Editorial pubs.acs.org/JPCL
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, The FIRST Impact Perspectives in the Current Issue. With the current rate of increase in energy demand equaling nearly 2%, the worldwide consumption of energy is expected to double in ∼35 years. Given the environmental and health impact of burning fossil fuels plus the safety concerns of nuclear reactors and nuclear waste, we are left only with the option of renewable energy to meet the rising clean energy demand. In fact, a recent Energy Outlook 2030 by British Petroleum (http://www.bp.com) projects an increased contribution of renewable energy to the worldwide energy portfolio from 0.4 in 1990 to 6.3% in 2030. Many salient properties of semiconductor nanocrystals make them ideal candidates for developing the next-generation solar cells. In recent months, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have exhibited impressive efficiencies, as high as 12%. Their effectiveness in diffuse illumination conditions has prompted companies such as G24i to develop thin, flexible solar cells that can be incorporated into a wide range of products (e.g., charging batteries for mobile devices). Quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSCs) are analogous to DSSCs but employ semiconductor quantum dots as light absorbers and exhibit power conversion efficiencies in the 5−6% range. A typical QDSC consists of semiconductor nanocrystals deposited onto a mesoscopic TiO2 or ZnO film as a photoanode, a Cu2S counter electrode, and sulfide/polysulfide as a regenerative redox couple. The three Perspectives published in this issue discuss topics related to light energy conversion by semiconductor nanostructures. Toyoda and Shen discuss how the morphology of TiO2 electrodes included with surface orientation play an important role for obtaining satisfactory assembly of photoactive electrodes for QDSCs and maximizing the power conversion efficiency (Toyoda, T.; Shen, Q. Quantum-DotSensitized Solar Cells: Effect of Nanostructured TiO 2 Morphologies on Photovoltaic Properties. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2012, 3, 1885−1893). Specifically, they discuss the influence of TiO2 nanotube electrodes and inverse opal TiO2 electrodes in manipulating the charge injection from excited semiconductors.
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he recently released 2011 Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Report (JCR) Impact Factor affirms that The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (JPCL) is clearly an up-andcoming leader in physical chemistry and chemical physics. JPCL’s ability to publicize significant scientific advances has enabled it to attract a wide, international readership, as evidenced by the debut impact factor. The debut impact factor of JPCL stands at 6.213, (with only 10% of the citations received from self-citations). JPCL is ranked #1 in the “PhysicsAtomic, Molecular, and Chemical” category and is in the top 20 in the “Chemistry-Physical” and “Materials Science-Multidisciplinary” categories. According to JCR, the 635 papers published in JPCL in 2010 received 3945 citations in 2011. The fact that ∼90% of these citations appeared in the journals other than JPCL shows the broad scope and reach of articles published in the journal, plus the wide recognition that our contributing authors receive when they choose to publish in JPCL. In addition, The Journals of Physical Chemistry A/B/C also demonstrated a strong standing in the scientific community, with a rise in impact factors over last year: JPC A, 2.946; JPC B, 3.696; and JPC C, 4.805.
The debut impact factor of JPCL stands at 6.213. During the past two and a half years, we have made every effort to provide our authors with prompt editorial service and the rapid publication of their outstanding and urgent research. The editorial and publication team will continue to offer prompt service to expedite the processing of new submissions. JPCL makes use of modern electronic communication and an award-winning web platform to meet the increasing necessity for rapid publication. The majority of papers are published in JPCL with complete citation within 4−5 weeks from the date of submission. We have succeeded in minimizing publication times without compromising review quality through our streamlining efforts. For example, a manuscript is posted on the web within 30 min after its acceptance as a Just Accepted Manuscript and then appears as an ASAP article with complete pagination within 2−3 days. Furthermore, we actively highlight our published research articles through slide share presentations and Perspective videos. These give our authors increased visibility and allows them to share their exciting research results in a number of unique ways. We would like to reiterate the three most important criteria placed on all submissions to JPCL: (1) physical chemistry scope, (ii) significant scientific advance, and (iii) justification for urgent communication. Manuscripts that do not meet all three criteria are returned to authors with an encouragement to either submit their article as a full paper in JPC A/B/C or to other journals. Because the JPCL format is different than that of JPC A/B/C, we request that authors follow the Author Instructions, which are posted on the journal homepage. The abstract and text should clearly identify the significant advance emerging from the study. © 2012 American Chemical Society
The majority of papers are published in JPCL with complete citation within 4−5 weeks from the date of submission. In their Perspective, Chuang and Burda discuss how femtosecond laser spectroscopy has evolved as a major tool for understanding the excited-state dynamics of semiconductor nanomaterials (Chuang, C.-H.; Burda, C. The Contribution of Femtosecond Laser Spectroscopy to the Development of Advanced Optoelectronic Nanomaterials. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2012, 3, 1921−1927). Transient absorption and emission spectroscopy is routinely employed to establish hot carrier relaxation, trapping, interfacial carrier transfer, carrier multiPublished: July 19, 2012 1934
dx.doi.org/10.1021/jz300883q | J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2012, 3, 1934−1935
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
Editorial
plication, and charge recombination in semiconductor-based light-harvesting assemblies. A better understanding of these processes is important for designing more complex structures with tailored optoelectronic properties. The Perspective of Ghosh and Varma provides insight into the excited-state dynamics of porphyrin aggregates on TiO2 surfaces (Ghosh, H.; Verma, S., Exciton Energy and Charge Transfer in Porphyrin Aggregate/Semiconductor (TiO2) Composites. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2012, 3, 1877−1884). The chemistry of dye aggregates has dominated advances in silver halide photography. The same molecular structure with careful manipulation of the monomer and aggregate chemistry can provide a broader response in the visible and near-IR region. This unique feature offers a smart way to manipulate energyand electron-transfer processes on TiO2 surfaces. The Perspective discusses how steady-state and transient emission and absorption measurements can assist in probing the participation of excited J- and H-aggregates of porphyrins in the overall capture of light and charge injection processes. Energy conversion and storage has been a prominent topic that has been covered in previous JPCL issues. The new advances of semiconductor nanostructures and energy conversion can be found in recent Perspectives (see, for example, volume 3, issues 1 and 5). The physical chemistry aspects of energy research will continue to dominate during coming years. On behalf of the entire editorial team, we thank the authors, reviewers, and readers for their strong support and look forward to our continued success in rapidly disseminating scientific advances.
Prashant V. Kamat, Deputy Editor University of Notre Dame
George Schatz, Editor-in-Chief Northwestern University
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dx.doi.org/10.1021/jz300883q | J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2012, 3, 1934−1935
