Environmental Science What is it

Energy & Environmental Science are delighted to announce that Professor Yang Shao-Horn joins the Editorial Board of the journal.

Yang Shao-Horn is W.M. Keck Professor of Energy at MIT. Her research is centered on the chemical physics of surfaces with emphasis on metal oxides, searching for descriptors of catalytic activity, and reactivity between oxides and ion conductors, wetting properties and ion transport, and design materials for solar fuel and batteries including electrochemical/photoelectrochemical water splitting and CO2 reduction, ion/electron storage, and ion conductors. Professor Yang’s research includes extensive experimental components, including synthesis of well-defined surfaces and nanostructured materials, and investigation of processes at the surfaces/interfaces using electrochemical methods coupled with ex situ and in situ X-ray-based and electron-based spectroscopy. These experimental components are used in conjunction with Density Functional Theory computation efforts to develop new, physically based reaction mechanisms and design principles of materials. Professor Yang has published ~200 archival journal papers.

Read Professor Yang’s latest article in EES here:

Jae-Il Jung, Marcel Risch, Seungkyu Park, Min Gyu Kim, Gyutae Nam, Hu-Young Jeong, Yang Shao-Horn and Jaephil Cho

Energy Environ. Sci., 2016, 9, 176-183. DOI: 10.1039/C5EE03124A.

Professor Yang and the rest of the Editorial Board invite you to submit your best work to EES now!

EES is pleased to support the 1st International Symposium on Singlet Fission and Photon Fusion, held on . This new conference series will cover all aspects of singlet fission and photon fusion including both molecular and heavy metal systems, as well as molecular solar thermal storage. Some of the most talented scientists in this exciting up-and-coming field, including chemists, physicists, spectroscopist and theoreticians are coming to present their most recent results. We are certain that this will promote highly stimulating and creative days in Gothenburg (Sweden).

Confirmed Keynote Speakers:
Richard Friend, Cambridge
Felix Castellano, NC State
Stanislav Balouchev, MPI/Sofia
Timothy W. Schmidt, UNSW
Jennifer Dionne, Stanford
Jianzhang Zhao, Dalian University of Technology
Ferdinand Grozema, TU Delft

Confirmed Invited Speakers:
Michel R. Wasielewski, Northwestern
Justin Johnson, NREL
Lüis Campos, Columbia
Nobuo Kimizuka, Kyushu
Ana Morandeira, Uppsala
Michael J. Tauber, UCSD
Dirk Guldi, Erlangen
Christopher Bardeen, UC Riverside,
Yoan Simon, Fribourg
Francesco Meinardi, Milano
David Zhitomirsky, MIT

Due to the strong lineup of confirmed speakers we expect to have 200 participants coming to Gothenburg. The conference has high visibility within the photochemistry and materials science research community. The symposium covers all aspects of the interaction of light and matter, related to singlet fission and photon fusion including photochemistry, photophysics and spectroscopy, and materials science. More information is available at the symposium website.

Looking forward to see you all in Gothenburg!

Maria Abrahamsson and Kasper Moth-Poulsen, on behalf of the organizing committee.

We are excited to announce the upcoming UK-Korea Symposium on Lithium and Sodium Batteries which will take place in London from the .

The symposium will be a joint meeting organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry and Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) and will be focussed upon covering all aspects of lithium-ion, sodium-ion and metal-air batteries (for e.g. Li, Na and Zn).

There will be talks showcasing some of the best research from Korea and the UK with opportunities to highlight recent developments and identify emerging and future areas of growth. There will also be a poster session with prizes and certificates awarded for the best poster presentations.

Chemical engineers from the US have put forward a concept for a new type of artificial photosynthetic system to convert carbon dioxide into almost pure liquid ethanol fuel. It uses a saturated salt electrolyte, and, according to their calculations, the system would be capable of generating 15.27 million gallons of ethanol per year per square kilometre.

EES are pleased to announce that the Status of Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting: Past, Present, and Future collection, organised by Shane Ardo (The University of California), is now online.

Photoelectrochemical water splitting represents a promising path toward renewable and economical hydrogen generation using sunlight and water as the only inputs. In order to rapidly advance this technology to market-ready status, “all hands on deck” are needed from the scientific and engineering communities.

The aim of this themed collection is to inform those in the photoelectrochemistry field of historical and notable research findings and demonstrations, and to discuss the opportunities and key barriers to achieving this ambitious goal.

The collection consists of five articles written by experts in the field, describing the current state-of-the-art demonstrations in solar water splitting, approaches to band-structure engineering of semiconductor materials for optimized performance, characterization on small length scales and fast time scales, and efficiency definitions.

Renewable hydrogen generation is a timely topic given the recent expansion of mass-produced, commercially available hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. This, combined with environmental pressures to move toward a carbon-free energy supply, create an urgent need for rapid discovery, development, and growth of hydrogen generation technologies that are stable, efficient, inexpensive, and sustainable.

Particle suspension reactors and materials for solar-driven water splitting
David M. Fabian, Shu Hu, Nirala Singh, Frances A. Houle, Takashi Hisatomi, Kazunari Domen, Frank E. Osterloh and Shane Ardo
Energy Environ. Sci., 2015, 8, 2825-2850
DOI: 10.1039/C5EE01434D Methods of photoelectrode characterization with high spatial and temporal resolution
Daniel V. Esposito, Jason B. Baxter, Jimmy John, Nathan S. Lewis, Thomas P. Moffat, Tadashi Ogitsu, Glen D. O’Neil, Tuan Anh Pham, A. Alec Talin, Jesus M. Velazquez and Brandon C. Wood
Energy Environ. Sci., 2015, 8, 2863-2885
DOI: 10.1039/C5EE00835B

Lindsay Stewart, RSC Commissioning Editor for books, writes about our recent publications

Books in the RSC Energy and Environment Series provide up-to-date and critical perspectives reflecting the wealth of chemical ideas and concepts that have the potential to make an important impact in mankind’s search for a sustainable energy future. Books in the Series have covered energy crops, photoelectron chemical water splitting, solid oxide fuel cells and biomass conversion.

Spanning a broad range of research interests and experiences in this field, the international Series Board comprises:

Laurie Peter, University of Bath, UK, Editor-in-Chief

Heinz Frei, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA, Series Editor

Roberto Rinaldi, Max Planck Institute for Coal Research, Germany, Series Editor

Tim S. Zhao, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, Series Editor

Recent publications:

Materials Challenges: Inorganic Photovoltaic Solar Energy, edited by Stuart J C Irvine – an authoritative reference on the various aspects of materials science that will impact the next generation of photovoltaic module technology.

Catalytic Hydrogenation for Biomass Valorization, edited by Roberto Rinaldi – as the biorefinery industry expands to meet the latest discoveries in biomass conversion, this book provides a thorough grounding in the subject.