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Using renewable electricity to convert carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide to value-added carbon-based chemical feedstocks reduces reliance on fossil fuels. Here, Sargent and co-workers report C3 alcohol fuel (n-propanol) production from carbon monoxide by a copper nanocavity electrocatalyst. They demonstrate that the nanocavity geometry can concentrate the C2 intermediate internally, promoting further conversion to C3 products via C2:C1 coupling.
Single-atom catalysts recently attracted considerable research interest for heterogeneous electrocatalysis, including the oxygen reduction reaction. Now, an intriguing two-step approach towards a less explored atomic nitrogen-coordinated manganese with a high loading density has been developed.
Nanoscale texture of electrocatalysts, enabled by the tools of nanoscience, is emerging as an important lever for the control of electrochemical reaction pathways.
The biosynthesis of the pharmacophoric tetrahydropyran of the clinically important antibiotic mupirocin remained enigmatic for a long time. Now, research shows that this ring is formed by a unique epoxidation–epoxide-opening cascade starting from a non-activated alkane.
A crucial malonic acid moiety in the antibiotic malonomycin has been shown to be installed by a bacterial vitamin K-dependent (VKD) carboxylase orthologue.
Two-dimensional materials have been in the spotlight since the discovery of graphene, and over time an extensive library of other ultrathin layered structures have emerged. In this Review, Pumera and Chia gather and discuss the features of this class of materials and review their recent applications in electrocatalysis.
The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide allows recycling of the greenhouse gas to produce chemicals and fuels. In this Review, Seh and co-workers discuss the progress in operando techniques applied to heterogeneous carbon dioxide electroreduction, highlighting the mechanistic insights that these techniques have provided.
Platinum group metal- and iron-free catalysts are highly desirable for the oxygen reduction reaction in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells. Now, Wu and co-workers show a carbon catalyst with atomically dispersed single Mn sites as an efficient catalyst with enhanced stability in acidic media.
The production of higher alcohols is very valuable because of their high volumetric energy density. Now, Sargent, Sinton and co-workers report the design of copper nanoparticles with tailored nanocavities that promote n-propanol formation by the coupling of C2 and C1 intermediates inside the cavity.
Manganese carbonyl complexes are promising electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction, but the intricate mechanisms are difficult to probe. Here, vibrational sum-frequency generation spectroscopy is used to detect the transient catalytic intermediates, providing experimental evidence for the mechanism and demonstrating the utility of the analytical approach for molecular electrocatalytic processes in general.
The nature of the active sites of molybdenum trioxide and molybdenum carbide, two related catalysts with great potential for hydrodeoxygenation reactions, is still under debate. Now, a comparative operando near-ambient-pressure XPS study during hydrodeoxygenation of anisole reveals important differences between these two materials.
Mupirocin is a clinically important antibiotic, but the biosynthesis of its tetrahydropyran moiety—an oxygen heterocycle essential for its bioactivity—has remained elusive. Here, Willis, Crump and co-workers report an enzymatic reaction cascade catalysing this ring formation from a non-activated C–H bond.
The function of putative bacterial vitamin K-dependent carboxylases (VKDCs) has so far been uncertain. Now, Micklefield and co-workers show that a bacterial VKDC orthologue is involved in the biosynthesis of the antibiotic malonomycin, generating an unusual malonic acid moiety that is essential for its biological activity.
Single-atom catalysts are very attractive due to their ability to maintain high activities at the lowest possible precious metal loading. Here, a double transition metal MXene that effectively anchors single Pt atoms is reported, and exhibits superior performance and stability towards the hydrogen evolution reaction.
Unlike the more common C–H functionalization, methods for the functionalization of C–C bonds are scarce. Here, Ackermann and co-workers show that an inexpensive manganese catalyst is capable of selectively activating C–C bonds for alkylations, alkenylations, and allylations in water.