Advice for helping someone archive their life's work - chemical synthesis methods
Okay, I 'AM' an academic - so I should be asking myself but do any colleagues have any advice?
I've been speaking to a colleague who retired last year. He got a Phd in Chemistry in the 1970s, published 6 papers with his supervisor on synthesis of dyestuffs using heterocycle reactions, then went into industry. It seems he moved up the ladder quickly and became head of his own company / consultant quickly - and the business slowed down until it eventually became a one man operation from 2015 onwards with him relying on his vast knowledge of chemical synthesis as a consultant to other companies.
Now he's fully retired he has 430 synthetic methods that he oversaw - and he'd like to archive them somewhere. Now - this is not 430 new chemicals - many are readily commercially available - but he has the data on chemical synthesis, reaction formulas and yields from his years making this stuff.
I haven't seen the text yet, so I don't know what (if any) analytical data he has re purity etc. But - has anyone any ideas where the best place to archive this would be?
I know I can suggest submitting to ChemRXiv - but beyond that - does anyone know of a journal that would be keen to collate 430 industrial method syntheses if they are properly written up and described in detail? Best I can suggest is Chemistry-Methods, the Wiley journal: https://chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/26289725 - and putting it as one (or more) best practices article(s)? I haven't gat a handle on that particular journal though so am unsure if its appropriate.
I can suggest this to him but - failing that - does anyone else have any suggestions I can give to the old guy? It seems like a good resource to make available to the public and (assuming) he did own all the IP its a rare thing for chemical synthesis industry. to close its doors and make almost every method it ever had public. I want to encourage him to put this out somewhere but am struggling for a concrete suggestion to give him that I have faith in.