About

Substantia. An International Journal of the History of Chemistry is a open access peer-reviewed international journal dedicated to the history of Chemistry and edited by the University of Florence. Topics of interest include traditional and innovative perspectives in the development of Chemistry. Fundamentals and implications of chemical theories and related sciences, interdisciplinary works (highlighting the interconnections between Chemistry, other scientific disciplines, arts, technology, social and human sciences), contributions from unpublished sources are welcome. The journal is published open access and offers top quality original full papers, essays, experimental works, reviews, biographies and dissemination manuscripts. All contributions are in English.

Editor-in-Chief
Pierandrea Lo Nostro, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy
 
eISSN: 2532-3997

HIST-Substantia Outstanding Paper Award

The History of Chemistry (HIST) Division of the American Chemical Society and Substantia, edited by the Department of Chemistry of the University of Florence, launch a new "HIST-Substantia Outstanding Paper Award" to award the best history paper published in the journal. This annual award consists in a prize of 500 € that will be paid to the corresponding author of the paper.

Click here for more information.

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Substantia is indexed in:

  

Recently the Content Selection & Advisory Board (CSAB) approved our application for indexing Substantia in Scopus.

FUP and Substantia teams are proud of this result and wish to share this announcement with the authors, readers, editors and reviewers of the journal. With their contributions we achieved this remarkable goal.


Announcements

Current IssueVol 9, No 2 (2025)

Published September 15, 2025

Issue Description

Cover image: Isolated scales on Madagascan sunset moth wing (Chrysiridia ripheus). Technique: Darkfield, Image Stacking, Reflected Light (40X Objective Lens Magnification) by S.bastien Malo (Saint Lys, Haute-Garonne, France). Courtesy of Nikon Small World (15th place, 2024 Photomicrography Competition, https://www.nikonsmallworld.com).

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Table of Contents

Editorial

The Invisible Infrastructure of Science: The Starring Role of Librarians and Archivists and a Call for Appreciation
Jeffrey I. Seeman
5-7
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/Substantia-3682

Research Articles

Positronium Chemistry: Origin, Development, and Historical Roots
Helge Kragh
9-19
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/Substantia-3540
Enhanced Desalination in a Hot-Bubble Pilot Plant
Thi Thuy Nguyen, Adrian Garrido Sanchis , Richard M. Pashley
21-34
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/Substantia-3353
The Emergence and Evolution of Atom Efficient and/or Environmentally Acceptable Catalytic Petrochemical Processes from the 1920s to the 1990s
Mark A. Murphy
35-50
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/Substantia-3100
The Work of Carlo Garosi: a Parallel History of the Discovery of Tritium
Benedetto Pietro Casu, Duccio Tatini
51-57
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/Substantia-3436
Chemistry and Literature: Disciplines in Dynamic Equilibrium
Luigi Dei
59-73
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/Substantia-3435
Students’ Mental Model in Understanding Chemical Bonding and Its Correlation with Chemistry Mindset
Atikah Atikah, Habiddin Habiddin, Nazriati Nazriati, Mudzuna Quraisyah Basimin
75-82
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/Substantia-3476
Victor Meyer (1848-1897) Chemist
Juergen Heinrich Maar
83-98
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/Substantia-3439
An Investigation into the Role and Importance of Three-Dimensional Representations through an Analysis of Late 19th and Early 20th Century Chemistry Textbooks
Matteo Chioccioli
99-109
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/Substantia-3430
Science Communication as Praxis: Analysis of ‘The Periodic Table’ by Primo Levi
Luciana Massi, Guilherme da Silva Lima
111-120
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/Substantia-3441
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Substantia. An International Journal of the History of Chemistry 

Substantia is an open access peer-reviewed academic international journal dedicated to traditional perspectives as well as innovative and synergetic implications of history and philosophy of Chemistry.  It is meant to be a crucible for discussions on science, on making science and its outcomes. Substantia hosts discussions on the connections between chemistry and other horizons of human activities, and on the historical aspects of chemistry.

eISSN: 2532-3997


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