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Late-stage aromatic chlorination of active pharmaceutical ingredients has enormous potential in drug discovery yet still features limited applicability due to issues of functional-group tolerance. Now, dimethyl sulfoxide is reported as catalyst for the chlorination of a diverse family of bioactive molecules in combination with N-chlorosuccinimide.
The rational design of catalysts is crucial to make power-to-X technologies viable. Here the authors introduce the delafossite PdCoO2 as a highly active hydrogen evolution reaction catalyst due to the growth of a tensile-strained Pd-rich capping layer under reductive conditions. Image credit: Christop Hohmann.
Intensified interest in the area of nickel catalysis has driven the quest for an air-stable and modular Ni(0) precatalyst. Now, an air-stable Ni(0)-olefin precatalyst allows for the convenient set-up of nickel-catalysed reactions on the benchtop.
Electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to multicarbon products is useful for producing high-value chemicals and fuels. Here the authors present a strategy that is based on the in situ electrodeposition of copper under CO2 reduction conditions that preferentially expose and maintain Cu(100) facets, which favour the formation of C2+ products.
In situ studies of catalytic surface reactions are restricted to a small number of analytical techniques. Here, scanning electron microscopy is utilized to visualize the catalytic hydrogenation of nitrogen dioxide on platinum, showing its potential for monitoring reaction dynamics on surfaces.
Electrochemical conversion of CO2 into liquid fuels, powered by renewable electricity, offers one means to address the need for the storage of intermittent renewable energy. Now, Sargent and co-workers present a cooperative catalyst design of molecule–metal interfaces to improve the electrosynthesis of ethanol from CO2 by producing a reaction-intermediate-rich local environment.
Enzyme engineering is opening up new chemistries. Here, the authors report enzymes engineered to contain two biological active sites — also showing that one site can be converted to a metal-complex catalyst — and demonstrate the utility of such dual sites in a range of catalytic processes.
Simple methods to incorporate deuterium into organic compounds are highly sought after as deuteration can enable mechanistic studies or improve the metabolic stability of pharmaceuticals. Now, a catalytic hydrogen–deuterium exchange reaction using deuterated water allows convenient access to deuterated aldehyde building blocks.
Because of the high strength of N≡N bonds, N2 is often employed as an inert gas. Now it has been shown that it can partly react to yield surface nitrogen species that facilitate C–O hydrogenolysis reactions on supported Ru catalysts.
Nickel complexes are of ever-increasing importance in organic synthesis; however, unstable Ni(COD)2 is still the main Ni(0) source used. Here the authors report a solution to this long-standing issue: an air stable Ni(0) complex that acts as a general precatalyst for numerous nickel-catalysed reactions.
Carbon monoxide can be electrochemically transformed to multi-carbon products selectively at high rates, raising the prospect of a two-step pathway to transform CO2 into value-added chemical products. This Perspective highlights recent progress complemented by a techno-economic analysis of the two-step conversion process and cradle-to-gate lifecycle assessment.
Additions to alkenes and alkynes are useful routes for generating highly functionalized products. Here the authors report the 1,1-difunctionalization of alkynes through a CuH-catalysed asymmetric hydroboration/hydroamination cascade.
Methods to allow access to all isomers of a product are both valuable and challenging to achieve. Here the authors report a catalytic system comprised of an N-heterocyclic carbene and an iridium complex, and show that it can be used for the asymmetric, diastereodivergent synthesis of γ-butyrolactones.
The sugar d-apiose is important in plant cell wall polysaccharides. Here the authors elucidate the complex, multistep biosynthetic pathway for its production using enzyme crystal structures and computational analysis.
Bioelectrocatalysis provides access to sustainable and highly efficient technological applications, but several limitations still prevent the large-scale integration of such devices. This Review discusses the current status of hydrogenase-based biofuel cells and biophotoelectrodes for solar energy harvesting.
The synthesis of organophosphorus compounds from elemental phosphorus is an inefficient process, using multiple steps, stoichiometric metal complexes and/or hazardous reagents such as chlorine gas. Here, a direct photocatalytic route to convert white phosphorus (P4) into phosphines and phosphonium salts is reported.