Reactivity of Molecular Oxygen

Dear Colleagues,

Molecular oxygen is one of the strongest oxidants in chemistry. However, it is relatively inert compared with other oxidants like F₂ and Cl₂. The reactivity of O₂ is tempered by the fact that the molecule is an electronic triplet in its ground state, but most molecules exist in the singlet electronic state. To bolster its reactivity, O₂ must be activated first by an association with a metal surface via chemi- or physio-adsorption, by binding to transition metal ions, or by transformation into its electronic singlet excited state. The activation of O₂ is fundamental to many chemical processes, including the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), the fuel cell, catalytic conversion of alkanes into their oxygenates, and C–H activation and functionalization of organic molecules in chemical syntheses. As expected, the outcome of the reactivity is strongly dependent on the details of the activation. Understanding these details remains challenging, but the chemistry is rich and far-reaching and intellectual opportunities abound.

This Special Issue is mainly focused on “Reactivity of Molecular Oxygen”. Submissions are welcome but not limited to the topics listed below. Types of contributions welcome in this Special Issue are full research articles, short communications, and reviews.

Prof. Sunney I. Chan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Oxygen is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Physio- and chemi-adsorption of O₂ on metal surfaces;
• Activation of O₂ by transition metals;
• Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR);
• Fuel cell technology;
• C–H activation and functionalization;
• Catalytic conversion of hydrocarbons into oxygenates;
• Molecular singlet O₂.