot Electron-Driven Photocatalysis in Plasmon-Resonant Grating Structures. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 144, 3517 (2022).6 Xu, Z.H., et al., Direct In Situ Measurement of Quantum Efficiencies of Charge Separation and Proton Reduction at TiO2-Protected GaP Photocathodes. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2860-2869 (2023).7 Wang, Y. and S.B. Cronin, Performance Enhancement of TiO2-encapsulated Photoelectrodes Based on III–V Compound Semiconductors, in Ultrathin Oxide Layers for Solar and Electrocatalytic Systems. 2022, Royal Society of Chemistry. p. 103-134. Figure 1

Developing indicators for the social benefits of university-industry collaborations

This paper focuses on the social benefits of university-industry collaborations (UICs) based on the cases of winners of the Industry-Academia Collaboration Prize presented by the UK Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) (2010–2023). The research question, which concerns the social and environmental benefits of UICs, has received little attention in the literature, as it focuses mainly on their economic effects. Taking the framework approach to thematic analysis, a list of thematic indicators, which serve as benchmark criteria for evaluating the social impact of UICs in medical, pharmaceutical and chemical industries, is developed. The use of a case study to identify indicators via this approach is appropriate for generating in-depth insights into the characteristics of UICs that have considerable societal impacts. Knowledge creation and contribution to training and improved skills levels constitute the main social benefits of UICs in the three industries cited above. Our findings have practical and theoretical implications, as they emphasize the importance of UICs in fulfilling a specific function in society, namely, facilitating research and developing skills that make the world a better place.

Approaches for the Efficient Removal of Fluoride from Groundwater: A Comprehensive Review.

Contamination of groundwater with fluoride represents a significant global issue, with high concentrations posing serious public health threats. While fluoride is a critical element in water, excessive levels can be detrimental to human health and potentially life-threatening. Addressing the challenge of removing fluoride from underground water sources via nanotechnological approaches is a pressing concern in environmental science. To collate relevant information, extensive literature searches were conducted across multiple databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, the American Chemical Society, Elsevier, Springer, and the Royal Society of Chemistry. VOS Viewer software version 1.6.20 was employed for a systematic review. This article delivers an exhaustive evaluation of various groundwater fluoride removal techniques, such as adsorption, membrane filtration, electrocoagulation, photocatalysis, and ion exchange. Among these, the application of nanoparticles emerges as a notable method. The article delves into nano-compounds, optimizing conditions for the fluoride removal process and benchmarking their efficacy against other techniques. Studies demonstrate that advanced nanotechnologies-owing to their rapid reaction times and potent oxidation capabilities-can remove fluoride effectively. The implementation of nanotechnologies in fluoride removal not only enhances water quality but also contributes to the safeguarding of human health.

Celebration of the lifetime achievements of Professor Chi-Tang Ho on the occasion of his 80 th birthday

Prof. Chi-Tang Ho was an illuminating thread, woven with unparalleled brilliance through the realms of food science and more. I recount the transformative experience under his guidance and a distinguished mentor.”
 He continues to say “Our academic camaraderie blossomed through scholarly discussions, unveiling numerous research avenues, and fostering intellectual curiosity. At every turning point, as new information or research direction surfaced, Prof. Ho promptly shared and discussed with me potential developments of each new project. Our collaboration persisted in my tenure at Taiwan, transcending the challenges of a 12-hour time difference. Prof. Ho remained my trusted confidant, and the first to consult on intriguing research and cutting-edge technologies.” He then adds “To date, the countless individuals who have collaborated with Prof. Ho attest to his continuous willingness to mentor and contribute to the flourishing development of the field of food science. Prof. Ho's distinguished outstanding in the academic community is underscored by numerous honours, including election as a Fellow of the American Chemical Society in 2010, the Royal Society of Chemistry in the UK in 2014, the International Academy of Food Science & Technology in 2006, the Institute of Food Technologists in 2003, and the International Society for Nutraceuticals & Functional Foods in 2018

A database of thermally activated delayed fluorescent molecules auto-generated from scientific literature with ChemDataExtractor

A database of thermally activated delayed fluorescent (TADF) molecules was automatically generated from the scientific literature. It consists of 25,482 data records with an overall precision of 82%. Among these, 5,349 records have chemical names in the form of SMILES strings which are represented with 91% accuracy; these are grouped in a subsidiary database. Each data record contains one of the following four properties: maximum emission wavelength (λEM), photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY), singlet-triplet energy splitting (ΔEST), and delayed lifetime (τD). The databases were created through text mining using ChemDataExtractor, a chemistry-aware natural-language-processing toolkit, which has been adapted for TADF research. The text-mined corpus consisted of 2,733 papers from the Royal Society of Chemistry and Elsevier. To the best of our knowledge, these databases are the first databases that have been auto-generated for TADF molecules from existing publications. The databases have been publicly released for experimental and computational applications in the TADF research field.

(Keynote) Metal Enhanced Cr2O3/Ga2O3 an Efficient and Selective Electrocatalyst for the Conversion of CO2 to C2+ Products

Binary intermetallic compounds composed of a first row transition metal and a post transition metal such as aluminum or gallium and oxides thereof provide a new source of heterogeneous electrocatalysts for the reduction of CO2. Unlike related single metal systems, which only generate formate and CO, the mixed metal systems form a variety of C2+ products. Most interestingly, we find that a nickel metal enhanced Cr2O3/Ga2O3 interface efficiently catalyzes the formation of 1-butanol.We have reported that Ni3Al reduces CO2 to a variety of C3 oxygenates,1-2 while Lewis et. al. has noted that various NixGay alloys generate C2 products from CO2.3 In both cases, the higher order products are observed in low yield. However, these examples are important since they demonstrate that metallic systems that do not contain copper can form carbon-carbon bonds from CO2. Recently, we discovered that mixed oxides of chromium-gallium containing a small concentration of nickel metal produce 1-butanol with greater than 40% faradaic yields in aqueous electrolytes.4 A variety of other C2, C3 and C4 products are also observed. These species can be selected for, by regulating the electrolyte pH, the electrode potential and the enhancing metal employed.Our new findings argue for a relatively unexplored mechanism for the formation of carbon-carbon bonds through a formate intermediate, circumventing the need to generate a CO. For all of the heterogeneous systems we have investigated, there appears to be strong correlation between the morphology of the electrocatalyst and the product distribution observed. It is also observed that the composition of the underlying electrode strongly influences the product composition. For example, while Ni3Al on glassy carbon produces a variety of C3 products, the same catalyst when placed on p-type CIGS photocathode primarily produces methanol with no indication of carbon-carbon coupling processes.5 A detailed mechanistic understanding of these systems is likely to offer new opportunities for the electrosynthesis of organic products from CO2 with high faradaic yield and modest overpotential.References Paris, A. R.; Bocarsly, A. B., Ni–Al Films on Glassy Carbon Electrodes Generate an Array of Oxygenated Organics from CO2. ACS Catalysis 2017, 7, 6815-6820. Paris, A. R.; Bocarsly, A. B., Mechanistic Insight into C2 and C3 Product Generation Using Ni3Al and Ni3Ga Electrocatalysts for CO2 Reduction. In Faraday Discussion on Artifical Photosynthesis, Royal Society of Chemistry: Cambridge University, GB, 2018. Torelli, D. A.; Francis, S. A.; Crompton, J. C.; Javier, A.; Thompson, J. R.; Brunschwig, B. S.; Soriaga, M. P.; Lewis, N. S., Nickel–Gallium-Catalyzed Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 to Highly Reduced Products at Low Overpotentials. ACS Catalysis 2016, 6 (3), 2100-2104. Cronin, S. P.; Dulovic, S.; Lawrence, J. A.; Filsinger, K. A.; Hernandez-Gonzalez, A. P.; Evans, R.; Stiles, J. W.; Morris, J.; Pelczer, I.; Bocarsly, A. B., Direct Synthesis of 1-butanol with High Faradaic Efficiency from CO2 Utilizing Cascade Catalysis at a Ni-Enhanced (Cr2O3)3Ga2O3 Electrocatalyst. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 6762–6772. Foster, B. M.; Paris, A. R.; Frick, J. J.; Blasini-Pérez, D. A.; Cava, R. J.; Bocarsly, A. B., Catalytic Mismatching of CuInSe2 and Ni3Al Demonstrates Selective Photoelectrochemical CO2 Reduction to Methanol. ACS Applied Energy Materials 2020, 3 (1), 109-113.

(Invited) Enhanced Photocatalysis on TiO2-Passivated III-V Compound Semiconductors and 2D Material Heterostructures for Water Splitting and CO2 Reduction

We report enhanced photocatalysis for H2 evolution and CO2 reduction using TiO2-passivated InP and GaAs photocathodes.1-4 The TiO2 layer makes the InP semiconductor photochemically stable. This represents a major step forward in photocatalysis, which has typically been limited to metal oxide materials. In addition to making these surfaces stable, the TiO2 film, deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD), also provides a substantial enhancement in the efficiency of H2 evolution. We find that passivating GaAs with just a few nm of TiO2 produces a shift in the onset potential of H2 evolution by +0.35 V at 1 mA/cm2 and enhances the photocurrent by 32-fold over bare GaAs (at 0 V vs. RHE). Here, thinner TiO2 films produce a larger enhancement than thicker films, which correlates with the higher density of O-vacancies (i.e., Ti3+ surface states) observed in these thinner films using X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS). While TiO2 films 1-5nm thick produce large enhancements, no enhancement is observed for TiO2 thicknesses above 10 nm, which are crystalline and, therefore, considerably more insulating than thinner amorphous TiO2 films.Using transient reflectance spectroscopy (TRS), we measure the photoexcited carrier dynamics in a GaP/TiO2 photoelectrode, as well as the electrostatic field dynamics at this semiconductor-liquid interfaces in situ under various electrochemical potentials.5 Here, the electrostatic fields at the surface of the semiconductor are measured via Franz−Keldysh oscillations (FKO). These spectra reveal that the nanoscale TiO2 protection layer enhances the built-in field and charge separation performance of GaP photoelectrodes.We also demonstrated plasmon-resonant enhancement of photocatalysis on monolayer WSe2.6 In addition, we measured the stacking dependence and resonant interlayer excitation of monolayer WSe2/MoSe2 heterostructures for photocatalytic energy conversion.7 Qiu, J., G. Zeng, M. Ge, S. Arab, M. Mecklenburg, B. Hou, C. Shen, A.V. Benderskii and S.B. Cronin, Correlation of Ti3+ states with photocatalytic enhancement in TiO2-passivated p-GaAs. Journal of Catalysis, 337, 133 (2016).Qiu, J., G.T. Zeng, M.A. Ha, M.Y. Ge, Y.J. Lin, M. Hettick, B.Y. Hou, A.N. Alexandrova, A. Javey and S.B. Cronin, Artificial Photosynthesis on TiO2-Passivated InP Nanopillars. Nano Letters, 15, 6177-6181 (2015).Qiu, J., G.T. Zeng, M.A. Ha, B.Y. Hou, M. Mecklenburg, H.T. Shi, A.N. Alexandrova and S.B. Cronin, Microscopic Study of Atomic Layer Deposition of TiO2 on GaAs and Its Photocatalytic Application. Chemistry of Materials, 27, 7977-7981 (2015).Wang, Y. and S.B. Cronin, Performance Enhancement of TiO2-encapsulated Photoelectrodes Based on III–V Compound Semiconductors, in Ultrathin Oxide Layers for Solar and Electrocatalytic Systems. 2022, Royal Society of Chemistry. p. 103-134.Xu, Z.H., B.Y. Hou, F.Y. Zhao, Z. Cai, H.T. Shi, Y.W. Liu, C.L. Hill, D.G. Musaev, M. Mecklenburg, S.B. Cronin and T.Q. Lian, Nanoscale TiO2 Protection Layer Enhances the Built-In Field and Charge Separation Performance of GaP Photoelectrodes. Nano Letters, 21, 8017-8024 (2021).Chen, J., C.S. Bailey, Y. Hong, L. Wang, Z. Cai, L. Shen, B. Hou, Y. Wang, H. Shi, J. Sambur, W. Ren, E. Pop, and S.B. Cronin., Plasmon-Resonant Enhancement of Photocatalysis on Monolayer WSe2. ACS Photonics, 6, 787 (2019).Chen, J., C.S. Bailey, D. Cui, Y. Wang, B. Wang, H. Shi, Z. Cai, E. Pop, C. Zhou and S.B. Cronin, Stacking Independence and Resonant Interlayer Excitation of Monolayer WSe2/MoSe2 Heterostructures for Photocatalytic Energy Conversion. ACS Applied Nano Materials, DOI:10.1021/acsanm.9b01898 (2020).

Coupling covariance matrix adaptation with continuum modeling for determination of kinetic parameters associated with electrochemical CO2 reduction

Coupling covariance matrix adaptation with continuum modeling for determination of kinetic parameters associated with electrochemical CO2 reduction

The Indian Chemical Society:A Century of Performance and Promise in the Service of the Nation

The Indian Chemical Society (ICS), a premier Scientific Society of India, was founded in 1924 as a National Forum for the community of chemists and members of allied disciplines. It will enter the centennial year of its foundation on May 9, 2023. The driving force behind its establishment was the nationalistic spirit prevailing in India under the British rule. J. N. Mukherjee, J.C. Ghosh, and S.S. Bhatnagar while carrying out their research work in the University College, London, in 1919 for their D.Sc. Degree decided that after returning to India, they would endeavor to establish a Chemical Society like the Chemical Society of London, now the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). They dreamed of transforming it into a reality with the active cooperation of many of the country’s leading personalities. The Indian Chemical Society was founded on May 9, 1924, as a registered Society, with Sir Prafulla Chandra Ray, the doyen of Indian Chemists, as the founding President.Many of the distinguished personalities in Chemical Sciences at that time in India took an active interest in nurturing the newborn Society.

#NextGenOrgChem Special Collection: Supporting Young Researchers

Guest Editor Prof. Stefano Protti introduces the #NextGenOrgChem special collection, which includes original research papers, reviews and concept articles by young organic chemists (post-doctoral and early-career researchers) nominated by the EurJOC advisory and editorial board members. The Seehotel Waldstätterhof in Brunnen (Ingenbohl, Switzerland), where every year the traditional Bürgenstock Conference is held, faces the lake of Lucerne. If distracted participants of the congress thought of leaning out towards its surrounding crush barriers, they would catch sight of tens of ducks’ nests, at a safe distance from one another, lying all along the sand stripe rimming the water. While heading back towards the hotel, the casual visitor might even find that double imprinting of a protected nest facing the limitless watery space as a natural choice. Well, supervisors are not ducks, this must be said, although they are often as greedy as geese, feeding on asterisks and funding. Yet it would be nice if in the eternal struggle to get free from their mentors, they remembered not to make the same mistakes, really trying their best to lead a postdoc on, crossing the thin line that divides the you work for me status, from the you work with me one, avoiding to fall into the tempting territorial marking, leaving them free to develop insights and work on reviews parallel to, and not instead of, their commitments as post-doc. Not guiding them into the world, but showing it to them, with a hand's gesture. As with the horizon of a lake. From there on, staying afloat it is also on them. In line the European Journal of Organic Chemistry's efforts of offering early career researchers a platform to present their work, the #NextGenOrgChem virtual collection showcases a set of contributions (both Research Articles and Reviews) from both advanced postdocs and young group leaders nominated by the EurJOC editorial and advisory board members. The manuscripts collected in the present special collection (more than 30 contributions among reviews and research papers) aim to provide a bright and colourful portrait of the incoming generation of chemists. Contributions to this collection include the optimization of synthetic strategies (in several cases the use of biocatalytic, electrochemical or photocatalytic approaches has been proposed), the design of innovative bioactive compounds and materials, as well as computational and experimental investigations on reaction mechanisms. The design and the synthesis of molecular switches and probes is likewise covered. The EurJOC editorial team and I thank all the participants that accepted our invitation, as well as the members of the International Advisory Board. Surf's up, guys. The opinions expressed in this publication are the view of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of the European Journal of Organic Chemistry, the Publisher, Chemistry Europe, or the affiliated editors. This work has been made possible thanks to the commitment of the entire EurJOC editorial team and in particular Charlotte Gers-Panther (currently Editor-in-Chief of ChemCatChem), Leana Travaglini (Deputy Editor) and Anne Nijs (Editor-in-Chief). As the guest editor, my acknowledgment goes to the PhotoGreen Lab staff (mentors and students). I would also like to thank Dr. Rossana Quarteroni (University of Pavia) and Dr. Federica Rizzi (Wiley-VCH) who helped me to polish this text. Stefano Protti (Ph.D. in Chemistry, 2007, prof. A. Albini as the supervisor) is Associate Professor at the University of Pavia since 2018. His research is mainly focused on the design and the optimization of visible light mediated synthetic protocols under metal- and (photo)catalyst-free conditions. He is currently editor of the Specialist Periodical Reports in Photochemistry (Royal Society of Chemistry), associate editor of Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences and member of the International Advisory Board of the European Journal of Organic Chemistry.

Global essay competition: Young Voices in the Chemical Sciences for Sustainability

The International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development (IOCD), in collaboration with the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), is launching the second year of its annual essay competition on the role of the chemical sciences in sustainability.

Global essay competition: Young Voices in the Chemical Sciences for Sustainability

The International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development, in collaboration with the Royal Society of Chemistry, is launching an annual essay competition on the role of the chemical sciences in sustainability.

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This article is Open Access All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry

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This article is Open Access All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry

Back cover

This article is Open Access All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry

Inside front cover

This article is Open Access All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry