Some of these electronics will soon appear on store shelves and offices near you.

In the C&EN cover story, writers Michael McCoy, Alexander Tullo, and Jean-Francois Tremblay point out that so-called 'electronic chemicals' play key roles in today's advanced electronics but go largely unnoticed by consumers. These unsung materials, part of a multibillion dollar electronic materials market, provide improved solar panels that crank out more fossil fuel-free electricity and new computer chips that are smaller and more energy efficient than ever. These materials also fuel the development of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) that promise energy savings and could render today's incandescent light bulbs and fluorescent bulbs obsolete, according to the article.

But making advanced electronics comes with a steep price. Chemical companies now invest billions of dollars to build new manufacturing plants to produce raw materials for advanced electronics. Manufacturers are also spending heavily on research and development, as new electronic advances demand innovative new chemicals, the article states.-American Chemical Society