Electron transfer articles from across Nature Portfolio

Surface photovoltage microscopy as described in this protocol allows high spatial and energy resolution mapping of surface-charge distributions on photocatalyst particles, enabling rational design of improved materials.

Mixed-stack complexes consisting of alternating donors and acceptors typically show low electrical conductivity. Here, the authors improved the conductivity by hybridizing the frontier orbitals of the donor and acceptor at the neutral–ionic boundary.

A robust and efficient dye-sensitized NiO bio-hybrid photocathode based on a redox polymer and [FeFe]- hydrogenase has been developed to couple with a BiVO₄ photoanode for water splitting without applied bias.

Icosahedral carboranes have long been considered to be aromatic but the extent of conjugation between these clusters and their substituents is still being debated. Here the authors demonstrate carboranes as conjugated bridges in optical functional chromophores.

Solvated electrons can be formed through photo-induced charge-transfer-to-solvent electronic states of halide ions in water. Here, the authors use machine learning accelerated molecular dynamics simulations to follow the evolution of these states for aqueous iodide in detail.

The spontaneous recombination of photogenerated radicals surrounded by solvent molecules is an important energy-wasting elementary step in photoredox reactions. Now the decisive role that cage escape plays in these reactions is shown in three benchmark photocatalytic reactions, with quantitative correlations observed between photoredox product formation rates and cage escape quantum yields.

By systematically exploring a large chemical space using automated experimentation, a high-performing organic photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution is discovered.

The transmission spectrum of single-molecule junctions provides fingerprint information on the charge-transport properties. A technique called single-molecule photoelectron tunnelling spectroscopy has been developed that enables mapping of the transmission spectrum beyond the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO)–lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) gap at room temperature and can be used to explore the energy-dependent charge transport through single-molecule junctions.

The Paternò–Büchi reaction is a useful approach in organic synthesis to prepare oxetanes. Understanding the mechanism of this reaction is required for the prediction and control of the diastereoselectivity of the products.

Transition metal complexes with metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) luminescence and photoactivity typically rely on precious metals such as ruthenium or iridium. Now, two complexes of the Earth-abundant 3d manganese have displayed room-temperature MLCT luminescence in solution and a unique excited-state reactivity.

Excited anion states provide doorways for molecular electron capture. Now, two-dimensional photoelectron spectroscopy of cluster anions has been shown to be a powerful tool for revealing the role of the local environment in facilitating the process.

Although transporting a starship crewmember onto the surface of an alien planet is clearly science fiction, quantum state teleportation is not, and has been observed in various systems over the last few decades. Now, electron-spin teleportation has been observed in a carefully designed molecular system, paving the way for such behaviour to be tailored through molecular engineering.