Editorial pubs.acs.org/JPCL
Advancing the Frontiers of Physical Chemistry
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authors at the ACS National Meeting in San Diego in the spring. The new subsections, listed below, which are in synchronization with those of JPC A/B/C, will provide a clearer and more inclusive scope for the journals. 1. Kinetics and dynamics 2. Spectroscopy, photochemistry, and excited states 3. Environmental and atmospheric chemistry, aerosol processes, geochemistry, and astrochemistry 4. Molecular structure, quantum chemistry, and general theory 5. Biophysical chemistry and biomolecules 6. Biomaterials, surfactants, and membranes 7. Liquids; chemical and dynamical processes in solution 8. Glasses, colloids, polymers, and soft matter 9. Energy conversion and storage; energy and charge transport 10. Surfaces, interfaces, porous materials, and catalysis 11. Plasmonics, optical materials, and hard matter 12. Physical processes in nanomaterials and nanostructures We continue to introduce new features to highlight papers published in JPCL, with the idea of helping a broader audience appreciate the excellent science published in the journal. Each issue contains Perspectives written by prominent scientists that provide glimpses into the recent developments and future challenges of emerging fields. The Perspective theme in each issue is highlighted in Editorials or Guest Commentaries written by editors or authors who are experts in the field. Many Perspectives have accompanying videos, a unique feature of JPCL and yet another example of our commitment to disseminating important scientific highlights using modern and accessible techniques. Please take a look at the excellent Perspectives published in the journal, which are now categorized by topic on the JPCL Web site (http://pubs.acs.org/page/jpclcd/perspectives/index.html). In this first issue of 2012, we present four Perspectives that discuss emerging topics of structural glasses, mesoscopic structure of room-temperature ionic liquids, and semiconductor nanocrystals. In his Perspective, Lubchenko discusses quantum phenomena in structural glasses that exhibit electronic, optical, and cryogenic peculiarities.6 His Perspective describes how quantum phenomena found in glasses have universal characteristics stemming from the structural dynamics inherent in the glass transition itself. Triolo and co-workers discuss the complexity of mesoscopic spatial organization in roomtemperature ionic liquids.7 They describe the importance of the small-wide angle X-ray scattering (SWAXS) technique to probe electron density fluctuations over a spatial scale of Angstroms to several nanometers and to establish the complex morphology of RTILs. Eychmueller and co-workers8 and Weiss and her co-workers9 provide new insights into the excited-state dynamics of semiconductor nanocrystals. Colloidal nanocrystal gel and aerogel systems provide new opportunities to design materials for optical sensors, LEDs, photodetectors, and energy-harvesting applications.
he Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (JPCL) has successfully completed its second year of publication. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our authors, readers, and reviewers for their continued support in embracing JPCL and making it the prominent communications journal in the field. With an average publication time of ∼40 days from submission to web publication, the Journal effectively emphasizes novelty and urgency and has quickly gained popularity, especially among authors who value rapid publication and quality review. The emergence of JPCL as a leading journal is reflected in the early publication metrics of the Journal. The 2010 Immediacy Index was 1.594, making JPCL one of the top six journals in the Physical Chemistry and Materials (Multidisciplinary) categories (Source: Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Reports). The 577 Letters and 58 Perspectives published in 2010, covering popular topics such as graphene, solar cells, energy conversion, and plasmonics, are expected to continue to receive a large number of citations in 2011.1−5 We are very optimistic about the Journal’s debut impact factor, which will be released in June 2012 by Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Reports.
The 2010 Immediacy Index was 1.594, making JPCL one of the top six journals in the Physical Chemistry and Materials (Multidisciplinary) categories. 2011 was an active year for the entire Journal of Physical Chemistry suite, with the appointment of four new Senior Editors (Joan Emma Shea, Juan Bisquert, Victor Batista, and, most recently, Marty Zanni) and three Deputy Editors (Anne McCoy for JPC-A, Sharon Hammes-Schiffer for JPC-B, and Cathy Murphy for JPC-C). Two Senior Editors with JPC, Oleg Prezhdo and Greg Scholes, have moved from A/B/C to Letters, so that the Letters team now consists of Prashant Kamat (Deputy Editor for Letters), Tim Zwier, Oleg Prezhdo, and Greg Scholes. A new feature added to the Journal in 2011 was the implementation of Just Accepted Manuscripts, in which articles can appear on the web immediately after acceptance. The immediately posted article is later replaced with the final edited version of the article, which has the same DOI. This option has been very popular, with the majority of authors opting to take advantage of it. Occasionally, it becomes desirable to revise the journal subsections, and such a revision will take place in early 2012 for all journals, including JPCL. Be on the alert for an announcement on the JPC web pages (and elsewhere) that will have more information about the timing of the transition. There will also be some information about the changes available to © 2012 American Chemical Society
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The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
Editorial
The authors discuss mechanisms of aerogel formation and identify the need to understand the interparticle interactions within the chains and the collective effects responsible for the optical and electric properties. The Perspective by Weiss et al. describes structural and chemical heterogeneity and elucidates the ligandmediated processes. In addition to providing controlled growth and colloidal stability, coordinating ligands affect the electronic structure and exciton dynamics of colloidal quantum dots. New ways to tailor optical and electronic properties of semiconductor nanocrystals will continue to dominate nanoscience research. We are also planning to implement a new feature of slideshow presentations that present a brief narration of scientific highlights of research papers. A recent collection of “hot papers” from 2010 and 2011 can be viewed at http://www.slideshare.net/jpcoffice. JPC's Facebook page provides another platform for our readers to gather information and participate in scientific discussions. JPCL will continue to enhance the scope of scientific presentation using modern publication platforms. We would like to thank our Managing Editor, Donna Minton, for all of her help and continued support for managing the efficient operation of JPCL. We also thank our Coordinating Editor, Constance Biegel, and our editorial staff at Notre Dame: Connie Gard, Carissa Hipsher, and Christa Trok. On behalf of the entire JPC editorial and publication team, we wish you a happy and prosperous new year. Prashant V. Kamat, Deputy Editor Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame
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George C. Schatz, Editor-in-Chief Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University
REFERENCES
(1) Aikens, C. M. Electronic Structure of Ligand-Passivated Gold and Silver Nanoclusters. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2011, 2, 99−104. (2) Kamat, P. V. Graphene-Based Nanoassemblies for Energy Conversion. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2011, 2, 242−251. (3) Braga, A.; Gimenez, S.; Concina, I.; Vomiero, A.; Mora-Sero, I. Panchromatic Sensitized Solar Cells based on Metal Sulfide Quantum Dots Grown Directly on Nanostructured TiO2 Electrodes. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2011, 2, 454−460. (4) Miyasaka, T. Toward Printable Sensitized Mesoscopic Solar Cells: Light-Harvesting Management with Thin TiO2 Films. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2011, 2, 262−269. (5) Puru, J. Materials for Hydrogen Storage: Past, Present, and Future. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2011, 2, 206−211. (6) Lubchenko, V. Quantum Phenomena in Structural Glasses: The Intrinsic Origin of Electronic and Cryogenic Anomalies. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2012, 3, 1−7. (7) Russina, O.; Triolo, A.; Gontrani, L.; Caminiti, R. Mesoscopic Structural Heterogeneities in Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2012, 3, 27−33. (8) Gaponik, N.; Herrmann, A.-K.; Eychmuller, A. Colloidal Nanocrystal-Based Aerogels: Material Aspects and Application Perspectives. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2012, 3, 8−17. (9) Knowles, K. E.; Frederick, M. T.; Tice, D. B.; Morris-Cohen, A. J.; Weiss, E. A. Colloidal Quantum Dots: Think Outside the (Particle-in-a-)Box. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2012, 3, 18−26.
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