Dynamic combinatorial chemistry articles from across Nature Portfolio

Multiple autocatalytic reactions producing thiols are known, but negative feedback loop motifs are unavailable for thiol chemistry. Here, the authors develop a negative feedback loop based on the selenocarbonates, in which thiols induce the release of aromatic selenols that catalyze the oxidation of thiols by organic peroxides.

Multistep photoswitches can engage in different photoisomerization pathways, but are challenging to control. Here, the authors report the development of multistep photoswitches by manipulation of the strength and mechanism of chalcogen bonding interactions.

In the first part of the review, continuous and length-controllable discrete one-dimensional channels, two-dimensional sheets, and three-dimensional vesicles, bulk-state complexation based on the versatile functionalization of pillar[n]arenes are discussed. In the second part of the review, functionalized pillar[n]arene crystals showing guest-responsive changes in color, state, and water contact angle, as well as serving as reaction media for the spontaneous polymerization of cyclic monomers are discussed.

Controlling the self-assembly on noncovalent components is possible by suppressing entropy loss with templates but this is challenging for covalent components. Here the authors employed directing groups to endow purely covalent molecular building blocks with different conformations which favor the formation of specific self-assembled products.

Photoinduced dynamic covalent bonds have the advantage of light-mediated bond making and breaking. Here, the authors report photoswitchable dynamic conjugate addition-elimination reactions with a broad scope and demonstrate diverse applications.

'Click' chemistry allows for the linking together of chemical modules, however, there are currently no methods that also allow for facile 'declicking' to unlink them. Now, a method has been developed to click together amines and thiols, and then allow a chemically triggered declick reaction to release the original molecular components.

The scope of dynamic combinatorial chemistry is somewhat limited by the small number of predictably reversible reactions. Now, secondary alcohols are shown to quickly and reversibly react with iminium ions to form hemiaminal ethers, opening up opportunites for their use in the construction of complex — and functional — dynamic architectures.