Great Country Academician

The exchange between two doctoral students at Caltech is just a microcosm of the academic world.

After the paper "Quantum Theory of Microscopic Substantial Reactions of Electrochemistry and Exploration of the Mechanism of Lithium-Air Batteries" was uploaded to the arxiv preprint website, related discussions and influences are also fermenting bit by bit over time.

Related discussions have begun rapidly on Google Scholar, ResearchGATE and other communication websites and forums commonly used in the chemical community.

[Oh God, do any of you follow arxiv? That Professor Xu switched fields from mathematics to chemistry! 】

[The quantum theory of microscopic substantive reactions in electrochemistry is incredible. It is a theory that no one has accomplished in decades. Is this true? 】

[Establishing an accurate, effective and universally applicable time-dependent many-body quantum theory and statistical theory for chemistry is one of the four top problems in chemistry! In terms of difficulty in mathematics, it is no less difficult than the seven Millennium Problems. If you solve any one of them, you can definitely win the Nobel Prize! 】

[Honestly, I read the paper, but I can’t believe it either. Even if this is just a small part of chemistry, the interface structure of electrochemistry. 】

[The theoretical chemistry community has experienced decades of development, but there is still no perfect theory that can thoroughly elucidate the microscopic essence of various electrochemical processes that occur at the electrochemical interface. 】

[But this is Professor Xu’s published paper! Given his character, if he didn't have extremely high or even 100% certainty, I'm afraid he wouldn't have published this paper. 】

[What about Professor Xu? This is the world of chemistry, not mathematics. The world of mathematics can rely on the brain, but chemistry relies more on experiments and experience! 】

[Actually, I am more curious about the exploration of the lithium-air battery mechanism in this paper than the theory you mentioned. Professor Xu brought lithium-air batteries into his paper. Does this mean that he is already researching lithium-air batteries, and may even be making progress? 】

[God, is this too crazy? If I remember correctly, didn't he just develop lithium-sulfur batteries last year? Are you targeting lithium-air batteries this year? 】

Debates abound on numerous academic websites and forums.

Regarding Xu Chuan's paper published on the Arxiv preprint website, the chemical community's view is full of controversy.

Most scholars in the chemistry community find it difficult to believe that one of the four major problems that has never been solved for decades has made a creative breakthrough today.

Although Xu Chuan's reputation is indeed great, this is chemistry, not mathematics.

Moreover, electrochemistry is only a small part of chemistry. As yet, there is no complete theory that can give a detailed and inclusive explanation of the interface structure and processes in various electrochemical reactions.

It’s hard to imagine how the world of chemistry would change if this theory were true.

There are many who don't believe it, and there are also many who believe it.

Although cross-field research is an extremely difficult thing, for scholars who are willing to believe in Xu Chuan, cross-field research may be the easiest thing for him.

After all, starting from mathematics, to physics, to astronomy, materials, chemistry, and even engineering, Professor Xu has it all at his fingertips, and he can produce miraculous results for me every time he jumps to another field.

And this time, they firmly believe that it will be no exception.

While the debate rages on in the chemical community, on the other side.

USA, New York.

In the headquarters building of "JACS", a journal of the American Chemical Society, a group of review editors of the journal are also staring at the papers in their hands.

For Xu Chuan, since it has been decided to disclose the microscopic substantive reaction quantum theory of electrochemistry, regular journal submissions must also be made.

Among materials and chemistry journals, "JACS" is undoubtedly the leader in this field.

For the chemistry community, it is no exaggeration to say that JACS's status is like the "Annals of Mathematics" in the mathematics community. It is a place that every chemist dreams of publishing a paper.

Although its impact factor is not the highest in chemistry, if you simply use the impact factor to describe the height of a journal, it is like using GDP per capita to measure the strength of a country.

For academia, the impact factor is just the average number of citations within two years. Although it is one of the most focused evaluation indicators in the academic world, it is only one of them.

In 2023, the impact factor of JACS is 15.95, which is less than 16. However, in materials and chemical classification, its total number of citations and number of citations ranks first, far exceeding the second place.

This shows that the coverage and amount of information of JACS are unparalleled, and it also shows the professionalism of JACS.

However, such a journal, which can be said to be the leader in chemistry journals, will have difficulties when facing papers in the mailbox.

As for the reason, it's not just because of the online debate.

In fact, for top journals like JACS, unless a certain published paper encounters large-scale doubts, they will arrange for editors and personnel to re-review the paper, otherwise online controversies will not be enough for them. Said the impact is not big.

What makes the JACS editor embarrassed is purely because the theory of the paper in hand is too novel, and it can even be said to be quite advanced.

For electrochemistry, this is a new skyscraper built by integrating multiple foundations in mathematics, condensed matter physics, microscopic electrochemistry, and quantum fields.

Apart from the novel theories and some experimental data in the paper that need to be verified, the most embarrassing thing for many JACS editors is that this paper also contains a large number of mathematical calculation formulas.

The author of the paper seems to have adopted a brand-new mathematical method, integrating various tools such as quantum mathematical work and traditional mathematical permutation, density functional, and unitary group coherent state electron and nucleus motion equations.

For traditional chemists, it is a bit difficult to understand this mathematics.

Although it is not difficult to find a scholar who is proficient in mathematics in the theoretical chemistry community, such as Professor Martin Capras who has previously designed multi-scale models for complex chemical systems, or the founder of Professor Gerhard Capras who is proficient in density functional theory. It can be said that Professor Ettel and others are quite proficient in mathematics in the field of chemistry.

However, compared to the one who is currently submitting a manuscript to them, there is no scholar of the same level in the entire chemistry community.

Even in the field of mathematics, there are only a few scholars who can reach a high level.

So for this paper, which may determine the future of electrochemistry and even computational chemistry, the editor of JACS is very worried at the moment.

It is difficult for them to find the right people to review this paper, and they cannot judge whether the paper is logically self-consistent and complete from a mathematical perspective.

Fortunately, compared to mathematics, the subject of chemistry can still be tested through experiments and factual arguments.

Editors of JACS journals are not the only ones who worry about checking or reviewing papers.

Considering the influence of Professor Xu Chuan in the academic world, many research institutions have begun to follow up on whether the theory in this paper and the opinions proposed are reliable.

Among them, there are scholars from the chemistry community, professors from the mathematics community, and even some concerned scholars from the physics community next door who have turned their attention.

After all, in addition to mathematical tools and chemical theories, this paper also incorporates some physics-related knowledge such as condensed matter physics and quantum theory.

According to public reports, regarding Xu Chuan’s paper published on Arxiv, many research institutions in the academic world have established interdisciplinary research groups, such as the Max Planck Society, the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This paper conducts verification and testing.

For academia, it is extremely rare not to mention that it is unprecedented in history for so many research institutions to unite members of different disciplines to study a paper.

Not least because this paper provides a detailed and inclusive account of interface structures and processes during electrochemical reactions.

It’s even more because of another subtitle in the paper: “Exploring the Mechanism of Lithium-Air Batteries!”

With lithium batteries now being regarded as the ‘son of destiny’ in the energy industry, lithium-air batteries are undoubtedly the target products that all countries are researching and developing.

Since both the lithium dendrite problem and the lithium-sulfur battery problem were solved by Professor Xu, no one dares to underestimate the other's research on lithium-air batteries.

Maybe this paper will directly open the door to lithium-air batteries?

You know, if lithium-air battery technology can be completed, it is no exaggeration to say that the new energy field will usher in a complete reshuffle!

If the academic community is excited about the new world of chemistry that may be coming, then the financial and industrial circles are confused.

Xu Chuan has invested in Tomorrow Hydrogen Energy Technology Company and is optimistic about the diaphragm liquid compressed hydrogen fuel cell.

In just a few days, whether it is A-shares or rice-shares, the market for hydrogen energy and hydrogen fuel sectors has been rising sharply. The market is also constantly developing. The situation of hydrogen fuel cells is very good.

However, the next second, this big man who was optimistic about hydrogen fuel cells went to study lithium-air batteries? ? ?

And solved one of the biggest problems in electrochemistry?

What is the situation?

Is there any way to play like this?

If it hadn't been for Tomorrow's Hydrogen Energy Technology Company to show the financing contract two days ago, publicly confirming to the outside world that Xu Chuan had financed their company.

I'm afraid many people will think that Professor Xu is short of money, and then deliberately let out rumors that he is optimistic about hydrogen fuel cells, and then hype it up to make money in the stock market.

However, some people quickly refuted this statement.

After all, if you think about it from another angle, this wave of operations is extremely unreasonable from the perspective of making money.

The current hydrogen energy sector is at a time when it is soaring. At this point, rumors suddenly spread that I was researching lithium-air batteries. Isn't this purely suppressing the stock market and reducing my income?

This mysterious operation directly blinded the entire financial circle.

Whether it was venture capital or capital, they were completely puzzled. They had no idea what Professor Xu was doing and what fields he was optimistic about.

As for the stock market, although the exploration of the microstructure of electrochemistry and the mechanism of lithium-air batteries are just papers, it is obvious that the market will not consider these.

With the release of this paper, relevant rumors and public opinions have also changed rapidly, whether in the battery industry or the financial industry.

Even if it is confirmed that Professor Xu has invested in a company in the hydrogen energy field, the rising trend of hydrogen fuel cell stock prices will be suddenly cut off.

Then it quickly started to fall back.

After all, in front of lithium-air batteries, no matter how superior the performance of hydrogen fuel cells is, it is difficult to compare.

What's more, it can be said that there is almost no room for hydrogen fuel cells to survive in today's market. Whether it is China, the United States, or the European Union and other regions, hydrogen fuel cells are basically suppressed by default.

Previously, the market value of the hydrogen fuel sector has been constantly rising. On the one hand, Sakura Country, which holds 80% of the patents, is doing its best to promote it.

On the other hand, international capital is fishing in troubled waters, taking advantage of this east wind to make profits.

Now that news of lithium-air batteries has spread, the three parties of Huami and Ou, as if they had held a meeting to discuss it, have tacitly sold off their hydrogen fuel cell shares and quickly suppressed the market value of related companies.

With this wave of rhythm, the entire hydrogen energy market can be said to have returned to before liberation overnight. Even the Sakura State enterprises that had previously been speculating on hydrogen fuel cells were directly hit hard.

In just a few days, the K-line chart of the hydrogen energy sector was like a jumping machine, going straight up and down, making people's hearts stop.

If you want to say that in this wave of rhythm, the major battery manufacturers and companies in Sakura Country have suffered the most heavy losses.

Taking advantage of Xuchuan's investment in hydrogen fuel cells, Sakura Country and major domestic companies, including Toyota, Panasonic, Mitsubishi and other companies, are doing their best to promote the development of hydrogen fuel cells.

The news of this wave of lithium-air batteries spread, coupled with the collective suppression of Huamio's three major regions, the stock market in the hydrogen energy sector plummeted. Not to mention all the billions of funds they invested in this marketing, at least Most of them are trapped in it and then harvested by other countries and capital.

What is more serious is not the loss of funds, but the vast market of hydrogen fuel cells.

If investing billions of dollars can open up the hydrogen fuel cell market in various countries, I believe companies such as Toyota, Panasonic, and Mitsubishi will continue to invest more money.

After all, there is return only if there is investment. Battery is a trillion-level supermarket, and billions of funds are nothing.

However, now, with the pavement of lithium-air battery technology, the door of hydrogen fuel cells, which they thought had been opened slightly, has been closed again.

It is no exaggeration to say that in this wave of twists and turns, Sakura Country lost far more than billions of funds.

The decline of the hydrogen fuel cell market is the most disappointing.