Articles in 2020

Nickel–iron and cobalt–iron (oxy)hydroxides are state-of-the-art electrocatalysts for oxygen production in alkaline conditions. Now, the addition of high-valent dopants has been demonstrated to further propel the catalytic rate in these materials by an order of magnitude.

DNA-based dynamic networks show adaptation to external stimuli toward the generation of the fittest constituent. This selection principle has now been implemented to control the catalytic efficiency of an enzymatic reaction.

Enhancing the oxygen exchange rate at the surface of oxides through rational design has long been a key goal of researchers pursuing sustainable energy solutions. Now, a simple infiltration method reveals that reaction rates on porous mixed-conducting oxides scale with the acidity of the infiltrate and can be tuned by orders of magnitude.

The development of feasible routes for the valorization of waste plastics is an urgent challenge to be solved. Now, a strategy is introduced for the selective production of hydrogen-rich gas and multi-walled carbon nanotubes in a single-step process using an FeAlO_x catalyst and microwave irradiation.

The activity and the stability of an electrocatalyst are equally important, but the reasons behind deactivation processes still remain unresolved. Achieving a deeper understanding of the process will help to inhibit deactivation and improve revivification protocols.

Suppressing the degradation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells due to anode side-reactions during repetitive cell start-up/shut-down remains a formidable challenge. Now, a phase transition material of WO₃ has been explored as a smart catalytic switch to enable highly selective electrocatalysis and improve fuel cell longevity.

Polyketide synthases are multi-domain enzymes that catalyse the construction of many bioactive natural products. Now, some of the inefficiencies and limitations of these systems have been solved by designing an artificial pathway for carbon–carbon bond formation via iterative rounds of non-decarboxylative thio-Claisen reactions.

Macrocyclic peptide natural products are important medicinal compounds. The catalytic properties of an unusual peptide cyclase enzyme have recently been described — providing opportunities for the engineering and synthesis of structurally complex peptides with novel biological activities.

Catalysts are the heart of CO₂ electroreduction technology. Now, a catalyst has been developed that converts CO₂ into C₂₊ products with very high selectivity, stability, and energy efficiency at industrially relevant current densities.

A rapid and efficient electrochemical reaction requires active catalytic material, as well as proper electrode and cell design. Now, a gas diffusion electrode based on a stainless steel cloth successfully overcomes gas transport limitations for high-current ammonia electrosynthesis in non-aqueous solvents at ambient conditions.

The chemoenzymatic potential for the construction of complex chiral molecules has not been fully explored. Now, Candida antarctica lipase B has been used to synthesize complex functionalized planar chiral macrocycles, providing a platform for the efficient and sustainable preparation of molecules that are of particular interest in drug discovery.

Understanding the surface structure of a catalyst under a reaction environment is challenging, yet necessary. Now, a combination of in situ methods reveals the reversible formation of a surface alloy as the active phase for core–shell Ni–Au nanoparticles during CO₂ hydrogenation, which could not be detected by ex situ methods.

The introduction of single abiological catalytic groups enables enzymes to catalyse new-to-nature chemical transformations. Now, this concept is extended to two abiological groups in a single protein scaffold to allow synergistic catalysis in a stereoselective Michael addition reaction.

Hydrogen peroxide is a powerful oxidizing agent with many applications. Now, a method is presented to generate it from the oxidation of water on a polytetrafluoroethylene-coated glassy carbon electrode with high efficiency.

Identifying the rate-determining step (RDS) for oxygen incorporation into mixed ionic and electronic conducting electrodes is very challenging, particularly since the local composition changes during the reaction. Now, a generally applicable method for identifying the RDS is presented, with the example of a Pr_0.1Ce_0.9O_2–x electrode.

The electrochemical synthesis of high-value chemicals is still far from industrial application, mostly due to the lack of stable and efficient catalysts. Now evidence reveals that gaining a fundamental understanding of an electrochemical reaction can lead to faster development of optimal catalytic materials.