Research articles

Platinum nanoparticles have been neglected as a catalyst for acetylene hydrochlorination due to their limited activity. Here, the authors show that nanostructuring to the single-atom level renders platinum on carbonaceous supports a superior catalyst for this important industrial process.

There are very few methods for the organocatalytic aziridination of unactivated olefins. Here the authors report a simple ketone catalyst for the transfer of nitrogen to isolated carbon–carbon double bonds, with good substrate scope and in high yields.

The cross-coupling of C–H bonds with alcohols is a highly efficient route to ethers. Here the authors report such an oxidative coupling, by use of a radical relay to both promote hydrogen atom transfer and activate the copper catalyst for cross-coupling.

The photocatalytic decarboxylation of fatty acids affords alkanes under mild conditions, albeit with limited selectivity due to radical-mediated side reactions. Now, a hydrogenated Pt/TiO₂ catalyst is introduced for the selective conversion of C₁₂–C₁₈ fatty acids into C_n–1 alkanes in quantitative yields.

Supported single atoms can minimize metal utilization in catalysis, although reactivity restrictions exist. Here, fully exposed Pt, Pd and Rh ensembles localized on CeO₂ islands anchored onto partially reduced γ-Al₂O₃ are introduced as a superior and durable alternative for three-way catalysis.

Abiological catalytic components can increase the synthetic potential of enzymes. This work reports an enzyme with two different abiological catalytic moieties—an organocatalytic unnatural amino acid and a metal complex—that act synergistically to achieve highly enantioselective Michael addition reactions.

Despite its potential, catalytic dry reforming of methane has not yet reached practical application due to high thermal energy requirements. Now, a photocatalytic method is introduced based on strontium titanate-supported rhodium nanoparticles that afford syngas production solely under light irradiation.

Bicyclo[1.1.1]pentanes are of interest to the pharmaceutical and chemical communities, due largely to their metabolic stability and potential as bioisosteres. Here the enantioselective C–H activation of these carbocycles is reported, giving access to enantioenriched, substituted products while maintaining the carbocyclic framework.

To implement more sustainable processes in industry, a high efficiency of microbial biocatalytic systems for the production of industrial chemicals from renewable feedstocks is important. Now, engineering the lifespan of Escherichia coli is presented as a platform technology for improving the bioproduction of chemicals.

Forming carbon–carbon bonds at the expense of two C–H bonds is difficult, but attractive, as it reduces the number of chemical steps during synthesis by avoiding prefunctionalization. Here such a method is reported, involving an interrupted Pummerer reaction and a photoredox-catalysed coupling.

Efficient microbial production of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs; C6–C12)—valuable molecules in the oleochemical and biofuel industry—is challenging due to their cellular toxicity. Now, this work improves the production of extracellular MCFAs to over 1 g l⁻¹ by systematically engineering yeast at multiple levels.

Dry reforming of methane can so far afford syngas with equimolar CO and H₂, which is suboptimal for Fischer–Tropsch chemistry. Now a process is reported based on a Ni–In molten metal alloy catalyst that is capable of producing syngas with practically relevant H₂/CO ratios together with separable carbon.

The organocatalysed addition of aldehydes to nitroolefins is an extremely well-studied reaction that almost exclusively provides the syn-configured products. Here a general method to reverse the diastereoselectivity is reported, whereby a tripeptide catalyst consistently provides the anti product with high selectivity.

Amide reduction via hydroboration is challenging, and catalysts often exhibit limited substrate scope. Here the authors report synthesis of a lanthanum cluster as a catalyst for the hydroboration of esters and amides, capable of reducing a wide range of primary, secondary and tertiary amides to amines.

In order to use early, non-noble transition metals in homogeneous catalysis, complex ligands are typically needed, offsetting the benefits of inexpensive metals. Here the authors show that a simple manganese complex can be used in the hydrogenation of N-heteroarenes, without the need for additional ligands.

Electrochemical 2e⁻ water oxidation is a promising route for renewable H₂O₂ production but it suffers from low selectivity due to the competing 4e⁻ process. Here the authors demonstrate an interfacial engineering approach where the catalyst is coated with a hydrophobic polymer to confine in situ produced O₂ and promote the 2e⁻ pathway.

Investigation of proximity-driven enzyme regulation in intracellular signalling could benefit from suitable model systems. This work reports the engineering of a synthetic DNA origami-based apoptosome facilitating detailed analysis of caspase-9 activation, which is essential in programmed cell death.

Ethylene glycol is a commodity chemical with an annual consumption of 20 million tonnes. Its production generates 1.6 tonnes of CO₂ per tonne of ethylene glycol. To reduce these CO₂ emissions, the authors report a one-step electrochemical route to selectively convert ethylene to ethylene glycol at ambient temperature and pressure in aqueous media.

Identifying rate-determining steps (RDSs) is one of the most challenging aspects of catalysis. This work presents a general framework to identify the RDS of mixed ion and electron transfer reactions, and applies it to the four-electron/two-ion O₂ reduction in solid-oxide fuel cell cathodes, converging on four RDS out of more than 100 possible candidates.

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.