The top ten hot research frontiers in chemistry and materials science in 2023 are announced

Recently, the “2023 Research Fronts” report jointly released by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Clarivate Analytics selected 128 research fronts that will be active or developing rapidly in the world in 2023, and analyzed the development trends and development trends of related disciplines. Key issues were studied and judged.

The 128 research fronts selected in the report include 110 hot fronts and 18 emerging fronts, covering agricultural sciences, botany and zoology, ecology and environmental sciences, earth sciences, clinical medicine, biological sciences, chemistry and materials science, physics, There are 11 highly integrated large subject areas including astronomy and astrophysics, mathematics, information science, economics, psychology and other social sciences.

The Top 10 hot research frontiers in the field of chemistry and materials science are mainly distributed in research directions such as electrochemistry, nanomaterials, organic chemistry, and emerging intersections. Among them, artificial molecular machines and mechanochemistry were both selected into the Top 10 for the second time.
Hot frontier.

There are four electrochemical directions, namely seawater electrolysis catalyst, electrocatalytic nitrate reduction to synthesize ammonia, anion exchange membrane fuel cell, and electrocatalytic synthesis of hydrogen peroxide.

There are three directions in the direction of nanomaterials, namely high-entropy alloy catalysts, quantum dot light-emitting diodes, and two-dimensional transistors.

There are two majors in organic chemistry, namely artificial molecular machines and supramolecular adhesives.

There is one item in the emerging cross-disciplinary direction, which is mechanochemistry.

“Seawater Electrolysis Catalyst” and “Electrocatalytic Synthesis of Hydrogen Peroxide” were selected as key hot topics in 2023.

Seawater electrolysis catalyst: Seawater electrolysis is not only a feasible method to produce clean hydrogen energy, but it is also of great significance for seawater desalination. However, the chlorine evolution reaction that occurs simultaneously with the oxygen evolution reaction greatly affects the overall performance of seawater electrolysis. Therefore, the implementation of seawater electrolysis requires efficient and durable electrocatalysts, especially anode catalysts, to ensure that the oxygen evolution reaction is protected from chloride corrosion.

The 11 core papers in this front involve anode oxygen evolution catalysts and cathode hydrogen evolution catalysts, focusing on oxygen evolution catalysts. The researchers used active elements such as nickel, iron, and cobalt to prepare catalysts and achieved high-efficiency electrolysis of seawater for a long time under normal temperature, alkaline, and industrial current density conditions, exceeding the performance of commercial iridium-based catalysts.

Electrocatalytic synthesis of hydrogen peroxide: As a high-value, environmentally friendly oxidant, hydrogen peroxide is widely used in wastewater treatment, chemical synthesis and other processes. However, the current industrial synthesis of hydrogen peroxide requires the use of a high-energy-consuming anthraquinone process, which is costly and unsuitable for on-site on-demand preparation. Electrocatalytic synthesis of hydrogen peroxide through a two-electron oxygen reduction reaction or a two-electron water oxidation reaction can achieve on-demand synthesis and is a promising alternative process. However, developing cheap, efficient, and highly selective electrocatalysts for this process remains challenging.

The 39 core papers in this front involve catalyst research and electrode design, mainly the former. Researchers have not only studied catalyst types such as metal single atoms (e.g., cobalt, molybdenum) and carbon-based materials for oxygen reduction reactions, but also studied catalyst types such as metal oxides (e.g., BiVO4) for water oxidation reactions.

A total of 2 studies in the field of chemistry and materials science were selected as emerging frontiers, both of which are related to the conversion and storage of energy.

“Development of High-Performance HER and ORR Photocatalysts and Their Application in Solar Fuel Synthesis” mainly involves the utilization of photocatalysts, such as covalent organic framework compounds and metal oxide semiconductors, etc., through hydrogen reduction reaction (HER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) converts solar energy into green fuels such as hydrogen and hydrogen peroxide.

“Preparation of polymer dielectric capacitors” mainly involves using polymers as the dielectric of capacitors, adjusting their composition and structure, and achieving simultaneous improvements in capacitor energy density and discharge efficiency.

The “2023 Research Front Heat Index” report was also released on the same day, which assessed the research activity of major countries and regions in the world in 128 research fronts. The report shows that at the overall level of 11 major scientific fields, the United States is still the most active country, China continues to rank second, and the gap between China and the United States is narrowing. The top five countries also include the UK, Germany and France.

Comparing by field, the United States ranks first in the research frontier heat index scores in six fields: earth sciences, clinical medicine, biological sciences, physics, astronomy and astrophysics, and mathematics, and the other five fields The field ranks second, indicating that its basic research activity is generally strong.

China ranks first in the five fields of agricultural science, botany and zoology, ecology and environmental science, chemistry and materials science, information science and economics, psychology and other social sciences, and in the field of physics Ranked second in mathematics and mathematics, third in biological sciences, fifth, ninth and eighth in earth sciences, clinical medicine and astronomy and astrophysics respectively.

It is worth mentioning that among the eleven major subject areas, China ranks first in 8 frontiers in the field of chemistry and materials science, far exceeding the 3 in the United States.

According to reports, the annual reports of “Research Frontiers” and “Research Frontiers Heat Index” have been released for many consecutive years. The report’s research methods have been continuously optimized, the core content has been continuously enriched, and social attention has been attracted.Continuous improvement.