Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

A Fresh Look at Sustainable Chemistry

2020; Wiley; Volume: 14; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/cssc.202002799

1864-564X

David J. Smith,

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

Turn up the volume: ChemSusChem Editor in Chief David Smith introduces Volume 14 of the journal, reflects on some events at the journal throughout 2020, and looks ahead to what will happen in 2021, as well as introducing a new Chair of the journal's Editorial Board. In my Editorial at the start of 2020, marking the start of the thirteenth Volume of ChemSusChem (“Lucky Thirteen”; ChemSusChem 2020, 13, 6–10), I wrote the following: “Thirteen is considered an unlucky number in some cultures and a lucky number in others, so, without wishing to sound too superstitious, we're keeping our fingers crossed it's the latter.” That went well. Following a year dominated by a global pandemic, for future reference, superstition will get you nowhere. This year, we'll be relying entirely on cold, hard, scientific facts. Fortunately, once again, researchers are coming to the rescue with vaccines, so we're keeping our fingers crossed for a better 2021. Besides the widespread upheaval and isolation going on in the world at large, 2020 saw some more positive changes going on for ChemSusChem and our sister journals. In the spring, we saw the launch of Chemistry Europe (formerly ChemPubSoc Europe). Representing the members of 16 European chemical societies throughout Europe, Chemistry Europe was launched with the mission to “evaluate, publish, disseminate and amplify the scientific excellence of chemistry researchers from around the globe in high-quality publications.” Moreover, we got a snazzy new cover design! This month, we are very pleased to announce the Professor Katalin Barta has joined ChemSusChem as a new Chair of the Editorial Board. Professor Barta, who recently took on a new role as Full Professor at the University of Graz in Austria, is one of the world's leading experts on catalytic biomass valorization and a long-standing supporter of ChemSusChem, having published her first paper with us in 2014. We asked Professor Barta about her thoughts on ChemSusChem and sustainable chemistry as a whole as she steps into this new role, and here's what she had to say: “I still remember when ChemSusChem was launched in 2008 with the idea to bring together, in a focused manner, articles related to chemistry and sustainability. Discussing with fellow PhD students and post-docs with a keen interest in this area, we knew immediately, that this will be one of our journals, and became regular readers and later authors and reviewers. In the slightly more than 10 years that have since passed, this journal provided an excellent platform for an entire community to develop, grow and create together, and will continue to do so in the coming decade. As our community tackles multifaceted challenges in green chemistry, catalysis, energy, materials, modern synthesis, renewables and many other areas, strict boundaries between classical chemistry disciplines fade away and entire research fields are being created. I hope that we will be able to witness, adequately support and actively participate in these exciting new developments – also in the next 10 years to come!” I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome Professor Barta to the ChemSusChem team and look forward to working together towards continued success for ChemSusChem in the coming years. Katalin Barta's appointment as Editorial Board Chair for ChemSusChem coincides with the departure as Chair of Professor Matthias Beller of the University of Rostock. Professor Beller has been Chair of ChemSusChem’s Editorial Board since the journal was first launched in 2007 and his unparalleled expertise on catalysis and sustainable chemistry has proven invaluable throughout the journal's existence to date. I'd like to personally thank Matthias for his role in positioning ChemSusChem among the leading forums for sustainable chemistry. We asked Professor Beller to reflect on his time with the journal: “I still remember the first discussions I had with Peter Gölitz about the necessity for a journal focusing on chemical aspects of sustainability. Sustainability is more than being green! I think the last decade has proven that it was the right decision to start ChemSusChem and I have to say it was a great pleasure being part of this endeavor. Every day, numerous researchers all over the world from different areas are influenced and inspired by the research presented in this journal. It helps us to develop technologies to achieve a sustainable society and economy. In my opinion, this is still the most important task for us all. I wish the Editor-in-Chief and the colleagues all the best to further advance the journal and serve the community.” We are very pleased that, following his tenure as Editorial Board Chair at ChemSusChem, Professor Beller will continue his relationship with the journal as a member of the International Advisory Board. I look forward to continuing to work with him in the years to come. In other news related to the Editorial and International Advisory Board, 2020 also saw the launch of a new Special Collection in ChemSusChem to highlight The Latest Research from Our Board Members. Since last Spring, all contributions to ChemSusChem from members of our International and Editorial Advisory Board members have been added to the Special Collection and made free to access for a limited period of time. We greatly appreciate the efforts of our Board members and look to their excellent chemistry to help set the standard for the journal. Many thanks to all our Board members for continuing to set such a high bar. The emphasis on sustainability in chemistry research has if anything become even more prevalent during 2020 and we are grateful to our authors for having published even more of their excellent work with us this year than ever before, especially in light of the challenges posed to researchers by the pandemic. By the end of the year, ChemSusChem will have published more than 600 papers in Volume 13, which is a record. We would like to thank everyone for continuing to send us their fine contributions, and hope they continue to do so in the future. Moreover, for another successive year, download numbers have also seen a significant increase, so I would like to take this opportunity to thank the authors of the year's most downloaded papers. Once again, the most downloaded ChemSusChem publications in 2020 (Table 1) covered a wide array of topics, including lignin valorization (“Production and Application of Lignosulfonates and Sulfonated Lignin” by Pedram Fatehi and co-workers – our most downloaded article in 2020), solar cells (“Impact of Interfacial Layers in Perovskite Solar Cells” by Nam-Gyu Park and co-workers), sodium-ion batteries (“Hard Carbon as Sodium-Ion Battery Anodes: Progress and Challenges” by Biwei Xiao, Teófilo Rojo, and Xiaolin Li), and waste plastics recycling (“Efficient Plastic Waste Recycling to Value-Added Products by Integrated Biomass Processing” by Jürgen Klankermayer and co-workers. Corresponding Author(s) Title Type Reference[a] DOI[b] Pedram Fatehi Production and Application of Lignosulfonates and Sulfonated Lignin Review 10(9), 1861 10.1002/cssc.201700082 Nam-Gyu Park Impact of Interfacial Layers in Perovskite Solar Cells Review 10(19), 3687 10.1002/cssc.201701095 Teófilo Rojo, Xiaolin Li Hard Carbon as Sodium-Ion Battery Anodes: Progress and Challenges Minireview 12(1), 133 10.1002/cssc.201801879 Jürgen Klankermeyer Efficient Plastic Waste Recycling to Value-Added Products by Integrated Biomass Processing Communication 13(3), 488 10.1002/cssc.201902880 Joseph Montoya, Jens Nørskov The Challenge of Electrochemical Ammonia Synthesis: A New Perspective on the Role of Nitrogen Scaling Relations Concept 8(13), 2180 10.1002/cssc.201500322 Mika Sipponen, Monika Österberg Lignin for Nano- and Microscaled Carrier Systems: Applications, Trends, and Challenges Review 12(10), 2039 10.1002/cssc.201900480 Shunichi Fukuzumi, Yong-Min Lee, Wonwoo Nam Fuel Production from Seawater and Fuel Cells Using Seawater Review 10(22), 4264 10.1002/cssc.201701381 Kevin Sivula Solar Water Splitting: Progress Using Hematite (α-Fe2O3) Photoelectrodes Review 4(4), 432 10.1002/cssc.201000416 Christopher Jones Adsorbent Materials for Carbon Dioxide Capture from Large Anthropogenic Point Sources Review 2(9)796 10.1002/cssc.200900036 Fanyang Mo C−H Bond Carboxylation with Carbon Dioxide Review 12(1), 6 10.1002/cssc.201802012 2020 also saw another increase in ChemSusChem’s Impact Factor of 7.962. Once again, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of our authors, referees, and staff, as well as the readers who cite the journal, without whom we'd be in a significantly worse position. Much like our most downloaded papers, our most highly cited recent papers (Table 2) also reflect the full breadth of sustainable chemistry, with papers on batteries, biocatalysis, electrocatalysis, biomass conversion, green solvents, and CO2 utilization all represented in the top 10 most highly cited publications from 2019 (at the time of writing, the last completed calendar year). Congratulations go to Teófilo Rojo at CIC energiGUNE and Biwei Xiao and Xiaolin Li at PNNL, whose Minireview on hard carbon for sodium-ion battery anodes was the year's most highly cited paper in ChemSus-Chem. Corresponding Author(s) Title Time Cited[a] Type Ref.[b] DOI[c] Teófilo Rojo, Xiaolin Li Hard Carbon as Sodium-Ion Battery Anodes: Progress and Challenges 74 Minireview 12(1), 133 10.1002/cssc.201801879 Roger Sheldon, Dean Brady Broadening the Scope of Biocatalysis in Sustainable Organic Synthesis 71 Review 12(13), 2859 10.1002/cssc.201900351 Chao Wang, Qiang Gao, Tao Ding, Renbo Wei, Zhanhu Guo Iridium-Based Catalysts for Solid Polymer Electrolyte Electrocatalytic Water Splitting 70 Minireview 12(8), 1576 10.1002/cssc.201802873 Daniel Crespy, Valerio D'Elia Polymers Based on Cyclic Carbonates as Trait d'Union Between Polymer Chemistry and Sustainable CO2 Utilization 60 Review 12(4), 724 10.1002/cssc.201802770 Fanyang Mo C−H Bond Carboxylation with Carbon Dioxide 58 Review 12(1), 6 10.1002/cssc.201802012 An Li Facile and Scalable Fabrication of Surface-Modified Sponge for Efficient Solar Steam Generation 56 Communication 12(2), 426 10.1002/cssc.201802406 Mario Culebras Bio-derived Carbon Nanofibres from Lignin as High-Performance Li–Ion Anode Materials 51 Full Paper 12(10), 4516 10.1002/cssc.201901562 Mika Sipponen, Monika Österberg Lignin for Nano- and Microscaled Carrier Systems: Applications, Trends, and Challenges 46 Review 12(10), 2039 10.1002/cssc.201900480 Isabel Marrucho Quest for Green-Solvent Design: From Hydrophilic to Hydrophobic (Deep) Eutectic Solvents 45 Minireview 12(8), 1546 10.1002/cssc.201900147 Shunmugavel Saravanamurugan Recent Advances in the Development of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural Oxidation with Base (Nonprecious)-Metal-Containing Catalysts 43 Minireview 12(1), 145 10.1002/cssc.201801744 Because the current global situation has rendered travel difficult (and in many cases impossible), we haven't been able to get out in the community as much as we'd like during the past year to meet with our authors face to face. I think I speak for all my colleagues at ChemSusChem when I say that we miss being able to meet you all and we very much look forward to the return of opportunities to get back on the road in the coming year (hopefully). While conference visits have not been possible for much of 2020, ChemSusChem and our sister journals at Chemistry Europe have organized a series of online virtual symposia during the year. The first ChemSusChem virtual symposium, Lignin Valorization (Figure 1), took place in November and was organized in conjunction with September's Special Issue on the same topic. The virtual symposium saw some top science presented by speakers Changzhi Li (Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics), Claudia Crestini (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice), Eric Hegg (Michigan State University), and our new Editorial Board Chair Katalin Barta (University of Graz). On behalf of the team at ChemSusChem, I'd like to thank all of the excellent speakers and our moderator Joseph Samec (Stockholm University) for making the symposium a success. For those of you who may have missed the virtual symposium, a recording is now available online. ChemSusChem’s virtual symposium on Lignin Valorization took place in November with speakers Katalin Barta, Claudia Crestini, Eric Hegg, and Changzhi Li, and moderator Joseph Samec. We look forward to bringing you more virtual symposia, both at ChemSusChem and the rest of the Chemistry Europe portfolio, in the coming year. Keep an eye out for announcements to come. 2020 again saw some fascinating fields of sustainable chemistry highlighted in Special Issues and Special Collections (Figure 2). March saw the assembly of a Special Issue on 2D Energy Storage Materials. Overseen by Guest Editors, Volker Presser, Guang Feng, Xinliang Feng, and Michael Naguib, the issue covered studies from the likes of Liangti Qu, Lianzhou Wang, and Qiang Zhang concerning novel and emerging electrode materials, materials processing techniques, and energy storage devices, and was published as part of a Joint Special Collection with our sister journal Batteries & Supercaps. ChemSusChem’s 2020 Special Issues (from left to right): 2 D Energy Storage Materials; Organic Batteries; Lignin Valorization: From Theory to Practice; Green Carbon Science: CO2 Capture and Conversion. In May, ChemSusChem brought out a Special Issue on Organic Batteries. Conceived at 2019’s Organic Battery Days conference in Jena, Germany, the Guest Editors were Jun Chen (Nankai University), Philippe Poizot (University of Nantes), Ulrich Schubert (Friedrich Schiller University Jena), and Yan Yao (University of Houston). Papers included in the Special Issue, from authors including Haoshen Zhou, Martin Sjödin and Jodie Lutkenhaus, explored advances in this exciting field aimed at making organic batteries a commercially viable means of sustainable energy storage. Our third Special Issue of 2020 was the aforementioned Lignin Valorization: From Theory to Practice, guest edited by Arthur Ragauskas (University of Tennessee Knoxville), Joseph Samec (Stockholm University), and Run-Cang Sun (Dalian Polytechnic University). The conversion of lignin into valuable products remains one of the most challenging aspects of using lignocellulosic biomass as a renewable resource, and this Special Issue focused on a broad range techniques, strategies, and applications aimed at exploiting this abundant feedstock. Contributors to the issue included John Ralph, Katalin Barta, and Gregg Beckham. At the time of writing, we have just published our fourth and final Special Issue of 2020, Green Carbon Science: CO2 Capture and Conversion. The concept of green carbon science aims to use carbon resources efficiently and minimize the net CO2 emissions. The Special Issue, guest edited by Buxing Han (Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences), Haichao Liu (Peking University), Bao-Lian Su (University of Namur), Licheng Sun (KTH, DUT), and Zai-Ku Xie (SINOPEC), focuses on a wide range of strategies to harness CO2 emissions from authors such as Angela Dibenedetto, Hailiang Wang, and Javier Pérez-Ramírez. In the coming year, we will continue to highlight some of the hottest areas of sustainable chemistry in Special Issues. We are already receiving contributions for Special Issues on Advanced Organic Solar Cells (Guest Editors: Christoph Brabec, Martin Heeney, Yougkyoo Kim, and Christine Luscombe) and on Chemical Upcycling of Waste Plastics (Guest Editors: Adam Guss, George Huber, Carol Lin, Xianzhi Meng, Hugh O'Neill, Arthur Ragauskas, Jia Wang, Yanqin Wang, and Frederik Wurm). The invited contributions to these Special Issues can be identified by the icons shown in Figure 3. These issues will be assembled later in the year but, in the meantime, accepted contributions to the issues will be gathered together in Special Collections. Icons signifying this year's Special Issues of ChemSusChem (from left to right): Advanced Organic Solar Cells; Chemical Upcycling of Waste Plastics. Moreover, 2020 has also seen ChemSusChem highlight some top institutions in Special Collections. Earlier in the year, in collaboration with our colleagues at Energy Technology, we assembled a Special Collection highlighting Energy Storage and Conversion Research at Science City Ulm, featuring recent studies new papers from Science City Ulm and its affiliated institutions (University of Ulm, Helmholtz-Institut Ulm, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and ZSW-Baden-Württemberg). We are proud to highlight Science City's first-class research. Finally, I'd like to alert your attention to some goings on elsewhere in the Chemistry Europe Portfolio. 2021 will see the first issues of two new Chemistry Europe journals; Analysis & Sensing and Chemistry – Methods (Figure 4). Chemistry Europe's new journals: Analysis & Sensing and Chemistry – Methods. Analysis & Sensing publishes top-quality peer-reviewed research on all aspects of analytical and bioanalytical chemistry and sensors, ranging from fundamental studies on core spectroscopic and spectrometric methods to applications across a variety of disciplines. It is overseen by Editorial Board Chairs Ron Heeren (University of Maastricht, The Netherlands), Janina Kneipp (Humboldt University Berlin, Germany), and Jianghong Rao (Stanford University), and Editor in Chief Jonathan Faiz. Chemistry–Methods is a fully open-access interdisciplinary journal publishing high-impact peer-reviewed research on all aspects of methods in chemistry, ranging from operando techniques in catalysis to new approaches to imaging and new synthetic methods, as well as new methods in theoretical chemistry. Chemistry–Methods will be overseen by Editorial Board Chairs Oliver Kappe (University of Graz, Austria), Jana Roithová (Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands), and Steven Wheeler (University of Athens, Georgia, USA), and Editor in Chief Francesca Novara. Throughout 2021, all open-access charges at Chemistry–Methods will be waived. In closing, to all our readers, we'd like to take this opportunity to wish you a happy and healthy 2021. We look forward to keeping sustainability at the forefront of chemistry throughout the year.