Call For Papers: Nobel Symposium 2025: The Future of Chemical Safety & Sustainable Materials Chemistry

Stockholm University Center for Circular and Sustainable Systems (SUCCeSS) will host a Nobel Symposium in May 2025, entitled "Chemistry for Sustainability: Fundamental Advances." Of key interest is the sustainable production of materials chemistry through sustainable chemical feedstocks, novel catalytic pathways, high-functionality, biodegradable materials, alternative energy inputs, and the use of green solvents, alongside benign-by-design end products. The latter integrates toxicity and hazard screening, environmental footprint assessments, systems thinking, and data-driven molecular design to scale molecular-level inventions into safe and sustainable societal advancements.

Key sustainability challenges in the development of new materials chemistry includes the refinement of complex biobased feedstocks, the utilization of proteins, biomass, and CO₂ in the design of sustainable building blocks, and the molecular engineering of polymers and advanced materials. Challenges also include the adoption of benign conversion and processing routes, the adoption of green energy technologies, and the design of circular materials.

Reaching safe-by-design expectations in new materials chemistry also remains a challenge. Traditional toxicity testing methods can be time-consuming, costly, and ethically complex and innovative mechanistic toxicology approaches are urgently needed. Moreover, exposure to chemical mixtures adds additional layers of complexity in risk assessment and regulatory decision-making.

This Special Issue, to be published across ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T), and Environmental Science & Technology Letters (ES&T Letters), will be based on the topics covered during the 2025 SUCCeSS Nobel Symposium. This Call for Papers seeks contributions that explore cutting-edge advancements in new materials chemistry development that integrates green chemistry principles, chemical safety assessment, predictive toxicology, life cycle analysis, and sustainability.

Topics include but are not limited to:

• Biorefineries based on novel feedstocks and CO₂
• Green and novel catalytic synthesis of building blocks
• Molecular design and functionalization of green polymers
• Sustainable conversions and circular processes
• Applications of sustainable materials
• Green energy technologies
• Scale up possibilities and challenges in the field of sustainable materials chemistry
• Innovative and improved synthesis of building blocks
• Sustainable conversions and circular processes
• Scalable applications
• Data-driven materials design
• New Approach Methodologies (NAMs)
• Mechanistic toxicology
• Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs)
• High-throughput and high-content screening approaches for early hazard identification
• Epigenetic and transgenerational toxicity
• Safer chemical design frameworks
• Environmentally benign synthesis and processing
• Chemical safety assessment
• Predictive toxicology approaches in materials design
• Life cycle analysis of materials chemistry
• Non-targeted analysis and exposomics
• Industry perspectives
• Regulatory and policy innovations

Submit your manuscript by September 2, 2025.

Organizing Editors

Associate Professor Marlene Agerstrand, Guest Editor
Stockholm University, Sweden

Professor Oskar Karlsson, Guest Editor
Stockholm University, Sweden

Professor Anneli Kruve, Guest Editor
Stockholm University, Sweden

Associate Professor Yuanyuan Li, Guest Editor
KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden

Professor Aji Mathew, Guest Editor
Stockholm University, Sweden

Associate Professor Mika Sipponen, Guest Editor
Stockholm University, Sweden

Submission Information

We welcome submissions for this Special Issue through September 2, 2025. For more information on submission requirements, please visit the Author Guidelines pages for each journal:

• Author Guidelines: ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
• Author Guidelines: ES&T
• Author Guidelines: ES&T Letters

Accepted manuscripts for consideration in this Special Issue will include all manuscript types available in both journals. Papers accepted for publication for this Special Issue will be available ASAP (as soon as publishable) online. After all submissions have been published, they will then be compiled online on a dedicated landing page to form the Special Issue. Manuscripts submitted for consideration will undergo the full rigorous peer review process expected from ACS journals.

Open Access: There are diverse open access options for publications in American Chemical Society journals. Please visit our Open Science Resource Center for more information.

How to Submit

• Log in to the ACS Publishing Center.
• Select the "Journals" tab.
• Choose the journal to which you are submitting (ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Environmental Science & Technology, or Environmental Science & Technology Letters).
• Click "Submit."
• Select your manuscript type, and, under "Special Issue Selection," choose “Nobel Symposium 2025: The Future of Chemical Safety & Sustainable Materials Chemistry."

If you have any general questions regarding submission to this Special Issue, please contact the managing editor (managing.editor@est.acs.org).

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