News & Comment

Extensive research efforts have been devoted to development of catalytic oxidation manifolds based on molecular oxygen. Now, an unconventional approach for oxygenation of organic sulfides by this abundant oxidant is introduced by merging nickel catalysis with electrochemistry.

Synthetic metabolic pathways that circumvent photorespiration can improve crop growth. Now, an efficient photorespiration bypass with a new-to-nature carboxylation step has been engineered and demonstrated in vitro.

RetroBioCat provides automated solutions for biocatalytic cascade design. The curated open-access tool, developed by researchers in biocatalysis, has the potential to greatly facilitate enzymatic retrosynthesis to target molecules.

On the threshold of the New Year we think back to the past 12 months and provide a few highlights.

Atomically dispersed and nitrogen-coordinated single iron site catalysts hold great promise to replace platinum for proton-exchange membrane fuel cells, but they suffer from significant performance loss. Now, solving the conundrum to distinguish durable and non-durable FeN₄ active sites can guide high-performance catalyst design.

Electrochemical CO₂ conversion to hydrocarbons has increasingly improved with the development of better catalysts. Now, a copper catalyst modified with a polymer boosts the selectivity for ethylene production to 87%.

Despite over a century of research to understand heterogeneous electrocatalysis, the precise mechanisms of action remain poorly understood. Now, it is proposed that the oxygen evolution reaction on IrO_x is driven by changes in the redox state of the Ir–O active sites, rather than by changes in the interfacial electric field.

The use of a bibliography in scientific literature has evolved over time. Here, we look at its history and the roles it plays in contemporary science.

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.

The Fischer–Tropsch product, water, is regularly hypothesized to be the driving force for catalyst deactivation. Cobalt nanoparticles may be oxidized to CoO, form mixed-metal oxides with supports, or sinter to larger particles. This Comment discusses the feasibility of these deactivation pathways, highlighting the importance of in situ characterization.

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.