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Chemical synthesis is the process by which one or more chemical reactions are performed with the aim of converting a reactant or starting material into a product or multiple products. Chemical synthesis is at the heart of much chemistry research as it is the basis for discovering compounds with new physical or biological properties.
The precision synthesis of cyclic polymers with ultrahigh molar mass (UHMM) and circularity is challenging. Now, a method that involves superbase-mediated living linear-chain growth followed by macromolecular cyclization triggered by protic quenching enables the on-demand production of UHMM cyclic polymers with a narrow dispersity and closed-loop chemical recyclability.
Establishing biotechnological alternatives to chemical syntheses requires the rational design of biosynthetic pathways and degradation routes either as enzymatic cascades in vitro or as part of living organisms. Here, the authors use alanine dehydrogenase from Vibrio proteolyticus and the diaminopimelate dehydrogenase from Symbiobacterium thermophilum for the in vitro production of (R) and (S)-3-fluoroalanine, reaching >85% yield with complete enantiomeric excess.
Chiral sulfur pharmacophores are crucial in drug discovery, but the controlled synthesis of sulfinamides with stereogenic-at-sulfur(IV) centres is a long-standing challenge. Now a method for the catalytic asymmetric synthesis of sulfinamides and sulfinate esters has been developed that features the acyl transfer sulfinylation of diverse nucleophiles, including aromatic amines and alcohols, using chiral 4-arylpyridine N-oxides as catalysts.
The introduction of chemical short-range disorder substantially affects the crystal structure of layered lithium oxide cathodes, leading to improved charge transfer and structural stability.
Terminal hydroxyl groups on γ-Al2O3 surfaces serve as anchoring sites for Ag. Based on the surface energy of different crystal planes of γ-Al2O3 at various temperatures, the authors propose a high-temperature-induced crystal plane transformation method to construct terminal hydroxyl anchoring sites.
The precision synthesis of cyclic polymers with ultrahigh molar mass (UHMM) and circularity is challenging. Now, a method that involves superbase-mediated living linear-chain growth followed by macromolecular cyclization triggered by protic quenching enables the on-demand production of UHMM cyclic polymers with a narrow dispersity and closed-loop chemical recyclability.
Irreproducible synthetic methods consume time, money, and resources. Here, we highlight the steps Nature Synthesis takes to help authors make their synthetic procedures as reproducible as possible.
The idea that three different free radicals could be used together to carry out specific steps in a chemical reaction has long been implausible. A ‘radical sorting’ strategy now achieves this feat to make organic molecules.