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A method called flash-within-flash Joule heating (FWF) has been developed based on a dual reactor design, enabling the gram-scale synthesis of diverse inorganic materials within seconds. Comparison with commercially available materials suggests that FWF products can offer comparable, or superior, electronic characteristics and tribological performance.

Boron dipyrromethenes (BODIPYs) have found widespread applications owing to their spectroscopic and photophysical properties, but strategies for the synthesis of enantioenriched boron-stereogenic BODIPYs are lacking. Now a modular enantioselective assembly of multi-substituted boron-stereogenic BODIPYs via a Pd-catalysed desymmetric Suzuki coupling has been developed, giving access to a range of highly functionalized chiral BODIPYs.

Radical SAM (rSAM) and 2-His-1-carboxylate enzymes are known to co-occur in RiPP biosynthetic pathways. Here we show the fusion of these enzymes in a single protein where the rSAM enzyme catalyzes cyclophane formation. The 2-His-1-carboxylate enzymes—termed αKG-HExxH—are α-ketoglutarate non-haem iron enzymes that harbour a distinct fold and catalyse β-hydroxylation.

Nitrile-containing molecules and their biosynthetic enzymes are uncommon in nature. Now, a nitrile-forming diiron enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of aetokthonotoxin—the ‘eagle-killing’ neurotoxin—has been characterized using biochemical, structural and biophysical methods. High-resolution protein crystal structures together with the identification of catalytically relevant tryptophan-based products provide mechanistic insights into this unusual nitrile-forming reaction.

Biomolecular condensates compartmentalize molecules without membranes. Understanding condensate composition is important given that their function relies on the selective exclusion or enrichment of molecules. Now, investigating small-molecule partitioning reveals variations across compounds, yet correlations indicate physical similarities between disparate condensates. Machine learning accurately predicts partitioning on the basis of physicochemical features, demonstrating the role of a hydrophobic environment in driving enrichment and exclusion.

The synthesis of C-glycosides relies on specially designed glycosyl donors, which are often unstable and require multi-step synthesis. Now a facile method for the synthesis of diverse C-glycosides from readily available and stable 1-deoxyglycosides has been developed. A ligand-controlled site-divergent functionalization of carbohydrates by C–H sampling/nickel-catalysed cross-coupling has also been realized.

Multiple bonds between heavier main-group elements may exhibit different properties and reactivity compared with their second-row counterparts. Now it has been shown that a NHC-stabilized phosphasilyne, a heavier analogue of nitrile, undergoes thermal isomerization to yield a phosphasilenylidene; this represents a rare example of heavier nitrile–isonitrile isomerization.

While Mo carbide catalysts have demonstrated excellent performance for CO₂ conversion chemistry, these catalysts require harsh synthetic conditions and have poor reaction stabilities. Here flame-synthesized unsaturated Mo oxides are shown to undergo carburization during the reverse water–gas shift reaction, and reaction-induced Mo oxycarbide active sites provide excellent catalytic performance.

Simultaneous functionalization of reactive and inert remote sites presents a powerful approach to access complex molecules, yet it is hindered by precise remote C(sp³)–H activation. Now, the accurate translocation of functional groups and remote C–H desaturation has been achieved in parallel through combining functional group migration and cobalt-promoted hydrogen atom transfer.

Zinc and manganese are commonly used reductants but their redox potentials in organic solvents have not been studied. Now, these redox potentials have been measured, revealing the impact of solvents and additives. The reductant potential substantially influences the performance of nickel-catalysed cross-electrophile coupling reactions, highlighting the merits of tunable electrochemical reduction.

When one says the word alcohol to a non-chemist, it is typically in reference to ethanol, the first alcohol discovered. Chi Chen, Mahlet Garedew, and Stafford W. Sheehan toast ethanol’s past, present, and future.

Although ammonia synthesis represents a major chemical industry, developing highly effective non-iron catalysts is a challenging task. Now it has been shown that anchoring fullerene onto non-iron transition metals separates and activates catalytic sites for hydrogen and nitrogen intermediates, boosting ammonia synthesis rates.

The development of materials for efficient hydrogen storage is desirable. Now, hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks exhibiting both high volumetric and gravimetric hydrogen storage capacities have been synthesized; hydrogen-bonding interactions are key to guide the catenation of the structure, effectively minimizing the surface area loss in the supramolecular crystals.

The regulatory network governing triplex DNA dynamics remains poorly understood. Now it has been shown that chemoproteomic profiling—aided by the development of a triplex DNA-specific probe—reveals the binding and functional repertoire of proteins that interact with triplex DNA, providing a valuable resource for exploring the biology and translational potential of triplex DNA.

Catalytic asymmetric radical dearomatization has remained a daunting task due to the challenges in exerting stereocontrol over highly reactive radical intermediates. Now, using metalloredox biocatalysis, new-to-nature radical dearomatases P450_rad1–P450_rad5 have been engineered to facilitate asymmetric dearomatization of a broad spectrum of aromatic substrates, including indoles, pyrroles and phenols.

Going to conferences to share and learn about the latest science is a key part of being a researcher. Shira Joudan reflects on presenting their group’s research for the first time and guiding students through their first conference experiences.

Understanding the structural rearrangements of infinite-layer transition metal oxides at the atomic level remains challenging. Now in situ electron microscopy has been used to monitor the formation of infinite-layer SrFeO₂ through an oxygen deintercalation process; lattice flexibility of the FeO_x polyhedral layers facilitates the phase transformation.

Achieving robust and controllable conductance in single-molecule junctions is challenging due to the dynamic nature of molecular conformations that fluctuate over operational timescales. A strategy using shape-persistent molecules has now been developed that demonstrates nearly junction-displacement-independent conductance, providing a stable solution for single-molecule electronic properties.