ACS150 JACS Symposium Series: ETH Zürich

The saying “failure is the mother of success” is familiar across cultures, and nowhere is it more relevant than in the practice of process chemistry. Behind every successful scale-up or robust manufacturing route lies a history of experiments that did not work as planned. These moments, though often left unspoken, are not wasted efforts. They are the foundation on which durable processes we develop and commercialize are built. May these contributions inspire all of us to continue learning, recording, and sharing the lessons that shape the art and science of process chemistry.

This Special Issue will explore how artificial intelligence (AI) tools can drive sustainable innovation across chemistry, engineering, and resource management. Submit your manuscript by January 30, 2026.

Covering diverse themes such as enantioselective synthesis, organocatalysis, cross-coupling reactions, and innovative catalytic methodologies, this Collection of articles demonstrates the creativity and rigor driving modern synthetic chemistry. We extend our sincere appreciation to these authors and to the reviewers for their critical evaluations.

Post-Lithium-ion batteries have a crucial role to play in the future of electrochemical energy storage systems as the need for more robust, cheaper, and safer alternatives to conventional lithium-ion batteries grows as a consequence of factors such as global warming and the anticipated expansion of the electric vehicle market. However, developing next-generation battery technologies to replace or build on such an established and commercialized technology is no easy task. This Special Issue from ACS Materials Letters highlights some recent publications in the journal contributing to the state-of-the-art materials research being conducted in this area.

Plastics are affordable, versatile, and convenient for single-use applications, but they quickly turn into large quantities of waste that must be managed. In essence, plastics are indispensable yet problematic – we cannot live without them, yet living with them is also a serious concern. It is now evident that our reliance on plastics has reached a turning point, and continuing with the status quo is no longer a viable option.

The polymer community is actively striving to create more sustainable plastics – materials that are valuable in use, yet do not pose a threat to the planet and human health. In this Thematic Issue of Chemical Reviews, leading researchers report progress in some of these fundamental areas and share their latest results in this exciting area of polymer science.