"> ISSP22 – IGIC BAS

ISSP22

22nd International Symposium on Solubility Phenomena and Related Equilibrium Processes

31 August – 3 September 2026
Sofia, Bulgaria

With satellite workshop
“Tailored Properties of Ionic Liquid Electrolytes for Sustainable Energy Storage Applications”



View and download PDF


Organized by

IGIC-BAS
Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Burgas State University
Burgas State University
“Prof. Dr. Assen Zlatarov”
Under the auspices of
IUPAC

About ISSP 2026

The 22nd International Symposium on Solubility Phenomena and Related Equilibrium Processes (ISSP 2026) was part of a long-standing international symposium series dedicated to the critical evaluation and understanding of solubility phenomena and related equilibrium processes.

The ISSP series has been organized biennially since 1984 under the auspices of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, particularly through its Subcommittee on Solubility and Equilibrium Data. The symposium provides an international forum for the exchange of scientific knowledge covering theoretical, computational, and experimental aspects of solubility, as well as applications relevant to industry, environmental systems, and sustainability.

ISSP 2026 addressed fundamental principles, methodological developments, and applied research, with emphasis on contemporary scientific and technological challenges. The program promoted interdisciplinary discussion and collaboration among researchers working from molecular-level concepts to macroscopic and applied systems.

The satellite workshop “Tailored Properties of Ionic Liquid Electrolytes for Sustainable Energy Storage Applications” complemented the main symposium. It focused on ionic-liquid-based electrolyte systems and highlighted the role of solubility phenomena in stability control, degradation mitigation, and extending the operational lifetime of energy-storage devices.

Supporting organizations and sponsors

Aurubis

Symposium topics

  1. Solubility PhenomenaTheories, experimental methods and analytics; aqueous solutions, deep eutectic solvents, molten salts, and solubility under extreme ionic strengths, temperatures and pressures.
  2. Advances in Computational ModelingThermodynamics, kinetics, and computational approaches—including ab initio methods, molecular dynamics, Monte Carlo and machine learning—for predicting and understanding solubility.
  3. Pharmaceutical and Biological SystemsDrug solubility and solubility in physiological and metabolic fluids.
  4. Environmental SystemsNatural waters and wastewater treatment, soil solutions and remediation, pollutant transport, contaminant dissolution and metal speciation.
  5. Industrial ApplicationsEco-friendly solvents, corrosion and materials durability, solubility-driven separations and extraction processes.
  6. Chemical Synthesis of Nanosized MaterialsReaction optimization, crystallization, extraction and purification.

Plenary lectures

Prof. Dr. José Francisco Palomar Herrero

Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain

Using computational modeling to explore thermodynamic challenges in chemical process development

Research focus: Applied mathematics and computational methods, particularly the integration of multiscale simulation tools—from molecular design to process modeling—to optimize chemical processes with reduced environmental impact.

Prof. Dr. Vera Slaveykova

University of Geneva, Switzerland

Environmental Fate and Impact of Engineered Nanomaterials

Research focus: Speciation and bioavailability of trace elements and nanoparticles in aquatic environments; aquatic toxicology; transcriptomics and metabolomics; community ecotoxicology and biodiversity.

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Voigt

TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany

Solubility data and experiments for lithium extraction and recycling

Research focus: Materials science, with particular emphasis on thermodynamics, phase equilibria, and the development and characterization of advanced materials.

Prof. Dr. Michael Steiger

University of Hamburg, Germany

Crystallization in confinement: Solubility issues related to cultural heritage conservation

Research focus: Crystallization phenomena, salt weathering, and the physicochemical processes governing the deterioration of porous materials.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zahari Vinarov

Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Bulgaria

The role of solubility and solubilization in pharmacy: from drug discovery to drug development

Research focus: Oral drug formulations, mechanisms of intestinal absorption, lipid-based drug-delivery systems, and the physicochemical processes controlling drug solubility and bioavailability.

Invited lectures

Prof. Dr. María Jesús Pascual

Institute of Ceramics and Glass, CSIC, Madrid, Spain

Corrosion of borosilicate glasses in molten salts

Research focus: Science and engineering of advanced glass and glass-ceramic materials, fundamental materials science, and practical applications in energy and photonics.

Peter K. Petrov

Department of Materials, Imperial College London, UK

Nanostructured Titanium Nitride Thin Film Arrays for Photocatalytic Applications

Research focus: Advanced functional oxide and nitride thin films, microfabrication technologies, and nanostructured materials for photonics, electronics, energy harvesting, biosensing, and sustainable technologies.

Oral presentations

Clemente BrettiUniversità degli Studi di Messina, Italy

Study on the coordination of N-hydroxyamides with iron(II) and iron(III)

Andrija VukovUniversity of Novi Sad, Serbia

Micellization behaviour of newly synthesized surfactant nicotine-based ionic liquids

Nese Cevirim-PapaioannouInstitute for Nuclear Waste Disposal, KIT, Germany

Stability and solubility of Fe(II)-CO3 phase

Ivayla PantchevaSofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Bulgaria

Solution behaviour of Ni(II) mixed-ligand complexes containing polyether ionophore and glycine

Simão Pedro PinhoCIMO–SusTEC, IPB, Portugal

Salt Effects on Amino Acid Solubility: Experimental, Molecular, and Data-Driven

Glenn HefterMurdoch University, Australia

Dielectric Spectroscopy and the ‘Wicked’ Problem of Electrolyte Solubilities

Paul FürstKarlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

Solubility, Speciation, and Thermodynamic Modeling of Fe(II) in Repository-Relevant Systems from Near Neutral to Hyperalkaline Conditions

Earle WaghorneUniversity College Dublin, Ireland

Solvent Parameters from Computational Chemistry

Christian KieferKarlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

Thermodynamic Reference Database (THEREDA): Pitzer Activity Model for Tc(IV) Solubility and Complexation in the Tc(IV)–Na+–Cl−–HCO3−–CO32−–OH−–H2O(l) System

Jiangping LiuOLI Systems, LLC, USA

Thermodynamic Modeling of Rare Earth Solvent Extraction

Miriam Domingues GuimarãesUniversity of Aveiro, Portugal

Machine learning-driven screening of solvents for sustainable polylactic acid recycling

Tatjana VerbićUniversity of Belgrade, Serbia

Understanding Drug Salt Solubility: Mechanistic Complexities and Practical Approaches

Olivera MarkovićUniversity of Belgrade, Serbia

Tricyclic antidepressants solubility study: Role of Competing Counterions in Aggregation and Solid-Phase Transformations

Mónia MartinsCIMO–IPB, Portugal

Green chemistry solutions for antimalarial drug extraction and solubility enhancement

Silvana MattediFederal University of Bahia, Brazil

Menadione’s solubility in fatty acids predicted by the COSMO-SAC CS25 model

Yordan GeorgievBurgas State University “Prof. Dr. Assen Zlatarov”, Bulgaria

Phytochemical composition and in vitro inhibitory activity of herbal extracts against medically relevant enzymatic biological systems

Viktoriya SmilkovaBurgas State University “Prof. Dr. Assen Zlatarov”, Bulgaria

Isolation, chemical characterization and modification with ferric ions of natural prebiotic herbal polysaccharide

Anastasiia KuzenkovaLomonosov Moscow State University, Russia

How cation composition controls the structure and solubility of Pu(V) and Np(V) double carbonates

Antonina KovachevaInstitute of General and Inorganic Chemistry, BAS, Bulgaria

Chemical equilibrium models for calculation of metal chemical species in different types of surface waters

Bence KutusUniversity of Szeged, Hungary

Synthesis of lithium hydroxide using barium hydroxide

Inês C. M. VazCICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials, University of Aveiro, Portugal

Understanding and quantifying the thermodynamics of lanthanide extraction in hydrophobic eutectic solvents

Lama MzekUniversity of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, Sofia, Bulgaria

Ligand–Diluent Interplay in the Extraction and Separation of Fe(III) by β-Dicarbonyl N-Heterocyclic Chelators

Ivaylo TankovBurgas State University “Prof. Dr. Assen Zlatarov”, Bulgaria

Catalytic, electronic and spectroscopic properties of imidazolium hydrogen squarate

Committees

International Scientific Committee

Christo Balarew · Honorary ChairmanIGIC, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria
Slobodan GadžurićUniversity of Novi Sad, Serbia
Radostina StoyanovaIGIC, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria
Ala BazylevaNational Institute of Standards and Technology, USA
Magdalena BendováInstitute of Chemical Process Fundamentals, Czech Republic
Johan JacqueminMohammed VI Polytechnic University, Morocco
Simão P. PinhoPolytechnic Institute of Bragança, Portugal
Clara MagalhãesUniversity of Aveiro, Portugal
Wolfgang VoigtTechnische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany
Earle WaghorneUniversity College Dublin, Ireland
Glenn HefterMurdoch University, Australia
Dewen ZengCentral South University, China

Local Organizing Committee

Diana Rabadjieva
IGIC-BAS
Delyana Manasieva
IGIC-BAS
Albena Bachvarova-Nedelcheva
IGIC-BAS
Genoveva Atanasova
IGIC-BAS
Elena Ivanova
IGIC-BAS
Neda Ilieva
IGIC-BAS
Svetlana Zheleva
Burgas State University
Lenia Gonsalvesh
Burgas State University
Ivaylo Tankov
Burgas State University

Satellite workshop

Tailored Properties of Ionic Liquid Electrolytes for Sustainable Energy Storage Applications

The workshop stimulated collaborative interactions and consolidated a community of scientists working on ionic-liquid-based electrolyte systems. Its key objectives were to identify critical research challenges; standardize methodologies for measuring ionic-liquid properties—including solubility, viscosity, conductivity, redox potentials, phase transitions and heat capacity—and create a framework for a critically evaluated database tailored to energy-storage applications.

Workshop topics

  • Electrolytes and ionic liquids: stability, ion transport, solubility limits, phase equilibria and interfacial properties
  • Integrated computational approaches: molecular modeling, simulations and machine learning
  • Optimization of electrolyte formulations for emerging battery technologies
  • The role of solubility in degradation prevention and lifespan extension

Plenary lectures

Prof. Dr. Xinpei Gao

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hainan University, P. R. China

Research focus: Ionic-liquid and liquid-crystal electrolytes, with emphasis on colloid and interface phenomena and challenges in energy storage and conversion systems.

Prof. Dr. Gero Frisch

TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany

Research focus: Ionic liquids and their application in the dissolution, separation and recycling of precious metals and mineral resources; salt and mineral chemistry; electrochemistry; and the chemical foundations of metallurgy.

Oral presentations

Şefik Süzerİhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University, Department of Chemistry, Turkey

Tapping into Electrical Double-Layer Formation in Ionic Liquid/Carbon Interfaces Using DC/AC/Pulsed X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

Slobodan GadžurićUniversity of Novi Sad, Serbia

Decoding Anion Structure: Tailoring the Properties of Ionic Liquids for Targeted Applications

Pedro CarvalhoCICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials, Portugal

Ionic-Liquid-Based Composite Membranes for Efficient Greenhouse Gas Separation

Snežana PapovićUniversity of Novi Sad, Serbia

Improving the Thermal Stability and Safety of Lithium-Ion Battery Electrolytes

Awards

Franzosini Prize

The Franzosini Prize recognizes outstanding and sustained contributions to the field of solubility and related chemical equilibria and memorializes the contributions of the late Paolo Franzosini, Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Pavia.

The prize is presented in conjunction with ISSP, organized by the IUPAC Subcommittee on Solubility and Equilibrium Data and held in even-numbered years.

Previous winners

  • 2024 Cezary Gumiński (Poland) and Christian Ekberg (Sweden)
  • 2022 Yongheum Jo (Korea)
  • 2020 Johan Jacquemin (France) and Ricardo G. Simões (Portugal)
  • 2018 Maria Gónzalez-Miquel (Spain) and Romain Privat (France)
  • 2016 David Fellhauer (Germany)

Balarew Award

Nominations are invited for the Balarew Award for an Outstanding Young Scientist working in the field of critical evaluation of solubility and/or related chemical equilibria.

Since 2023, the IUPAC Subcommittee on Solubility and Equilibrium Data has presented the award to a young scientist working in the areas of solubility and/or homogeneous equilibrium data.

Previous winners

  • 2025 Mónia Andreia Rodrigues Martins (Portugal)
  • 2024 Märt Lõkov (Estonia)