Fundamental chemistry and applied chemistry have played important roles in our country. For the past 50 years, the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM) has contributed in both directions, initiating impactful projects and often addressing societal issues. In fundamental chemistry, new methodologies have been developed from an experimental standpoint, from the perspective of theoretical methods, or even from both viewpoints. From an applied perspective, projects have been developed that have culminated in the filing of patents or the creation of industrial prototypes.

For these reasons, this special issue of the Journal of the Mexican Chemical Society (J.Mex. Chem.Soc.) features contributions from various perspectives, each with a unique touch from the research groups responsible for the respective publications. These contributions are organized in different sections: Perspectives, Historical Reviews, Full articles, Overviews, and Reviews . It is important to note that within UAM, there is only one Department of Chemistry. However, chemistry as a discipline is developed across various departments and different campuses of our institution. For this reason, the Guest Editors of this special issue belong to different Divisions of the Iztapalapa campus, developing research activities in various disciplines associated with chemistry, which guarantees to have to a broad perspective on the reception of articles, especially during the peer review process that was carried out for all the articles received.

Thus, the audience will find articles of different natures. For example, topics range from biological systems to highly theoretical subjects like fundamental quantum chemistry. This diversity represents the varied chemistry topics developed at the UAM by highly consolidated research groups and their collaborators. It is essential to mention that the reviewers involved in this special issue are from different institutions around the world, as is usually the case in a scientifically rigorous journal like the J.Mex.Chem.Soc. Therefore, the content presented in this special issue has been carefully reviewed with cutting-edge topics.

In order to publish the highest number of articles received by the deadlines proposed by the publisher, it was necessary to divide the special issue into two parts. The first part will be the last number of 2024, corresponding to Volume 68 , issue 4, and the second will be the first number of 2025, corresponding to Volume 69, issue 1. The selection of articles for each issue has been carried out with the idea of showing the diversity of the specialties of chemistry trying to balance the fundamental and applied contributions.

The Guest Editors of this special issue of the Journal of the Mexican Chemical Society extend their gratitude to all the authors, reviewers, and the editorial team of this journal for their efforts. We hope that the published articles are well received and that the lines of research involved demonstrate their impact over the next 50 years. Long live UAM .