Looking back at the 10^th anniversary year of Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C

Abstract

The Editors-in-Chief for Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C look back at the 10^th anniversary year and the celebratory activities that took place.

Happy 10^th anniversary year to the Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C! The start of 2023 marked 10 years since the divergence of Journal of Materials Chemistry into three respective journals, each focusing on a distinguished scope. This milestone has provided many wonderful opportunities for celebratory activities throughout the year. Many initiatives have taken place to thank our amazing community, including authors, reviewers, board members and beyond. We reflect here on the anniversary activities that have taken place since the start of the year. And what a year it has been!

We began celebrations back in January with an Editorial introducing the anniversary year that looked back at the development of the journals over the past 10 years. In addition we published celebratory anniversary themed collections for Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Journal of Materials Chemistry B and Journal of Materials Chemistry C, featuring work from members of the community who have strongly supported the journals over the past years. These publications include ‘10^th Anniversary Statements’ to highlight the authors’ relationship to the journals and these messages truly reflect the spirit of the Journal of Materials Chemistry family. The anniversary issues were introduced by an Editorial written by the past and present Editors-in-Chief who reflected on the challenges and the vision of the three journals throughout the past decade.

We welcomed new authors that have published for the first time as corresponding authors during the anniversary year and featured their work in #MyFirstJMCA, #MyFirstJMCB and #MyFirstJMCC collections with additional promotion on our socials. Check these out!

Our anniversary survey got everyone thinking about the development and future of the materials chemistry field and we collated the responses into word clouds (Fig. 2).

Different groups of our community, including Board members, dedicated authors, first-time authors and outstanding reviewers have been highlighted in our ‘Community Spotlight’ series and authors have been involved in the celebrations by adding a ‘10’ to their artwork to be featured on journal issue covers (Fig. 1). These have been highlighted in our monthly cover showcase on our blogs platform.

Fig. 1 Examples of 10^th anniversary covers for Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C. Check out our other amazing anniversary covers on our showcase blogs!

Fig. 2 Responses from separate surveys for JMC A, B and C collated into word clouds that showcase thoughts on the development and direction of materials chemistry research in the next 10 years.

There were also plenty of in-person activities and workshops. At the beginning of the year, Executive Editor Michaela Muehlberg along with Journal of Materials Chemistry A Associate Editor Goutam De, Journal of Materials Chemistry B Associate Editor Jessica Winter and Journal of Materials Chemistry C Associate Editor Renaud Demadrille attended three institutions in India for multiple Journal of Materials Chemistry symposia (Fig. 4).

That was not all. A Journal of Materials Chemistry 10^th Anniversary Symposium was held at Zhengzhou University in June, hosted by Journal of Materials Chemistry A Associate Editor Zhen Zhou. The symposium featured talks by past and present Editorial Board members and other high-profile researchers who took part in the celebrations (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3 What a group effort: The JMC symposium held at Zhengzhou University congratulates the poster prize winners, invited speakers, volunteers and students/professors from Prof. Zhen Zhou's group.

Fig. 4 JMC Symposium at IISC Bangalore attended by Executive Editor Michaela Muehlberg, Journal of Materials Chemistry A Associate Editor Goutam De, Journal of Materials Chemistry B Associate Editor Jessica Winter and Journal of Materials Chemistry C Associate Editor Renaud Demadrille.

Looking ahead to the future of materials chemistry, we asked key figures in our community to reflect on the next 10 years of developments in their respective fields by contributing a forward looking Perspective article on hot topics across materials chemistry. From molecular engineering in organic semiconductors, to DNA-based biosensors to the safety issues of lithium battery materials, these Perspectives offer a glimpse into the key challenges facing materials chemists as we move forward into the next decade of research. We hope that many solutions to these problems will feature in the exciting work we publish every week in the journal family.

It has been a fantastic year of celebrations and we are so grateful to everyone who has been involved. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C will continue to be trustworthy, impactful and high-quality platforms for disseminating the latest materials chemistry research and we look forward to seeing what the next 10 years bring.

We would like to thank all of our authors, reviewers, board members and readers!

With our best wishes,

Professor Anders Hagfeldt, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Materials Chemistry A

Professor Jeroen Cornelissen, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Materials Chemistry B

Professor Natalie Stingelin, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Materials Chemistry C

Michaela Muehlberg, Executive Editor, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C

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