Introducing the tenth anniversary issues of Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C

We are delighted to share with you the tenth anniversary issues of Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C. These special issues celebrate and thank members of our community who have supported the journals over the last ten years, and we are honoured that these authors have shared their latest discoveries with us.

Ten years ago, the vision of Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C was to provide venues for highly topical research in a broad range of materials chemistry and this is exemplified in the three anniversary issues, which highlight diversity in its broadest sense, across the global materials chemistry community and covering the full breadth of our discipline.

A brief history

Looking back even further, to the launch of Journal of Materials Chemistry in 1990, materials chemistry was at an early stage, and as Maurizio Prato notes, competing with other aspects of materials science such as physics and engineering. The launch of the Journal of Materials Chemistry, which Pete Skabara remembers was one of the first Royal Society of Chemistry journals outside of traditional chemistry disciplines, gave a venue for chemistry-oriented research on a wide variety of materials.

Back in 1995, Martin Bryce initiated a series of thematic issues which attracted leading authors from around the world. Today, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C continue to publish a number of themed collections every year, guest edited by members of the materials community on timely and important topics.

One challenge for Journal of Materials Chemistry that stood out for Maurizio Prato was that the journal was dominated by polymer chemists, and it was important at the time to widen the scope. By expanding the expertise of the Editorial Board to encompass different areas of materials chemistry, the process became almost automatic, and the diversity of research published in the journal grew.

An exciting new phase occurred in 2013 when the journal split into three new journals, each with a different topic focus. While ambitious, and not without risks, this allowed smaller issue sizes to allow greater visibility for authors. As separate titles, the journals could also keep up with the expanding materials field and reach out to a broader community. The three JMCs had a renewed focus on interdisciplinary content, alongside fundamental materials chemistry which has always been at the heart of the journal. Taking the risk has certainly paid off and what the journals have achieved in the last ten years is impressive. As Nazario Martín remarks, since their origin, the three journals remain a focus of the whole chemical community interested in new materials.

Shaping identities

The vision and development of the journals over the last ten years has been dynamic, and the editorial boards regularly review the content and scope of each journal to keep it topical and to attract very high-quality papers. Importantly, each individual journal has retained its own identity, with its own unique challenges and aims within the broader family of journals.

For Journal of Materials Chemistry A, many of us agree that energy is becoming a terribly hot problem, reflected by the high number of groups working on this theme, and looking ahead, electrochemical energy storage will be particularly relevant. Seth Marder is especially looking forward to a rise in work around porous materials, robotically assisted materials development and more environmentally friendly polymers in the journal.

The vision for Journal of Materials Chemistry B was to be a leading journal in materials related to biology. Christine Schmidt noted that the focus on chemistry was a unique aspect of the journal compared to others in this space and makes the journal well placed to really contribute to advancement of the field. During the last ten years, hot topics included biologically inspired materials, nanoscale materials and immunological biomaterials, among many. The future holds so many opportunities for new, advanced materials for biomedical and health applications. In particular, Christine Schmidt envisions future developments on the biotic–abiotic interface and the combination of biological and synthetic compounds to create materials with active feedback loops for automated responsiveness in the body.

Journal of Materials Chemistry C had a strong focus on content produced by collaborations between groups with expertise in materials development and device characterisation, meaning that interdisciplinary content has always been particularly welcome, remembers George Malliaras. There were some challenges however. The word ‘chemistry’ in the title of the journal made it tricky at times to attract work from particular groups, such as device-centred researchers, and we are pleased that an even broader community now publish with the journal. We have seen the rise of some exciting topics over the last ten years including perovskite materials and their applications, particularly in solar cells, as noted by Pete Skabara, and the development of TADF materials enhancing the efficiency of OLED devices.

A focus on our community

Reflecting on our own reasons for taking on the various editor roles and leading the journals over the last years, it is clear that the focus on our community has been front and centre. While the editorship roles were undoubtedly prestigious, given the international standing of the journals, what stood out for many of us was the support from our Royal Society of Chemistry colleagues and the opportunity to work with highly talented and innovative journal staff, along with amazing faculty colleagues who made up the Editorial and Advisory boards and the wider community as a whole. The most enjoyable experiences were our personal contact with authors and reviewers at materials chemistry conferences where we represented the journals, and the editors’ symposia where editors from across the Royal Society of Chemistry could network and learn from each other. Working closely with each other is extremely important and the post-pandemic experience has shown us how valuable our community is and how we pull together for the good of scientific progress.

Looking ahead to the future of the journals, we hope that this community continues to grow and develop. The past ten years and beyond have seen major shifts in the research community for the better, with more international collaboration and more interaction between experimentalists and theoreticians, fundamental and applied researchers, along with researchers working together from across different disciplines to advance understanding and solve problems. The journals have also been actively engaged in equality, diversity and inclusion and we are proud to have been involved in addressing balances and valuing input from all members of our community at all stages of their careers.

Finally, we’d like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all of our Editorial and Advisory board members, authors, reviewers, and also our readers, for supporting the journals over the last ten years. We believe that Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C will continue to be the home of innovative, and impactful materials chemistry research for many years to come and hope you enjoy reading the diverse range of papers featured in the anniversary issues.

 

With our best wishes,

Anders Hagfeldt, Journal of Materials Chemistry A Editor-in-Chief (2017–present)

Jeroen Cornelissen, Journal of Materials Chemistry B Editor-in-Chief (2017–present)

Natalie Stingelin, Journal of Materials Chemistry C Editor-in-Chief (2019–present)

Nazario Martín, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C Editor-in-Chief (2015–2019)

Dongyuan Zhao, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C Editor-in-Chief (2013–2015)

Hiroshi Imahori, Journal of Materials Chemistry A Deputy Editor-in-Chief (2013–2017)

Christine Schmidt, Journal of Materials Chemistry B Deputy Editor-in-Chief (2013–2017)

Peter Skabara, Journal of Materials Chemistry C Deputy Editor-in-Chief (2012–2019)

Seth Marder, Journal of Materials Chemistry Editorial Board Chair (2010–2013)

George Malliaras, Journal of Materials Chemistry Editorial Board Chair (2007–2010)

Maurizio Prato, Journal of Materials Chemistry Editorial Board Chair (2004–2007)

Martin Bryce, Journal of Materials Chemistry Scientific Advisory Editor (1995–2000)

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