Springer Science and Business Media LLC

A compact snapshot of the current convergence of novel developments relevant to chemical engineering is given. Process intensification concepts are analysed through the lens of microfluidics and sonochemistry. Economical drivers and their influence on scientific activities are mentioned, including innovation opportunities towards deployment into society. We focus on the control of cavitation as a means to improve the energy efficiency of sonochemical reactors, as well as in the solids handling with ultrasound; both are considered the most difficult hurdles for its adoption in a practical and industrial sense. Particular examples for microfluidic clogging prevention, numbering-up and scaling-up strategies are given. To conclude, an outlook of possible new directions of this active and promising combination of technologies is hinted.

Owing to the high energy and power density of lithium-ion cells (1200 Wh kg−1 and 200 Wh kg−1) and due to their compact design, they are used as energy storage devices in many contemporary mobile applications such as telecommunication systems, notebooks and domestic appliances. Meanwhile their application is not limited only to consumer electronics, they are also standard in hybrid electric (HEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs). However, the profitable application of lithium-ion cells in the automobile industry requires lower costs, lower safety risks, a higher specific energy density and a longer lifetime under everyday conditions. All these aspects are directly or indirectly related to the degradation of the materials in a lithium-ion cell. One possibility for reducing the costs is a second life application of the cells after their usage in (H)EVs. In order to enable this, the safety risks at the end of life of a cell operated in a vehicle have to be reliably predicted. This requires a fundamental knowledge about underlying material degradations during operation. The safety risk of a lithium-ion cell increases during operation because the voltage windows in which the electrodes are cycled shift, resulting in a higher possibility that at least one electrode is operated in a meta- or unstable state. Furthermore, higher impedances due to material degradations lead to increasing heat generation and therefore to an increase in the risk of failure. Higher energy densities can be achieved by raising the end of charge voltage of a cell, causing additional safety risks because many cathode materials tend to decompose at high voltages. Another possibility for achieving higher energy densities is to use nickel-rich or lithium-excess cathode materials, since cathodes are currently limiting the capacity of lithium-ion cells. But these systems show a poor cycling stability (a higher degradation rate). The lifetime of a lithium-ion cell is limited by the degradation of the individual cell components. Although the degradation of materials is the key consideration in achieving lower costs, a higher safety standard, higher energy densities and a longer lifetime, the degradation of the individual cell components in dependence on the operation conditions has hardly been investigated and is poorly understood. The present work reviews known material degradations in commercial lithium-ion cells, shows a way to analyze such degradations in dependence on the operation conditions and describes how these degradation processes lead to observed performance drops.

The burgeoning interest in synthesis and biological applications of 1,6-naphthyridines reflects the importance of 1,6-naphthyridines in the synthetic as well as medicinal chemistry fields. Specially, 1,6-naphthyridines are pharmacologically active, with variety of applications such as anticancer, anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), anti-microbial, analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities. Although collective recent synthetic developments have paved a path to a wide range of functionalized 1,6-naphthyridines, a complete correlation of synthesis with biological activity remains elusive. The current review focuses on recent synthetic developments from the last decade and a thorough study of the anticancer activity of 1,6-naphthyridines on different cancer cell lines. Anticancer activity has been correlated to 1,6-naphthyridines using the literature on the structure–activity relationship (SAR) along with molecular modeling studies. Exceptionally, at the end of this review, the utility of 1,6-naphthyridines displaying activities other than anticancer has also been included as a glimmering extension.

α-C–H functionalization of tertiary amines has been a highly studied field for the past two decades because several important nitrogen containing heterocycles or compounds can be synthesized through this strategy. Though transition metal catalysts and some metal-free catalysts are mainly used for these reactions, a few catalyst-free reactions have recently been efficiently performed. Catalyst-free reactions are cost-effective, less sensitive to air/moisture, easier to operate, have a simple purification process, and are relatively environment-friendly. In this article, we have summarized all the α-C–H functionalization reactions of tertiary amines performed without using any external catalysts. The content of this article will undoubtedly encourage readers to do more work in this area.

Lignin, one of the main components of lignocellulosic biomass, is the largest renewable source of aromatics on the planet and presents an extraordinary opportunity for being used in the production of bio-based products. It can be transformed for the substitution of aromatic chemical-derived petrol as BTXs. The wide range of applications that it can be obtained from BTXs building blocks makes the selective depolymerization of lignin a great scientific challenge. This review emphasizes the different strategies for the fragmentation of lignin to monomers or aromatics hydrocarbons. Thus, a by-product traditionally discarded or used for energy generation, it could be valorized into high added-value products.

The field of multidimensional laser spectroscopy comprises a variety of highly developed state-of-the-art methods, which exhibit broad prospects for applications in several areas of natural, material, and even medical sciences. This collection summarizes the main achievements from this area and gives basic introductory insight into what is currently possible with such methods. In the present introductory contribution, we briefly outline the general concept behind multidimensional laser spectroscopy, for instance by highlighting the often-employed analogy between multidimensional laser spectroscopy and NMR methods. Our initial introduction is followed by an overview of the most important and widely used multidimensional spectroscopies’ classification. Special emphasis is placed on how the contributing spectral region defines a natural way of grouping the techniques in terms of their information content. On this basis, we introduce the most important graphical ways in which multidimensional data is generally visualized. This is done by comparing specifically temporal and spectra axes that make up each single multidimensional data plot. Several central experimental methods that are common to the various techniques reviewed in this collection are addressed in the perspective of recent developments and their impact on the field. These methods include, for example, heterodyne/homodyne detection, fast scanning, spatial light modulation, and sparse sampling methods. Importantly, we address the central and fundamental questions where multidimensional ultrafast spectroscopy can be used to help understanding chemical dynamics and intermolecular interactions. Finally, we briefly pinpoint what we believe are the main open questions and what will be the future directions for technical developments and promotion of scientific understanding that multidimensional spectroscopy can provide for chemistry, physics, and life sciences.

Elemental sulfur is an abundant and inexpensive chemical feedstock, yet it is underused as a starting material in chemical synthesis. Recently, a process coined inverse vulcanization was introduced in which elemental sulfur is converted into polymers by ring-opening polymerization, followed by cross-linking with an unsaturated organic molecule such as a polyene. The resulting materials have high sulfur content (typically 50–90% sulfur by mass) and display a range of interesting properties such as dynamic S–S bonds, redox activity, high refractive indices, mid-wave IR transparency, and heavy metal affinity. These properties have led to a swell of applications of these polymers in repairable materials, energy generation and storage, optical devices, and environmental remediation. This article will discuss the synthesis of polymers by inverse vulcanization and review case studies on their diverse applications. An outlook is also presented to discuss future opportunities and challenges for further advancement of polymers made by inverse vulcanization.

This article consists of a review of the main concepts and paradigms established in the field of biological fuel cells or biofuel cells. The aim is to provide an overview of the current panorama, basic concepts, and methodologies used in the field of enzymatic biofuel cells, as well as the applications of these bio-systems in flexible electronics and implantable or portable devices. Finally, the challenges needing to be addressed in the development of biofuel cells capable of supplying power to small size devices with applications in areas related to health and well-being or next-generation portable devices are analyzed. The aim of this study is to contribute to biofuel cell technology development; this is a multidisciplinary topic about which review articles related to different scientific areas, from Materials Science to technology applications, can be found. With this article, the authors intend to reach a wide readership in order to spread biofuel cell technology for different scientific profiles and boost new contributions and developments to overcome future challenges.

Organophosphorus (OP) compounds are typically a broad class of compounds that possess various uses such as insecticides, pesticides, etc. One of the most evil utilizations of these compounds is as chemical warfare agents, which pose a greater threat than biological weapons because of their ease of access. OP compounds are highly toxic compounds that cause irreversible inhibition of enzyme acetylcholinesterase, which is essential for hydrolysis of neurotransmitter acetylcholine, leading to series of neurological disorders and even death. Due to the extensive use of these organophosphorus compounds in agriculture, there is an increase in the environmental burden of these toxic chemicals, with severe environmental consequences. Hence, the rapid and sensitive, selective, real-time detection of OP compounds is very much required in terms of environmental protection, health, and survival. Several techniques have been developed over a few decades to easily detect them, but still, numerous challenges and problems remain to be solved. Major advancement has been observed in the development of sensors using the spectroscopic technique over recent years because of the advantages offered over other techniques, which we focus on in the presented review.