Search results for ""Author Royal Society of Chemistry""

The hydration of ions and the interactions of ions with (bio)molecules play a key role in many natural and technological processes. These effects are usually framed in terms of the lyotropic or Hofmeister series which traditionally orders cations and anions according to their ability to salt-out proteins. Since its formulation more than one hundred years ago, the lyotropic series has been invoked in myriad effects including the crystallization of proteins, enzyme activities, the swelling of tissues, salt solubilities, ion exchange, surface tension of electrolytes, and bubble coalescence. Although it is now clear that the Hofmeister series is intimately connected with ion hydration in homogeneous and heterogeneous environments and with ion pairing, the molecular origin of these effects has been poorly understood. Biochemists and physical chemists have been typically using the term Hofmeister series to put a label on ion specific behaviour in various environments, rather than to reach a molecular level understanding and, consequently, an ability to predict a particular effect of a specific salt ion. This meeting (which took place at Queen's College Oxford in September 2012) aimed to respond to the emerging situation in which science has matured enough to be able to provide answers about the molecular nature of ion specific effects. It explored the most important issues in understanding the chemistry and biological effects of ions, with state of the art work being presented using advanced experimental and computational methods. Investigation of ion specific effects is truly interdisciplinary since it requires chemists, biochemists, and biophysicists to collaborate with each other, combining experimental and computational approaches. We invited researchers in these fields to take part in the Discussion and join the chosen speakers who are among the key scientists behind the recent renaissance of interest in ion specific effects. Themes covered included: Solvation of ions in the aqueous bulk and at interfaces Ion-ion interactions in water Interactions between ions and biomolecules (proteins, nucleic acids, membranes, etc.) in water. Specific Hofmeister effects of ions and osmolytes on protein association, precipitation, folding/unfolding, and activity

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Designed with the non-specialist teacher in mind, the emphasis of this book is to provide them with the confidence, flair and enthusiasm to teach chemistry at KS3 or KS4. Provision of 80 experiments to inspire and engage the students, practical help with the experiments and health and safety guidance means the teacher has all the tools they might require when improving the teaching of chemistry. Originally developed as course material for the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Chemistry for Non-Specialist course, organised in collaboration with the national network of Science Learning Centres (SLCs) and supported by an unrestricted educational grant from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the resources are tried and tested and known to be effective. The course book is accompanied by a CD-ROM and together they make a valuable addition to the educational resources and aids for non-specialist teachers teaching chemistry.

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Gas and liquid-phase unimolecular reactions are central to the complex chemistry of a large number of processes, from those occurring in the Earth’s atmosphere to those involved in transportation, power and manufacturing. Improving our understanding of the fundamental chemistry of these processes is critical to solving contemporary challenges such as climate change, as well as improving industrial efficiency. One hundred years have passed since the proposal of the Lindemann mechanism in 1922, and the current state of this field is as exciting and important as ever. The unique format of the Faraday Discussions allows for in-depth discussions across the full scope of the field, from new perspectives in kinetics and dynamics to application to current challenges such as atmospheric pollution, alternative fuels and industrial processes. This volume brings together global leaders to examine the current state of unimolecular reaction experiments as well as theory and applications to current challenges. In this volume the topics covered are organised into the following themes: Collisional energy transfer The reaction step The Master Equation Impact of Lindemann and related theories

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In recent years, mechanochemistry has become a mainstream technique for chemical synthesis, spanning supramolecular materials, inorganic (main group, coordination complexes, MOFs) and organic synthesis, pharmaceutical screening, materials development, sustainable chemistry and reaction discovery, as well as its more traditional applications in alloying etc. The current time is also exciting in terms of advances in the fundamental understanding of kinetics and some of the first reaction models specific to mechanochemistry are being discovered. Mechanochemistry is far broader than synthesis alone. It is also fundamental to understanding shear processes at the molecular level and is being harnessed to accomplish new chemistry through the controlled mechanical scission of polymers. As such, mechanochemistry brings many disciplines together in an effort to provide greater understanding of fundamental molecular processes for large scale, sustainable manufacturing as well as new science. This Faraday Discussion volume brings together internationally-leading researchers to explore and exchange ideas on the physical and chemical principles underlying mechanochemical phenomena. In this volume the topics covered are organised into the following themes: Advances in synthesis Shear processes and polymer mechanochemistry Kinetics and basic understanding Scale up and industrial implementation

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Nanoelectrochemistry is not only important for achieving ultra-sensitive applications in fields ranging from energy to bioanalysis, but also contributes to more fundamental understanding of processes on this scale. While electrochemical processes occur within confined geometries at the nanometre scale, electrochemistry endows us with an ever-increasing ability to measure and understand with unprecedented precision. This Faraday Discussions volume addresses the challenges in both fundamental and applied nanoelectrochemistry, where new concepts and new knowledge play key roles. This volume also encourages cross-disciplinary interactions for electrochemistry with biophysics, nanofabrication, informatics, electronics and beyond. It discusses new concepts and knowledge within the field of nanoelectrochemistry, including new methods and novel applications. These new methods for achieving highly precise electrochemical measurements at nanoscale make it possible to provide fundamental electrochemical techniques to integrate with advanced spectroscopy and informatics technology to achieve real-life applications. This Faraday Discussions volume will potentially both revolutionise understanding in nanoelectrochemistry and guide future developments in this exciting research area. It covers the following topics: Emerging electrochemical methods at the nanointerface State of the art energy conversion at the nanointerface Electrochemical data mining: from information to knowledge Advanced nanoelectrochemistry implementation: from concept to application

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The area of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and related materials is arguably one of the hottest interdisciplinary subjects spanning chemistry, materials science, physics and engineering. A primary reason for this major interest is the possibility of tuning the chemical and structural flexibility of these materials using an enormous variety of combinations of metal ions, bridging ligands, counter-ions and formation of hybrids and composites. Given the recent developments in this area, including the emergence of MOFs whose applications and functional properties has led to their commercialisation, the unique format of the Faraday Discussions allows for in-depth discussions across the full scope of this interdisciplinary field, from pioneering synthesis and design to commercial viability in the marketplace. This volume brings together internationally leading researchers interested in the interdisciplinary field of MOFs to explore and exchange ideas on recent developments and future possibilities. In this volume the topics covered are organised into the following themes: Fundamental studies and design of MOFs Applications of MOFs Theory and modelling of MOFs Commercialisation of MOFs

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Photo-induced processes are of tremendous importance in the natural world and across science. Examples include ultrafast process in vision, energy-release by water-splitting in photosynthesis, chemical reactions in the atmosphere, photocatalysis, and technologies such as petahertz electronics, photovoltaics, and light-emitting diodes. Due to the intrinsic complexity of photo-induced processes, they remain the least understood type of physical and chemical processes. Strong and weak laser induced electron and nuclear dynamics on ultrafast time-scales, nonadiabatic dynamics, quantum effects and conical intersections are known to be important, but the full picture is still being unveiled and a cohesive understanding assembled. New experimental techniques, capable of monitoring photo-induced processes with unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution across the entire reaction path, play a key role in this. These developments are driven by the appearance of free-electron lasers, such as the XFEL in Europe, the LCLS (and soon LCLS-II) in the USA, SACLA in Japan, PAL in Korea and Swiss-FEL in Switzerland, new sources of pulsed electrons, table-top based attosecond laser sources, and advanced detection techniques. A large and important contribution is made by advances in theory and computational modelling, in particular in terms of (nonadiabatic) quantum dynamics simulations and theoretical models that improve the interpretation and analysis of experiments. In this volume the topics covered include: Time-resolved Diffraction Time-Resolved Ultrafast Spectroscopy Strong-Field Physics Ultrafast X-ray Science

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Very high levels of air pollution have been observed in many cities across the world, in both developing and developed economies, with varying degrees of regularity. Predicting urban air quality demands detailed knowledge of both the physical properties of the urban atmosphere and pollutants within it, and the chemical reactions of those pollutants, which have a major impact on measured levels. For emitted pollutants, concentrations are likely to be reduced proportionately with reductions in emissions, but in the case of secondary pollutants formed within the atmosphere, the relationship between precursor emissions and reaction products is often strongly non-linear. This discussion aims to improve understanding of the underlying processes responsible, which is essential for the development of high quality numerical models of urban air pollutants, which are required for the testing of mitigation strategies prior to implementation. The following topics are covered within this volume: Current status and trends in air quality in megacities Physico-chemical processes in the urban atmosphere (neighbourhood scale) Physico-chemical processes in the urban atmosphere (city scale) Effects, mitigation and policy

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It is vital to improve our understanding of how macromolecules such as peptides interact with membranes. These processes are involved in protein folding, cell signalling, biogenesis, morphogenesis, disease and medical therapy. Next-generation synthetic biology goals will require a clearer understanding of how to control reticulated membrane structures in order to fabricate the supramolecular structures necessary for advanced synthesis and behaviour. This volume will address several related aspects of peptide interactions with membranes. It will consider model theoretical and experimental systems in order to define the ‘reaction space’ that is possible and where appropriate with relevance to fundamental questions in cell biology, including how peptides and proteins behave within biological membranes. The topics covered include: Theoretical and experimental comparisons of simple peptide-membrane systems Theoretical and experimental studies of complex peptide-membrane systems Behaviour and interactions of proteins and peptides with and within membranes Peptide-membrane interactions and biotechnology

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Over the last 10 years, the field of plasmonic research has emerged as an extremely promising technology with several main fields of application: information technologies, energy, high-density data storage, photovoltaics, chemistry, biology, medicine and security. The main focus up to a few years ago was on the ability of plasmonic nanostructures to generate localized regions of highly concentrated electromagnetic fields, however more recently it has also been realized that the electron part of plasmonic excitations can also be exploited in the physical and chemical sciences. Fascinating proof-of-concept applications have over the last three years been demonstrated in areas such as surface-enhanced catalysis (water splitting), photodetectors without bandgaps (Schottky junctions), and nanoscale control over chemical reactions. These applications as well as the most recent breakthroughs and key challenges in this multidisciplinary and dynamic field are the focus of this Faraday Discussion, offering the perspectives of physicists, chemists and ab-initio theoreticians. In this volume the topics covered include: Dynamics of hot electron generation in metallic nanostructures Theory of hot electrons New materials for hot electron generation Applications in catalysis, photochemistry, and photodetection

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The prediction of crystal structures from first principles has been one of the grand challenges for computational methods in chemistry and materials science. The goal of being able to reliably predict crystal structures at an atomistic level of detail, given only the chemical composition as input, presents several challenges. A solution to the crystal structure prediction challenge requires advances in several areas of computational chemistry. Theoretical chemists have naturally been drawn to these challenges from an academic perspective, while the development of methods for solving the problem of crystal structure prediction has also been motivated by a growing range of applications where reliable structure prediction is sought and could guide experimentation. Crystal structure predictions have been used to study organic molecules such as polymorphism of pharmaceutical molecules, where changes in crystal form can lead to changes in important physical and chemical properties, which must be strictly controlled in a pharmaceutical product, or inorganic materials where the discovery and computational design of new materials with targeted properties, such as porosity, electronic or mechanical properties are necessary. However, the communities addressing methods and applications in organic and inorganic crystal structure prediction have largely remained separate, due to the different approaches that have been used in these two areas. The community as a whole will benefit from the cross-fertilisation of ideas and methods in this volume, as well as from bringing theoreticians together with interested experimentalists. The volume will appeal to researchers from computational chemistry, informatics, physics (applying solid state electronic structure methods) and materials science in the development of methods. Applications of the methods also cover several fields, including crystallography, crystal engineering, mineralogy and pharmaceutical materials. This volume gathers key researchers representing the full scientific scope of the topic, including the developers of methods and software, those developing the application of the methods and interested experimentalists who may benefit from advances in predictive computational methods. In this volume the topics covered include: Structure searching methods Crystal structure evaluation: calculating relative stabilities and other criteria Applications of crystal structure prediction – organic molecular structures Applications of crystal structure prediction – inorganic and network structures

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This volume brings together the work of both theoreticians and experimentalists on the synthesis of nanoparticles and their use in catalytic reactions. Heterogeneous catalysis is a core area of contemporary physical chemistry posing major fundamental and conceptual challenges, and nanoparticles are ubiquitous in many heterogeneous catalysts, therefore it is now opportune to focus a Faraday Discussion on key aspects of their synthesis, characterisation and use. This Faraday Discussion will explore the modern methods being used to design, synthesise and characterize nanoparticles and how these bridge across the disciplines of physical science and chemical engineering. The core aim of this discussion meeting is to develop a fundamental understanding of these crucial aspects of catalytic science, especially relating to nanoparticle synthesis and use in catalytic reactions, knowledge of which is essential for the design of new catalysts.

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Recent advances in nanofabrication and subwavelength optical characterisation have led to significant new advances in plasmonics. In addition to traditional top-down nanofabrication techniques, chemical-based fabrication has emerged as an inexpensive and viable alternative with electrochemical and self-organisation methods for fabrication of plasmonic nanoparticles and extended plasmonic structures. This volume aims to highlight the most recent breakthroughs in this multidisciplinary field and hear from the different perspectives of physicists, chemists and biologists. It connects the various subdisciplines in the field and defines the most challenging problems for the future. This volume is focused on areas where progress is expected to have a most significant impact on a whole area of nanoplasmonics and on commercial exploitation. In this volume the topics covered include: Plasmonic nanoparticles and metamaterials with designed optical properties Surface plasmon enhanced spectroscopies Quantum plasmonics, gain and spasers Biosensing and biomedical applications of plasmonics

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The development of renewable, low cost, high performance energy technologies is a key scientific challenge for the 21st century. Many of these energy applications involve numerous dynamic energy and mass transfer processes at the length scale of sub-nanometers to micrometers that require the collaborative participation of various functional material components. To create efficient, stable and reproducible energy systems, effective integration of material components from atomic, molecular, nano to meso-scale is crucial. However, the most challenging aspect is to integrate the required components together while optimising the performance of each component and even creating new synergetic effects. In the past decade, considerable research attention has been devoted to the fabrication of single-length scale / component materials for energy applications. This title will centre on discussing how individual functional components at different length scale can be effectively integrated into next-generation energy materials. Aimed at today’s experimentalists and theoreticians, chemists, physicists and materials scientists, this book will cross-boundaries and discuss energy-related information.

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