and the cell reaction is
xLi + Li
1-x
CoO
2
= LiCoO
2
Their findings were published in Materials Research Bulletin 1980, 15, 783-
789. The report concluded with the statement that “Further characteristics of
the intrinsic and extrinsic properties of this new system are being made.”
Little did they envisage that thirty years later that almost everyone from five
years upwards would have an application of their work in their pockets: the
ubiquitous mobile phone, powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery.
John B. Goodenough received a B.S. in Mathematics from Yale University
in 1944 and a PhD in Physics in 1952 from the University of Chicago.
During his early career he was a research scientist at MIT’s Lincoln
Laboratory as part of an interdisciplinary team developing random access
magnetic memory. During the late 1970s and early 80s he continued his
career at the Inorganic Chemical Laboratory, Oxford, where he identified
and developed Li
x
CoO
2
as the cathode material of choice for the lithium-ion
rechargeable battery. Although the Sony Corporation is responsible for the
commercialisation of the device (first marketed in 1991) he is widely
credited for its original identification and development. At present he is
working at the University of Texas, Austin, where he is developing a new
class of iron phosphate materials to replace the more costly cobalt
components in rechargeable batteries.
The Historical Group was represented at the Award by Bill Griffith and Alan
Dronsfield.
Alan Dronsfield
M
EETING AND
C
ONFERENCE
R
EPORTS
Celebrating the History of Chemical Information: Monday
29 November 2010
This conference was organised by the RSC Chemical Information and
Computer Applications Group (CICAG) and the CSA Trust in association
with the RSC Historical Group. Lectures were held in the Geological
Society’s lecture theatre, Burlington House, but both the large exhibition of
historic and present-day material and the lunch were held in the adjacent
Chemistry Centre. The meetings were chaired by Dr. Diana Leitch,
Information Consultant, who, in welcoming the many delegates,
congratulated them on braving both inclement weather and the day-long
London Underground strike. There were some 120 people present, with
CICAG members in the majority.
-27-
Abstracts
Dr. Doug Veal (CICAG);
The Contribution of the RSC
The Royal Society of Chemistry and its predecessor organisations have
made major contributions to chemical information over the last 170 years.
Primary publications have always been a key activity of the Society but in
recent years the number of journals published has increased significantly,
whilst maintaining high quality. All primary journal articles are now
available in an electronic archive. Secondary services have been provided
for many decades, for the early part of the twentieth century by British
Chemical Abstracts and latterly by collaboration with the Chemical
Abstracts Service. The Society’s library was founded in 1841 and has grown
enormously since. The library is now largely virtual, with access to
information provided electronically. A comprehensive information service is
provided. Access to databases is a key part of the service and is constantly
developing, most recently by the acquisition of ChemSpider. The RSC has
consistently supported and contributed to international efforts in chemical
information, for example by participation in IUPAC and ICSU-AB. The
Chemical Information Group (now the Chemical Information and Computer
Applications Group) has organised meetings, generally two a year, on
subjects relevant to chemical information since its formation in 1967.
Dr William Town (President, Kilmorie Clarke Ltd); The Language and
Symbolism of Chemistry
Chemistry and the language and symbolism of chemistry developed in
parallel. Even the alchemists had evolved a complicated symbolism to
represent and, at the same time, obscure their knowledge of the art of
chemistry. As chemistry, emerged as a respected science in the late
eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, new methods of representing
chemical knowledge evolved. The history of chemical symbolism and
language was addressed and also the organisation of chemical knowledge in
some of the major handbooks and the development of the first periodic
tables.
Dr Engelbert Zass (Head, Chemistry Biology Pharmacy Information
Centre, ETH Zurich); Chemical Literature
Chemical information is typically dominated by structures of chemical
compounds, and by the structuring of the chemical literature into primary,
secondary, and tertiary sources. This organization is essential in chemical
information retrieval, and thus appeared quite early in the history of
chemistry as a modern science. This talk explored this aspect and Dr Zass
emphasised the role that traditionsand conventions that were created in a
-28-