Royal Society Of Chemistry Research Articles

Reaction: How Fuzzy Are the Lines between Academia and Industry?

Antony Williams is a Ph.D. NMR spectroscopist and cheminformatician who has worked in academia, government, a Fortune 500 company, and two start-ups. He is co-founder of the chemical database ChemSpider and is now a computational chemist at the US Environmental Protection Agency. He has published over 170 papers and is known as the ChemConnector on social networks.

Xingang Zhang

Angewandte Chemie International EditionVolume 55, Issue 51 p. 15704-15704 Author ProfileFree Access Xingang Zhang First published: 12 July 2016 https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201605777AboutSectionsPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Graphical Abstract “If I could be described as an animal it would be an eagle. My favorite saying is ‘keep calm and love life’ ...” This and more about Xingang Zhang can be found on page 15704. Xingang Zhang The author presented on this page has recently published his 10th article in Angewandte Chemie in the last 10 years: “Nickel-Catalyzed Difluoroalkylation of (Hetero)Arylborons with Unactivated 1-Bromo-1,1-difluoroalkanes”: Y.-L. Xiao, Q.-Q. Min, C. Xu, R.-W. Wang, X. Zhang, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, 55, 5837; Angew. Chem. 2016, 128, 5931. The work of X. Zhang has been featured on the inside back cover of Angewandte Chemie: “Facile Access to Fluoromethylated Arenes by Nickel-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling between Arylboronic Acids and Fluoromethyl Bromide”: L. An, Y.-L. Xiao, Q.-Q. Min, X. Zhang, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2015, 54, 9079; Angew. Chem. 2015, 127, 9207. Date of birth: September 2, 1975 Position: Research Professor of Organic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) E-mail: xgzhang@sioc.ac.cn Homepage: http://xgzhang.sioc-f.cn/ Education: 1998 Bachelor's degree, Sichuan University, Chengdu 2003 PhD with Feng-Ling Qing, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, CAS 2003–2007 Postdoctoral work with Wilfred A. van der Donk, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Awards: 2014 National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars; 2015 Fifth Chinese Chemical Society–Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Award for Outstanding Young Chemist; 2015 RSC Fluorine Chemistry Prize Current research interests: Transition-metal-catalyzed fluoroalkylation and fluoroarylation reactions; C−F bond formation; C−F bond activation; peptide chemistry; synthetic biology Hobbies: Reading and traveling If I could be described as an animal it would be an eagle. My favorite saying is “keep calm and love life”. The biggest challenge facing scientists is obtaining funding. Science is fun because it is always full of surprises. If I were a car I would be a Ferrari supercar. In a spare hour, I play with my son. If I could be any age I would be 7 years old, when I can use a child's mind to reimagine the world. My biggest inspiration is discussing chemistry with my students. My favorite time of day is nighttime. I advise my students to be active, creative, and innovative. If I had one year of paid leave I would travel all over the world with my family. If I could be a piece of lab equipment, I would be a magnetic stir bar. What I appreciate most about my friends is that they help me to get through my “dark days”. My maxim is be curious and to do something new and useful. My 5 top papers: References 1“Pd(OAc)2 Catalyzed Olefination of Highly Electron-deficient Perfluoroarenes”: X. Zhang, S. Fan, C.-Y. He, X. Wan, Q.-Q. Min, J. Yang, Z.-X. Jiang, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132, 4506. (A straightforward strategy for the direct functionalization of polyfluoroarenes.) 2“Palladium-Catalyzed Difluoroalkylation of Aryl Boronic Acids: A New Method for the Synthesis of Aryldifluoromethylated Phosphonates and Carboxylic Acid Derivatives”: Z. Feng, Q.-Q. Min, Y.-L. Xiao, B. Zhang, X. Zhang, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, 53, 1669; Angew. Chem. 2014, 126, 1695. (A strategy for the efficient transformation of widely available difluoroalkyl halides.) 3“Nickel-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling of Functionalized Difluoromethyl Bromides and Chlorides with Aryl Boronic Acids: A General Method for Difluoroalkylated Arenes”: Y.-L. Xiao, W.-H. Guo, G.-Z. He, Q. Pan, X. Zhang, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, 53, 9909; Angew. Chem. 2014, 126, 10067. (A nickel-based catalytic system for fluoroalkylation reactions.) 4“Rhodium-Catalyzed ortho-Selective C−F Bond Borylation of Polyfluoroarenes with Bpin–Bpin”: W.-H. Guo, Q.-Q. Min, J.-W. Gu, X. Zhang, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2015, 54, 9075; Angew. Chem. 2015, 127, 9203. (A catalytic system using a RhIII/RhV catalytic cycle.) 5“Access to Difluoromethylated Arenes by Pd-Catalyzed Reaction of Arylboronic Acids with Bromodifluoroacetate”: Z. Feng, Q.-Q. Min, X. Zhang, Org. Lett. 2016, 18, 44. (A catalytic system using a PdII-involved difluorocarbene pathway.) Volume55, Issue51December 19, 2016Pages 15704-15704 ReferencesRelatedInformation

Producing liquid oxygen in the classroom

A number of organisations have provided instructions on how to produce small quantities of liquid oxygen in the classroom using liquid nitrogen and a copper condensation coil (Lister 1995 Classic Chemistry Demonstrations (London: Royal Society of Chemistry) pp 61–2, French and Hibbert 2010 Phys. Educ. 45 221–2). The method presented below describes a process which is believed to be safer as it contains the oxygen during production and produces a controllable amount of the liquid. The method also has the advantage that it can be conducted using cheap and easily available materials.

A Tale of Two Cultures

My life has been framed by the two-cultures debate. A scientific education, good but narrow, led me into history of science just as anxiety about specialisation opened opportunities for ‘bridge’ subjects, and History and Philosophy of Science seemed just that bridge. My DPhil thesis (1964), on the reception of chemical atomic theory in the nineteenth century, led to a new lectureship at Durham that involved giving courses right across the different faculties, and close, stimulating involvement with other institutions where it was also being taught and researched; with the business of examining, reviewing, editing, and publishing; with the various societies set up to promote history of science; and with scientific societies like the Royal Society, the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Royal Society of Chemistry, finding science losing public esteem, and becoming interested in their past and how it might promote understanding and enthusiasm in the present. Encounters with historians of science, technology, and medicine at home and abroad, with coal miners and with museum curators, all wrestling with very different histories, indicated that Snow's ‘two cultures’ were a feature especially of 1950s Britain, that cultures were deeply divided in all sorts of ways, and that the social history of science was as important as its intellectual history. So over time I found myself teaching course s, and writing, on science and religion in the nineteenth century as well as on Butterfield and Hall's ‘Scientific Revolution’ that had dominated the subject in the 1960s and the ‘Second Scientific Revolution’ that had excited young Turks of my generation. Finally, I launched a course on Two Cultures as a historical phenomenon, focussing upon science, its developing institutions, reception, and place in the culture of the nineteenth-century Age of Science.

Titanium Phosphite Ti2(HPO3)3, a New Negative Electrode Material for Lithium Ion Batteries

Research in the area of solids open-framework metal phosphates, has been experiencing considerable growth over the past two decades. Since 1980s, a series of transition metal phosphates with three-dimensional structure have been investigated. More recently, it has been revealed that the phosphite group, could also be of great interest, because of its tendency to form new solids open framework structure. In the literature, mixed-phosphite metal compounds have been widely synthesized with a variety of cations going from alkali metals to group IIIA of the periodic table. Some rare earth based phosphites have been also isolated. However, to the best of our knowledge, no compound with titanium and phosphite group has been reported. This compound has an interesting structure allowing it to be used as insertion material for electrodes of Li-ion batteries, while only phosphates and phosphides compounds have been used as electrode materials. Recently, two inorganic phosphite materials were tested as electrodes for energy storage systems and have shown very small specific capacities toward lithium insertion [1,2]. Besides, both works dealt with the use of phosphite based-compound as positive electrode. In this study, we are presenting a new titanium phosphite compound used as negative electrode material for lithium ion batteries. Ti2(HPO3)3 has been prepared under hydrothermal conditions and autogenous pressure. The structure of titanium phosphite with the determined crystallographic formula Ti2(HPO3)3 was solved in hexagonal system in centrosymmetric P63/m space group from single crystal diffraction data. The structure was solved by the direct method using, refined by full matrix least square.It has a three dimensional structure with tunnels along a- and b-axes (see figure). This is exactly what interests us to test it as an insertion electrode material. This compound displays a high thermal stability limit showed by TGA analysis. Structural and chemical characterization have been realized by XRD, IR and Raman spectroscopies respectively. Electrochemical analyses were done by galvanostatic cycling and cyclic voltammetry. On the initial discharge of cell, the Ti2(HPO3)3 electrode delivers a capacity of 740 mAh/g. In the aim of enhancing the electrochemical performances, Ti2(HPO3)3/graphene composite was also prepared via hydrothermal route. Results of both compounds will be presented and compared in this present publication. [1] U. Chung, J.L. Mesa, J.L. Pizarro, I. de Meatza, M. Bengoechea, J. Rodríguez Fernandez, M. I. Arriortua, and T. Rojo, J. Chem. Mater. 23 (2011) 4317-4330. [2] H. Yaghoobnejad Asl, K. Ghosh, M. P. Vidal Meza, A. Choudhurya, J. The Royal Society of Chemistry. (2013), 00, 1-3. Figure 1

Achieving Gender Balance in the Chemistry Professoriate Is Not Rocket Science

Achieving Gender Balance in the Chemistry Professoriate Is Not Rocket Science

A legacy for chemistry education

The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) has a longstanding reputation for providing innovative and up to date support for chemical science education – from primary, through to higher education and beyond. The RSC is continually developing easily accessible resources and events to help meet the needs of changing curricula and the skills required by employers.At A-level and degree level the focus is on increasing the numbers of students studying chemistry and the chemical sciences in order to educate the next generation of science-based professionals. The Chemistry for our Future (CFOF) programme was established with the aim of ensuring a strong and sustainable future for chemical sciences in higher education by increasing the aspirations of students, promoting the chemical sciences at all levels and improving the school to university transition.

Thermoresponsive Wrinkles on Hydrogels for Soft Actuators

Thermoresponsive Wrinkles on Hydrogels for Soft Actuators

Editorial January 2016.

Royal Society Open Science provides an exciting new avenue for researchers across all scientific disciplines to publish their research. It offers a range of innovative features backed by one of the world's most respected scientific institutions, so I was delighted to be invited to become the first Editor-in-Chief. The key features that make Open Science different are:

From microgalaxies to micro-oceans to Warhol's cellular images: the art in science of MicroTAS 2015

Matteo Cornaglia (center) from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) receives the MicroTAS 2015 Art in Science award presented by Darwin Reyes (left) from NIST and Sarah Ruthven (right) from Lab on a Chip/The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Future of the Chemical Sciences

AbstractIn August 2016, the Royal Society of Chemistry released a report titled Future of the Chemical Sciences which explored what the chemical sciences might look like in ten to twenty years.

Twittering About Research: A Case Study of the World's First Twitter Poster Competition.

The Royal Society of Chemistry held, to our knowledge, the world's first Twitter conference at 9am on February 5 (th), 2015. This paper reports the details of the event and discusses the outcomes, such as the potential for the use of social media to enhance scientific communication at conferences. In particular, the present work argues that social media outlets such as Twitter broaden audiences, speed up communication, and force clearer and more concise descriptions of a researcher's work. The benefits of poster presentations are also discussed in terms of potential knowledge exchange and networking. This paper serves as a proof-of-concept approach for improving both the public opinion of the poster, and the enhancement of the poster through an innovative online format that some may feel more comfortable with, compared to face-to-face communication.

Preliminary Investigation on the Electrochemical Activity of Butanol Isomers as Potential Fuel for Direct Alcohol Fuel Cell

Low molecular weight alcohols have been proposed as promising alternative fuels to H2 in low temperature fuel cells due to their liquid nature, high energy density, availability in nature and easy handling1. Methanol and ethanol have been widely studied as fuel for direct alcohol fuel cell (DAFC); however methanol is toxic whereas ethanol is non-toxic and can be produced by fermentation of sugar. However, there is on-going public debate on the ethics of utilizing food stocks for fuel production instead of nutrition2. An alternate renewable source, which does not compete with the food, is required for a sustainable long-term energy production. Thus, 2nd generation bio-fuels are produced from non-food based feedstock such as lignocellulose biomass (LCB)2-3. Butanol is considered as a 2nd generation bio-fuel with better infrastructure compatibility than ethanol. These C4 alcohols have higher energy content, lower water adsorption, and better blending ability with gasoline than ethanol and is considered as a promising substitute for gasoline in automobiles2-3. In fuel cell, butanol provides 24 electrons on complete oxidation compared to 12e- and 6e- from ethanol and methanol respectively. In this regard, with the recent developments in the bio-butanol production, butanol has the potential to be used as fuel for DAFC. However increasing carbon will increase the number of possible intermediates and complicates the reaction pathway and thus reduces the efficiency. Within this study, different butanol isomers were examined as potential fuel for DAFC using a three electrode cell set up on Pt and PtSn electrodes prepared by electrodeposition on glassy carbon both in acid and alkaline media. The Sn coverage was calculated from the difference in the hydrogen desorption charge before and after the Sn deposition. A clear difference in behaviour was observed for different butanol isomers in the cyclic voltammetry (CV) indicating their different oxidation activity. N-butanol and iso-butanol showed similar CV features whereas 2-butanol and ter-butanol showed completely different CV features. Ter-butanol was found to be inactive for electrochemical oxidation at room temperature on Pt. Comparing the CV of Pt in butanol and acid, it was clear that the presence of OHads is necessary to initiate the n-butanol and iso-butanol oxidation on Pt. To enhance this, an oxophilic metal (Sn) was added to Pt so as to initiate the water dissociation at a lower potential. The PtSn electrode showed an improved oxidation activity compared to Pt with a pre-peak at ~500 mV (Figure 1) lower than the onset potential found using Pt for n-butanol oxidation in acidic media. Since this pre-peak appears at a potential region where PtOx is not formed, the oxygenated species for the butanol oxidation was assumed to be provided by the Sn on the catalyst surface 4. The higher activity of PtSn was thought to be due to a bi-functional mechanism where the water dissociate on Sn surface to provide OHads at lower potential which helps in the removal of poisoning species CO from the Pt as CO2 (equation1-2). The activation energy calculated at the pre-peak, 0.25 V vs. Ag/AgCl (3M NaCl) for the PtSn was about ~11 kJ mol-1 which is significantly lower than that on pure Pt at the first anodic peak, 0.7 V vs. Ag/AgCl-3M NaCl (25 kJ mol-1). The lower activation energy on PtSn at lower potential could be attributed to their effectiveness in the dissociative adsorption and oxidation of butanol 5. These results suggests PtSn could be an active catalyst for n-butanol electro oxidation and shows promise for further studies on long chain organic molecules. Sn+H2O --> Sn-OHads +H++e- (1)Pt + COads + Sn-OHads --> CO2 + H+ +e- (2) Figure 1. The voltammogram of Pt and PtSn electrodes (a) Pt and PtSn in in 0.1M H2SO4 and (b) Pt and PtSn in 0.1M BtOH+0.1M H2SO4 . Scan rate 50 mVs-1. Sn coverage ~25%. Reference (1) (a) Catalysts for Alcohol-fuelled Direct Oxidation Fuel Cells; Liang, Z. X.; Zhao, T. S., Eds.; Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK, 2012(b) Song, S.; Maragou, V.; Tsiakaras, P. Journal of Fuel Cell Science and Technology 2006, 4, 203. (2) Dürre, P. Biotechnology Journal 2007, 2, 1525. (3) Tao, L.; He, X.; Tan, E. C. D.; Zhang, M.; Aden, A. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining 2014, 8, 342. (4) (a) Gupta, S. S.; Singh, S.; Datta, J. Materials Chemistry and Physics 2009, 116, 223(b) Beyhan, S.; Coutanceau, C.; Léger, J.-M.; Napporn, T. W.; Kadırgan, F. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 2013, 38, 6830. (5) Sen Gupta, S.; Singh, S.; Datta, J. Materials Chemistry and Physics 2010, 120, 682. Figure 1

Richard P. Wool, PhD, Professor, FRSC In memoriam

It is with great sadness to communicate to you the news of Professor Richard P. Wool's unexpected passing on Tuesday, March 24, 2015. Richard was a Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Delaware, U.S.A., a member of the University's Center for Composite Materials, and a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Chemistry and the American Physical Society, Division of High Polymer Physics. Richard was born in Cork, Ireland in 1947. He met his wife, Deborah Fitzgerald Wool, in 1969 at University College Cork, Ireland, where he completed his BSc Honors Degree in Chemistry in 1970. He received both his MS (1972) and Doctorate (1974) in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Utah, U.S.A. Richard remained in the U.S.A. and after teaching at the University of New York and the University of Colorado, he became a member of the Materials Science and Engineering Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He and Deb lived near the university for 18 years and started a family: three daughters Sorcha, Meghan, and Breeda. In Illinois, he developed underlying physics behind polymers under stress, polymer fracture, polymer adhesion, and polymer welds. In 1995 the Wool family moved to Delaware, and Richard joined the faculty of the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department of the University of Delaware. At Delaware, he developed and taught popular classes on polymers, bio-based materials and green engineering, and established the Affordable Composites from Renewable Sources (ACRES) laboratory. From here he led the world towards refocusing on sustainable thermosets and composites, developing triglyceride-based crosslinkers, fatty acid-based pressure sensitive adhesives, polyurethane foams, lignin-derived reactive diluents, chicken feather-based composites and eco leather, and lignin-derived replacements for bisphenol A. Some of Richard's professional awards include the 2013 United States Environmental Protection Agency Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award, the 2011 American Chemical Society's Affordable Green Chemistry Award, the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Bio-Environmental Polymer Society, and the 2014 Faculty Research Innovation Award from the International Textiles and Apparel Association. He holds four patents, wrote two books and published over 200 papers, of which 22 were published in the Journal of Applied Polymer Science. He was a guest Professor in the Physics Department, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, 2002; Condensed Matter Physics, Ecole Polytechnique, Paris, France, 1991; and Natta Laboratory, Politecnico Di Milano, Milan, Italy, 1984. Many of Richard's countless accomplishments throughout his personal and professional life were noteworthy. He brought joy to everyone with his unconditional generosity and kindness, his humor and laughter, his music, his wisdom and intellect, and, most especially, with his love of life. He was a lifelong sailor and musician who loved to share both with everyone he met. All, especially those in the Polymer Science, Polymer Engineering, and Green Chemistry and Engineering communities, will truly miss his leadership, good wit, strong support, and love. John La Scala Chief, Coatings, Corrosion, and Engineered Polymers Branch Army Pollution Prevention Chairman U.S. Army Research Laboratory Aberdeen Proving Ground, U.S.A. Joseph F. Stanzione, III Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering Director, Sustainable Materials Research Laboratories Rowan University Glassboro, U.S.A.

ORR Catalyst Based on Polypyrrole Nanowires with Electrochemically Immobilized Macrocycles

Optimizing the amount of platinum, and eventually avoiding its use, is one of the ultimate goals for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC). In this regard, different approaches have been investigated such as using platinum alloys with non-precious metals, preparing particles with a non-precious metal core and a platinum shell, and by the use of novel supporting materials [1-3]. As part of the latter effort, carbon has been the most widely used electronically conducting support to obtain higher active surface area and efficiency. In addition, nanostructured conducting materials like carbon nanotubes, nanofibers and mesoporous carbon have also been used for supported metal catalysts [4-7]. The work we are presenting involves the development of a new class of ORR catalysts based on polypyrrole nanowires with immobilized macrocycles, which are incorporated into the polymer during the electropolymerization process as counterions. In this new approach polypyrrole nanowires play the role of a conductive supporting material while the incorporated macrocycles provide the active centers for ORR catalysis (Figure 1). Electrochemical characterization, including RRDE studies, was performed to determine the catalytic properties of the new conductive nanostructured material. For this purpose, the catalyst was electrochemically deposited on a glassy carbon disk electrode in presence of the macrocycles as supporting electrolyte in order to incorporated them into the polymer as counterions. Conclusions The new ORR catalyst based on polypyrrole nanowires with immobilized macrocycles showed promising RRDE results for ORR catalysis. Furthermore, this catalyst demonstrated good potential as a new class of non-precious metal catalyst without involving pyrolysis steps during the preparation process. Acknowledgement The financial support from the University of California (grant 12-LR-237440) is gratefully acknowledged. References P.H. Matter, E.J. Biddinger, U.S. Ozkan, in Catalysis Book Series, Spivey. J., Editor, Royal Society of Chemistry, 20, 338-361, Cambridge, (2007).Mark K. Debe, Alison K. Schmoeckel, George D. Vernstrom, Radoslav Atanasoski, J. Power Sources, 161, 1002–1011 (2006).W.S. Shi, P. Liang, D. Ge, J. Wang, Q. Zhang, Chem. Commun., 2414–2416 (2007).H. Zhao, L. Li, Jun Yang, Y. Zhang, Journal of Power Sources, 184, 375–380 (2008)R. Dersch, M. Steinhart, U. Boudriot, A. Greiner, J. H. Wendorff, Polym. Adv. Technol., 16, 276–282 (2005).T. Ochi, Biochem. Biophysic. Res. Commun., 11, 67–70 (2004).G. G. Wallace, P.C. Innis, J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol., 2, 441–451 (2002) Figure 1. SEM picture of the new class of ORR catalysts based on polypyrrole nanowires with immobilized macrocycles with ORR catalysis centers. Figure 1

Professional bodies supporting the LifeTrain principles: a case study from the Royal Society of Chemistry

Professional bodies supporting the LifeTrain principles: a case study from the Royal Society of Chemistry

ChemTrove: enabling a generic ELN to support chemistry through the use of transferable plug-ins and online data sources.

In designing an Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN), there is a balance to be struck between keeping it as general and multidisciplinary as possible for simplicity of use and maintenance and introducing more domain-specific functionality to increase its appeal to target research areas. Here, we describe the results of a collaboration between the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and the University of Southampton, guided by the aims of the Dial-a-Molecule Grand Challenge, intended to achieve the best of both worlds and augment a discipline-agnostic ELN, LabTrove, with chemistry-specific functionality and using data provided by the ChemSpider platform. This has been done using plug-in technology to ensure maximum transferability with minimal effort of the chemistry functionality to other ELNs and equally other subject-specific functionality to LabTrove. The resulting product, ChemTrove, has undergone a usability trial by selected academics, and the resulting feedback will guide the future development of the underlying ELN technology.

Food composition data updated

Food composition data updated

Correlation between the genotoxicity endpoints measured by two different genotoxicity assays: comet assay and CBMN assay

Correlation between the genotoxicity endpoints measured by two different genotoxicity assays: comet assay and CBMN assay

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