What degree are you undertaking and why did you choose the course here?
I am currently studying Chemistry and I am enjoying the course Cardiff University provides. I chose Cardiff University for a number of reasons, the biggest reason was due to its position as a Russell Group University, this prestige assured me that the course and experience I would be partaking in, would be satisfying. As well as this, the city of Cardiff played a big role in my decision, I was already familiar with the city of Cardiff so I knew that living there would be exciting and as it was close to home, I would still feel comfortable staying there.
What’s the best thing about studying at Cardiff?
The best thing about studying at Cardiff is the city, there is plenty of fun things to do in and around the city centre which makes for a great student life. The are many places to eat and meet with friends on Cardiff Queen Street which is a good way to de-stress and chill after a long day at university. The city of Cardiff is a great place to live and study and makes my university experience incredibly enjoyable.
Do you have a particular career in mind after you graduate?
I have always wanted to be a Forensic Scientist on the front lines of a crime scene, I would love to use my knowledge in science to solve crimes and investigate the hidden clues left behind using various chemical processes. I believe a degree in chemistry from Cardiff University will bring me a step closer to achieving this and help me reach my goal.
Do you have any hobbies outside of studying?
Apart from Chemistry, I have a love for languages, I am currently learning Korean which is influenced by my interest in Asian countries and their cultures. I would love to travel around Asia in the future to experience the culture for myself. I am also a fan of Marvel movies and I often find myself re-watching my favourite movies with my friends and family.
What difference has this scholarship made to you?
This scholarship has made a great difference to me as it eliminated any money worries, I might have had, which allowed me to focus on studying. It was thanks to the scholarship that I was able to buy a laptop for myself which was essential to my studies. Before this I had been sharing a laptop with my two siblings and I cannot imagine what I would’ve done without being able to buy one for myself.
If you could say something to the donor who gave you this gift, what would it be?
I would like to give my greatest thanks to the donor who gave me this gift, it has had a great impact on me, and my studies and I believe I would not have had a such a great 1st year without it. It has been very advantageous to me and my studies and helped me get the most out of my university experience - That has been the greatest gift I could have so I would like the donor to know it was greatly appreciated.
The scholarship
The Norman Lloyd scholarship was set up by RSC Belgium in collaboration with Norman’s family and Cardiff University in memory of our old friend and supporter Norman Lloyd. Norman was himself a student at an institution that is now part of the university. The funds raised provide an annual scholarship of £1,000 for an undergraduate student, usually in their first year of study, at the Cardiff School of Chemistry.
On the evening of Thursday 21 October RSC Belgium members and friends were treated to a highly informative and inspiring webinar talk from regular Chemistry World columnist and author Dr Philip Ball on The Beauty of Chemistry.
Scientists often talk informally of “beauty” in ideas, experiments and theories - but what do they mean by it? Philip Ball’s recent book with Chinese science photographers Yan Liang and Wenting Zhu offers one answer. Entitled The Beauty of Chemistry, and published by MIT Press, it presents astonishing photos of chemical processes, many based on the videos Yan and Wenting made for their online Envisioning Chemistry project and exhibition in collaboration with the Chinese Chemical Society, which has received international acclaim.
The book has also received numerous plaudits. Alán Aspuru-Guzik, Professor of Chemistry and Computer Science at the University of Toronto said: “This book combines rich descriptions of chemical phenomena with stunning photography of them as they happen. As a child, I was drawn to chemistry by the wonders of precipitating powders, fizzy water, and other ever-present phenomena. The Beauty of Chemistry took me back to those times.”
In the book and webinar talk Philip argued that chemistry excels in its sensual allure: its colours, textures, patterns, even smells, speak immediately to the senses and are often what draw chemists to study their subject. All the same, he argued, scientific notions of beauty are complicated and not always compatible with the way the word is used in art and aesthetics.
Chemistry is not just about microscopic atoms doing inscrutable things; it is the process that makes flowers and galaxies. We rely on it for bread-baking, vegetable-growing, and producing the materials of daily life. In stunning images and illuminating text, “The Beauty of Chemistry” captures chemistry as it unfolds. Using such techniques as microphotography, time-lapse photography, and infrared thermal imaging, The Beauty of Chemistry shows us how chemistry underpins the formation of snowflakes, the science of champagne, the colours of flowers, and other wonders of nature and technology. We see the marvellous configurations of chemical gardens; the amazing transformations of evaporation, distillation, and precipitation; heat made visible; and more.
Relive the beauty!
Phil's excellent talk was recorded and you can relive the lecture either below or via the new RSC Belgium YouTube channel. Enjoy!
About the speaker
Philip Ball is a freelance science writer and author. He worked previously at Nature for over 20 years, first as an editor for physical sciences (for which his brief extended from biochemistry to quantum physics and materials science) and then as a Consultant Editor. His writings on science for the popular press have covered topical issues ranging from cosmology to the future of molecular biology.
Philip continues to write regularly for Nature. He has contributed to publications ranging from New Scientist to the New York Times, the Guardian, the Financial Times and New Statesman. He is a contributing editor of Prospect magazine (for which he writes a science blog), and also a columnist for Chemistry World, Nature Materials, and the Italian science magazine Sapere. He is a frequent TV and radio broadcaster, and is a presenter of "Science Stories" on BBC Radio 4. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, sits on the editorial board of Chemistry World and Interdiscipinary Science Reviews, and is a board member of the RESOLV network on solvation science at the Ruhr University of Bochum.
He has written many popular books on science and its intersections with the wider culture, including works on the nature of water, pattern formation in the natural world, colour in art, the science of social and political philosophy, the cognition of music, and physics in Nazi Germany.
His titles include The Self-Made Tapestry, Critical Mass, Bright Earth and Invisible. His latest book is The Modern Myths.
Philip has a BA in Chemistry from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Physics from the University of Bristol.
The results of the RSC Belgium Chemistry Challenge 2021 were announced at our webinar event with John O'Donoghue on 'Chemistry in the Movies' on the evening of 23 September 2021. As for last year, due to COVID19 rules, this year's Chemistry Challenge was also a virtual event that was undertaken remotely by students at their schools.
For the 2021 Challenge, we received entries from the majority of our group of international and European schools in the Brussels area and beyond and, as ever, the Challenge was designed to test the student's chemical knowledge and initiative.
The RSC Belgium Chemical Challenge has three sections:
A chemistry multiple choice paper (Section A)
A structured questions on chemistry (Section B), and
A 'Thinking Matters' paper that is not chemistry based (Section C)
The top results were as follows:
Section A - Multiple choice
First prize for this section was shared by Marcus Waterson from the European School in Mol (ESMol) and Ito Yurie from the British School of Brussels in Tervuren (BSB) who each receive a €50 award.
In this section the first prize of €50 was awarded to Vladislav Morozov of BSB with Marcus Waterson of ESMol and Ito Yurie of BSB picking up second prizes worth €25. A third prize of €10 was awarded to Sungbin Yun from BSB.
Section C - Thinking Matters
For this section the top prize of €50 went to Lilia Kautz of EEB4, with BSB's Rosanne Roberts picking up a second prize of €25, and three third places worth €10 awarded to Antoni Tokaj of St. George’s International School in Luxembourg (St George's), Maria Shopova from EEB4 and Ito Yurie of BSB.
The Keith Price Prize
With excellent performances in both chemistry sections, this year's Keith Price Prize was jointly claimed by Marcus Waterson of ESMol (pictured below) and Ito Yurie of BSB (pictured above), who both received an additional €100.
Well done to everyone who took part in this year's Chemistry Challenge! Every student that entered the competition receives a certificate of participation. And, of course, we will be running the Challenge again in 2022 and look forward to further widening participation!
On the evening of Thursday 23 September 2021 RSC Belgium members and friends were treated to an entertaining and informative talk from Dr. John O'Donoghue of Trinity College Dublin on 'Chemistry in the Movies'. The webinar was also the occasion for the announcement of the prize-winners in our 2021 Chemistry Challenge.
John's snappy talk took a scientific and filmographic look at how chemistry and chemists have been portrayed in the movies - the good, the bad and the ugly - using short clips and simplified graphics to talk about the subject in an engaging and light-hearted format. The movies chosen were based around a number of themes; problem solving, plot devices, chemical companies and people.
John noted that the 2021 Ig Noble Prize for Chemistry had just been awarded on 9 September to a group of scientists who had analysed the air inside movie theatres to test whether the odours produced by an audience reliably indicate the levels of violence, sex, antisocial behaviour, drug use, and bad language in the movie the audience was watching. Remarkably they did manage to correlate a number of chemicals with different scene types!
Breaking Bad effect
One interesting issue that John explored was whether the TV series Breaking Bad (2008 - 2013) [Netflix, Prime] had an effect on how chemistry is on portrayed on screen? He concluded that it did have a positive effect in terms of showing more chemistry on screen and improving the quality of scientific explanation generally, but it may have also contributed to a new cliché for how chemical scientists are depicted on screen.
Details about where and how to access the movies discussed was also be provided (Netflix, YouTube, Apple etc - see below) and John hoped his talk gave participants the inspiration to start their our own chemistry movie marathon!
The talk certainly inspired a good discussion with plenty of additional movie suggestions and we hear that some teachers will be looking to incorporate 'chemical movies' in to their lessons.
Movie list
The movies discussed in John's talk in various categories were:
Fictional bad (evil) pharmaceutical and chemical companies
For all the films listed above, the link takes you to the IMDB listing for the movie, the year of release is in the normal brackets, and streaming service(s) where you can access the film are listed in the square brackets. Enjoy!
About John
Dr John O’Donoghue is the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Education Coordinator for Ireland supports trainee and established science teachers through continuous professional development (CPD) and new resources. He is based at the School of Chemistry in Trinity College Dublin (TCD) where he teaches chemistry to non-science students and coordinates the unique chemistry education and public engagement (EPE) course for PhD students. He has over 15 years of experience in science communication and in recognition of his achievements, he was greeted by the President of Ireland at the 2017 St. Patricks Day Honours event and was awarded the 2018 Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) “Outstanding Contribution to STEM Communication” National Award.
We hope to welcome John over to Belgium during 2022 for a schools tour of his Spectroscopy in a Suitcase workshops.
On the afternoon of Saturday 14 August the section held a very successful fundraising social event for our Norman Lloyd Scholarships at Cardiff University. The venue was Casa Setsuko Lloyd in Lasne, where we were hosted by Norman's wife Setsuko and the family. A very sunny afternoon was enjoyed by all and a total of €860 was raised for the fund.
The event had a Spanish theme, courtesy of chief chef Chalks Corriette, and further culinary delights included Timm's Pimms.
As well as delicious food and drink this was a first opportunity for many participants to catch up with friends and colleagues following the various Covid restrictions in Belgium - so there was much to talk about.
And of course a tombola was organised to boost funds.
All in all, a very fine time was had by everyone - and the money raised, when added to the existing fund, will guarantee the continuation of the scholarships for at least two further academic years.
About the Scholarships
The Dr Norman C Lloyd Scholarships were set up by the section and Norman's family and friends in cooperation with Cardiff University to provide an annual scholarship of £1 000 to an undergraduate student, usually in their first year of study and from a disadvantaged background, in the Cardiff School of Chemistry.
To date seven students have benefitted from the fund.
If you would like to support the Norman Lloyd Scholarships, but were unable to attend the event, please do not hesitate to contact the section secretary directly or make a bank transfer to the RSC Belgium bank account (ING IBAN BE91 3630 8144 4876) with the message ‘Norman Lloyd Scholarship Fund’. Many thanks.
RSC members across Belgium should have received an email from Anna Dearden, the Chemists’ Community Fund Manager at the society. On behalf of the RSC, she extended thoughts and sympathy for everyone affected by the recent extreme weather and flooding across the country and reminded members of the support available from the Chemists’ Community Fund, the benevolent fund for RSC members.
If you or your family have suffered a negative financial impact due to recent flooding in Belgium, then please consider contacting the service. Although the RSC may only be able to offer limited immediate practical support, the CCF may be able to offer financial assistance to RSC members.
To contact the fund, you can call on +44 (0)1223 853549 or email ccfund@rsc.org. The RSC’s specialist caseworkers can talk you through the application process and may also be able to direct you to additional avenues of support. And any discussions, of course, are completely confidential.
Help and advice
The RSC’s CCF offers impartial guidance, helpful connections and support you can count on. It is part of the benefits of Royal Society of Chemistry membership and allows members to access advice, information and financial assistance whenever the unexpected occurs.
When life feels uncertain, the RSC CCF’s knowledgeable team and network of member volunteers can help guide you, offering confidential help that is as unique as the situation you face.
The service covers pretty much all areas of life including money and advice (Financial assistance, accessing state benefits, budgeting and debt, and confidential legal advice); wellbeing and family (Care and carer support, your mental health, autism support at home, and health and wellbeing resources) and employment and study issues (Job hunting and career advice, supporting work and study, and financial help and grants).
The fund is there to support those members impacted by unexpected life events. The fund is currently looking at what the longer term impact of the COVID pandemic may be on individuals and how it can better offer support not just now but into the future.
On Thursday 27 May 2021 RSC Belgium members and friends were able to explore 'How does chemistry come alive?' in a fascinating webinar with Professor Nick Lane of University College London. Nick described how the continuous reaction of hydrogen and carbon dioxide in the structured environment of hydrothermal vents could have driven the beginnings of metabolism and genetics in protocells at the origin of life on our Earth.
Nick previously talked to us about his fascinating work on bioenergetics, evolution and the origin of life in 2014. He is an evolutionary biochemist and writer in the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment at UCLondon. He was awarded the inaugural UCL Provost's Venture Research Prize for his research on evolutionary biochemistry and bioenergetics and his current work focuses on the origin of life, and the origin and evolution of eukaryotes. He was a founding member of the UCL Consortium for Mitochondrial Research, and leads the UCL Research Frontiers Origins of Life programme.
On Thursday 22 April 2021 RSC Belgium section members and friends enjoyed a fascinating webinar with Dr. Albert J. Dijkstra on the topic of ‘Edible oils and fats: Origin, chemistry, production, health’. Dr Dijkstra has had a long and varied career in this area and the presentation highlighted his expertise in particular during the question and answer session.
Because edible oils and fats contain fatty acids that the human body needs but cannot synthesize, they form an essential part of the human diet. Fortunately, nature provides a wide choice of edible oils and fats. Albert’s presentation discussed what oils and fats people used in distant times, how their supply has changed, and described current production figures and methods. The talk will outlined and explained the various processes used to refine the crude oils and to modify them to meet demand for particular properties in specific products. The final topic of the presentation was the various health claims that have been made at different times for various edible oil products: many based more in the minds of the marketing department than any clear nutritional or health benefits.
Dr Dijkstra (pictured during the transmission, above right, with RSC Belgium chairman Bob Crichton) obtained his PhD in gas kinetics from Leiden University in the mid-Sixties and subsequently enjoyed a decade working for ICI in the UK, the Netherlands and eventually as a Senior R&D Project Leader in ICI Europa. He then worked as a freelancer in chemical market research for Charles H Kline before being appointed as R&D Director of the Vandemoortele Group in Belgium from 1978 to 1997. Since then, Albert has been active as a scientific consultant, author, editor, lecturer, and reviewer in the field of edible oil processing.
On Thursday 18 March 2021, the RSC Belgium section of the Royal Society of Chemistry was treated to a fascinating talk from Professor Annemie Bogaerts of the University of Antwerp on plasma-based catalysis and processes. In this second of our online talks of 2021 Annemie described the work of her Research group PLASMANT and in particular 'Plasma-based CO2 conversion' - an area that is gaining increasing interest.
CO2 conversion into value-added chemicals and fuels is one of the great challenges of the 21st century. However, due to the limitations of traditional thermal approaches, several novel technologies are being developed. One promising approach is plasma technology that has promises mild operating conditions, easy upscaling, and gas activation by energetic electrons instead of heat.
But what are the key advantages to using plasma technology over other novel approaches? Can plasma technology be successful on its own, or can synergies be achieved by combining it with other technologies? And what are the potentials and limitations of plasma technology in general?
Annemie first provided a brief introduction to plasma science and catalysis in general: highlighting how plasma is formed and what are its major applications. Subsequently she focused on the application of CO2 conversion by plasma and plasma catalysis. Annemie gave an overview of the state-of-the-art in plasma-based CO2 (and CH4) conversion, describing the different types of plasma reactors used and discussing the differences (and potential benefits) compared to other emerging technologies for CO2 conversion.
In the last part of the talk she presented some of the results she and her group have obtained in Antwerp including experiments and modeling to obtain a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms and to improve process performance and yield.
Annemie's talk was very well received and provoked a lively discussion!
You can watch the lecture again below or on our dedicated YouTube channel.
On the evening of 29 January 2021 the RSC Belgium section held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) as a webinar event via Microsoft
Teams. The meeting commenced at 19:35 with nine section members present:
Bob Crichton, David Terrell, Hendrik Emons, Julie Tuppeny, Fabio Lucaccioni, Rita
Blakeborough Woodward, Susan Schamp, Tim Reynolds and Tracy Ehiwe. Also in attendance was co-opted Committee member: Bo
Dahlqvist. And in addition, we were pleased to welcome our guests RSC President Professor Tom Welton and RSC interim CEO Dr Helen Pain.
Eleven section members who were unable to attend the AGM had
asked the Chair to act as their proxy for the meeting if a vote was required.
These members were: Prof. Dr Arthur Van Aerschot, Brian Sutcliffe, Christopher
K. Kariuki, Eveline Volcke, Giacomo Canciani, James Franklin, Joshua Holloway, Richard
Green, Steven De Feyter, Thomas Vranken, William Darnley and Marie-Beatrice
Madec.
1. Welcome and
introductory remarks from RSC President
Professor Tom Welton and RSC interim Chief Executive Dr Helen Pain
Section Chair Bob Crichton opened the AGM and welcomed Tom and
Helen to the meeting.
Tom (below) said it was a great pleasure to join the AGM and
described the RSC as still, despite recent political developments, very much a
European Chemical society.
He said that his presidency had been quite different to his expectations
due to the restrictions of COVID. He hoped the portfolio of vaccines that have
been developed would herald at least the end of this phase of the pandemic. He
noted how we have all adapted to this new normal and how we have all learned
new ways of working virtually. He thought that the use of virtual connections
would likely continue when normality, or near normality, was restored.
His president’s themes for 2021 focused on sustainability –
he has been a professor of sustainable chemistry for over 15 years – and this
was especially important to him both in terms of how we do chemistry and for
society as well. 2021 will see the COP26 meeting in Glasgow and the RSC was
determined to take an active role in it. This was the right moment to be laying
out the RSC’s plans for strategy in this area, which will be presented to
members over the next few months.
Helen Pain (right) also thanked the section for the invite to the
AGM. During 2020 she and Tom had attended nine regional meetings in the UK, and
it was important to continue to meet and talk to members, especially in these
difficult times. The RSC is thinking how it can connect better with its members
and be more inclusive. The RSC wants to hear more from its members to ensure
that the society remains relevant. It must retain its vision and ambition and
work to make a difference in the world.
Helen looked forward to continuing cooperation and collaboration around
the world and especially in Europe with its involvement with EUChems and IUPAC.
In that context she noted the appointment of previous CEO Robert Parker as RSC Ambassador
to Europe and the Commonwealth – he would be the RSC’s voice in Europe.
Both Tom and Helen wished the section well and looked
forward to returning to be able to work in Burlington House as soon as
possible. Tom noted he had yet to touch the Presidents medal!
Bob Crichton thanked Tom and Helen for their contributions
and hoped to be able to welcome them both to Belgium once COVID has been
vanquished.
2.Apologies for absence
There were no further apologies were noted.
3. Approval of
Minutes of 2020 AGM
No corrections were suggested, and the meeting moved (David
Terrell), seconded (Bo Dahlqvist) and hence unanimously adopted the minutes.
4. Committee Report
on the Section’s 2020 Activities (Tim Reynolds – Secretary)
The Secretary presented the 2020 report.
As with most other aspects of our lives, the COVID crisis in
2020 had a major impact on RSC Belgium’s programme of activities. Yet despite
the challenges raised by the various lockdowns, travel bans and social
distancing restrictions, during 2020, RSC Belgium managed to organise three
public lectures (one physical and two virtual), held its AGM and a fund raising
social, and our two annual school outreach events - the Chemistry Challenge and
the Top of the Bench ‘European Eliminator’ – were successfully undertaken. We
also welcomed our seventh Norman Lloyd scholar at Cardiff University.
Our next planned event would have been with Prof James Durrant
of Imperial College on 31 March talking about ‘Solar driven synthesis of
sustainable fuels: photochemistry meets catalysis’, but the first pandemic
lockdown intervened. We hope to rearrange this event, either physically or
virtually, in February 2021.
On Saturday 12 September, with COVID restrictions eased
momentarily in Belgium we were able to hold an
appropriately socially-distanced fundraising event for our Norman Lloyd Scholarships
at our section treasurer Julie Tuppeny’s abode that raised some EUR 870 raised
for the fund.
Our Top of the Bench
regional heat was also a virtual affair taking place in late November and
early December. Due to the various restrictions only four teams from two
schools (St Georges in Luxembourg and ISF Waterloo) were able to take part in
the written and practice exercises set, as ever, by Rita Woodward. But, also as
ever, all the teams performed well with the overall winner being Team
Phosphorus from St. Georges school who will be representing Belgium section at
the virtual TOTB finals in March 2021.
We hope to be organising more events in 2021 – either
virtual or physical depending on the situation – and look forward to seeing
many members and friends on screen or face-to-face during the year. Details
of forthcoming events can always be found on the RSC Belgium blog but our
first two events will be on 11 February with Prof James Durrant of Imperial
College on Solar Fuels and 18 March with Prof Annemie Bogaerts of Antwerp
University on plasma chemistry for CO2 conversion.
There were no questions on the report, and it was unanimously
approved.
5. Financial Report
of 2020 (Julie Tuppeny – Treasurer)
The treasurer presented the 2020 financial report and
accounts.
Like previous years 2020 was planned to be another busy
year, until restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic saw cancellations and
lectures moved online for the Section and its committee.
The main highlights of the year were our two online lectures
from Brigitte van Tiggelen and David Cole-Hamilton and a live lecture from
Joris Proost. Our two annual competitions for schools were organised to comply
with COVID restrictions. Our Chemistry Challenge Competition was well attended and was performed online, and
the Top of the Bench (TOTB) Eliminator Round was organised in schools with four
teams from two Schools taking part.
On 1 January 2020, the net assets of RSC
Belgium Section were €5 929.46. The Annual Grant for 2020 received in June 2020
from RSC UK was € 6 589.00 which was less than the € 10 307.50 that was asked
for.
The major item of expenditure for the year was € 865 to
organise the Chemistry Challenge, of which €675 was prize money.
For the Year ending
31 December 2020, the net assets of RSC Belgium Section amount to €10,709.91.
Bearing in mind that under Belgian Law, the status of the
RSC Belgium Section holds the three Officers personally liable for debts
arising from the activities of the Belgium Section, a grant request of € 2 000
will be requested from RSC UK to cover all the activities planned for 2021.
The meeting unanimously adopted the Treasurer’s report.
6. Chairman’s Remarks
(Bob Crichton)
The Chairman thanked all members of the committee for their
hard work and support during a difficult year. It had been satisfying to have
organised several events despite the COVID situation.
He hoped that all section members were managing well under
the lockdown regime and looked forward to a more active year in 2021 with a
fuller programme – either virtual or physical or a bit of both.
7. Election of
committee members and section officers
The following nominations had been received:
Section
Chair:Robert Crichton
Section
Treasurer:Julie Tuppeny
Section
Secretary:Tim Reynolds
Ordinary
members of the committee: Fabio
Lucaccioni, Susan Schamp, Rita Woodward
Election to the committee is for a two-year term.
There being no further nominations and the number of
nominations being less than the number of vacancies (A maximum of five ordinary
members are allowed and David Terrell is mid-way through his current term as an
ordinary member of the committee) the nominees were duly elected to the
committee for 2021.
At the first committee meeting of 2021 Bo Dahlqvist will be
co-opted onto the committee.
8. Auditing
arrangements for 2021
Having reviewed the section rules (which state the section
auditor could be any member of the section who was not a current member of the
committee) and the financial audit requirements for the section reports to RSC
HQ (no formal audit required) at the first committee meeting in 2020 it had
been decided to approach a section member (Lance Smallshaw) to review/ audit
the section accounts, rather than seek to continue an external audit by an
accountant.
9. Any Other Business
It was noted that the first event of the 2021 programme will
be on Thursday 11 February 2021 via Teams with Prof. James Durrant of Imperial
College talking about Solar Fuels.
The meeting Adjourned at 19:55. The first meeting of the 2021
committee will take place on Tuesday 16 March 2021 via Teams from 19h15.
On the evening of Thursday 11 February 2021 Prof. James Durrant, of Imperial College London gave the section an online talk on 'The solar driven synthesis of sustainable fuels: photochemistry meets catalysis'.
In the webinar Prof Durrant talked about the increasing interest in the development of artificial photosynthetic systems for solar driven fuel synthesis. He started by discussing the challenge of the solar driven synthesis of sustainable fuels and chemistry, and its potential role in reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. He then went on to review approaches to artificial photosynthesis, and the lessons which can be learnt from biological photosynthesis.
Prof Durrant introduced his own particular research interest, the role of charge carrier dynamics in determining the efficiency of such systems, focusing on photocatalysts and photoelectrodes for water oxidation and reduction. His talk primarily focused on metal oxide materials, although he also covered organic polymer photocatalysts and hybrid molecular / inorganic systems for solar driven proton and CO2 reduction. Experimentally, these studies are based around transient absorption spectroscopy on timescales from femtoseconds to seconds, which are correlated with the results of photoelectrochemical analyses of device efficiency. These studies address the dynamics of charge separation and recombination, as well as the kinetics of water oxidation / reduction at semiconductor / liquid interfaces.
During the talk Prof Durrant addressed issues including the underlying photochemistry of oxides, the role of the space charge layers at electrochemical junctions in spatially separating charges, and the role of heterojunctions and catalysts layers in enhancing system efficiency. Particular consideration was placed on the mechanism of water oxidation / reduction, and the extent oxide surfaces function as heterogeneous catalysts for this reaction.
Despite the challenges and restrictions due to COVID, RSC Belgium successfully organised and ran its annual 'international eliminator' for the Royal Society of Chemistry's Top of the Bench (TOTB) competition in 2020 - and the results are now in. This year, the competition was run remotely during late November and early December with the results evaluated over the Christmas holiday period. The winning team, who will now represent Belgium in the TOTB grand final in March, is Team Phosphorus from St. Georges International School in Luxembourg. The school therefore retains the Keith Price Cup as their Team Sulfur was Belgium's TOTB winners in 2019.
Our 2020 TOTB eliminator retained the usual elements of the competition: a written test component for individual team members and a practical group exercise. Also as usual the questions were set by RSC committee member Rita Woodward.
TOTB teams need to be composed of four students with two students from Year 9 (UK equivalent to 3rd year or Grade 8), one student from Year 10 UK (4th year or Grade 9) and one student from Year 11 (5th year or Grade 10). With COVID restrictions/ bubbles this added an extra complication to the event.
The competition itself was managed remotely by the participating schools and consisted of a Multiple-Choice ‘Written’ Section, with questions and marking schemes tailored to the three age groups that was delivered in an appropriate 'timed' manner at the schools and a practical element with input from all four team members. The practical task for 2020 was to construct a calibration graph and use it to determine the percentage of baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) present in a commercially produced baking powder. Practical kits were sent to participating schools.
Challenging event
In the end four teams from two schools were able to complete and return a full set of results for evaluation. The participating teams were teams Barium and Nitrogen from the International School of Flanders (ISF) in Waterloo and teams Magnesium and Phosphorus from St. George's International School in Luxembourg.
The competition was close but the overall winner - ranked first in the practical test and second in the written test - was the Phosphorus team from Luxembourg.
Our congratulations to Team Phosphorus and our thanks to everyone who took part in the TOTB eliminator this year. RSC goodies are on the way to participants at ISF and St. George's. Thanks to St. George's for providing photos from their eliminator.
The Belgium section of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) was established in 1989. It has around 120 professional members in Belgium and an extensive list of 'Friends of RSC Belgium'. The section organises lectures, visits and social events with a principal objective of promoting the chemical sciences to the public.
