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Editorial

Welcome to Catalysts––A New Open Access Journal for a Growing Scientific Community

Founding Editor-in-Chief of Catalysts, Department of Chemical Engineering, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Catalysts 2011, 1(1), 1-2; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal1010001
Submission received: 27 April 2011 / Published: 9 May 2011

There is something intrinsically fascinating about catalysts. The thought that a material can speed up a reaction by hundreds or thousands of times without being consumed is truly amazing. I frequently have the pleasure of teaching undergraduate and graduate chemical reaction engineering courses that include sections on catalysts. I have found that students take an immediate interest in catalysts and are fascinated by how they work. I certainly have been captivated with catalysts myself, as I have devoted my entire academic career to studying their properties.

The term “catalyst” has even taken on a powerful, and positive, meaning in the public lexicon. People or organizations are labeled as catalysts when their efforts lead to much larger impacts. Politicians like to claim that their legislative efforts will act as catalysts for much bigger societal needs: catalysts for job creation; catalysts for economic growth; catalysts for change. When politicians co-opt a term, you know it has hit the big time!

This issue launches a new journal that will provide rapid publication of scholarly articles on catalysts under the simple, but powerful title, “Catalysts”. It is my hope that this journal reflects the intrinsic elegance and fascinating nature of catalysts. This means publishing important, cutting edge research; it means organizing special issues to highlight outstanding research on a specific topic; and it means engaging readers like you to submit articles, serve as reviewers, and organize special topical issues of Catalysts.

I want to highlight three aspects of Catalysts that I believe give it a special niche among catalysis journals. First, Catalysts is an open access journal that anyone with computer access can view. Second, accepted articles will be immediately published online. Finally, Catalysts allows authors to publish their experimental and theoretical results in as much detail as necessary to fully convey the information to others. Through these three features, Catalysts will act as a, well, catalyst for future research by providing a wide spectrum of readers with an immediate, almost “behind the scenes” view of exciting research in catalysis. In our world of wikis and open-source computer code, this model has been shown to be extremely powerful for spreading information and harnessing the ideas and talents of many. I believe it will be equally powerful for enhancing research in catalysis across the world.

Catalysts, for the purposes of this journal, will be broadly defined. Articles on both heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysts, enzymes, biocatalysts, electrocatalysts, organocatalysts, autocatalysts, and phase transfer catalysts are all of interest. In addition, submissions on catalytic pathways and catalytic cycles and chemical thermodynamics as related to catalysts will also be considered. Theoretical methods applying quantum chemistry and statistical mechanics towards understanding catalysis are becoming increasingly important in the field, and contributions of this nature would also be welcome.

I hope to get the journal off to a strong start in its first year by publishing a number of special topical issues. I envision topical issues on catalysts for production of chemicals from renewable feedstocks, catalytic production of biofuels, mesoporous catalysts, novel spectroscopic methods for investigating catalysts, solid acid and base catalysts, and electrocatalysts. I welcome your suggestions on appropriate guest editors for each of these topics and on other topics that should be explored in a special issue.

I look forward to receiving your contributions to Catalysts, and welcome your comments and ideas on how to make this an outstanding journal. I can be reached through the Editorial Office ([email protected]) or through my personal email ([email protected]).

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Hohn, K. Welcome to Catalysts––A New Open Access Journal for a Growing Scientific Community. Catalysts 2011, 1, 1-2. https://doi.org/10.3390/catal1010001

AMA Style

Hohn K. Welcome to Catalysts––A New Open Access Journal for a Growing Scientific Community. Catalysts. 2011; 1(1):1-2. https://doi.org/10.3390/catal1010001

Chicago/Turabian Style

Hohn, Keith. 2011. "Welcome to Catalysts––A New Open Access Journal for a Growing Scientific Community" Catalysts 1, no. 1: 1-2. https://doi.org/10.3390/catal1010001

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