Volume 4 Issue 8, August 2021

Computational studies have previously explored the effect of cations and hypothesized their vital role in electrocatalysis. Now, experimental evidence shows that without a cation, CO₂ reduction simply does not take place.

Dual catalysis is widely employed by natural metalloenzymes to functionalize challenging substrates. Now, this concept is applied to artificial metalloenzymes by designing a hydroaminase with two biotinylated gold cofactors enabling an unnatural σ,π-activation mechanism of terminal alkynes.

Metal cations present in the electrolyte are known to influence the performance in CO₂ electroreduction, but their specific role remains under discussion. Now, it is shown that the reaction can only take place in the presence of such cations, which are required to stabilize negatively charged reaction intermediates.

Understanding the mechanism for the catalytic conversion of NO_x is crucial to develop superior greenhouse gas abatement schemes, although it remains challenging. Here, the authors reveal important aspects of the redox properties of NO_x on a La_1–xSr_xCoO₃ perovskite by a combination of density functional theory calculations and ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

Stereoselective synthesis of tri-and tetrasubstituted olefins is challenging due to the usually low energy difference between their E/Z isomers. Now, access to these molecules in high E:Z ratios from monosubstituted olefins is achieved through a sequential nickel-catalysed Heck reaction and alkene migration.

Photoelectrochemical systems based on haematite photoanodes have mainly been explored in the context of solar fuels, but their synthetic utility remain largely unexplored. Here α-Fe₂O₃ is employed as a catalyst for the oxidation of different organic compounds and inorganic anions using water as the oxidant in a photoelectrochemical cell.

Stereochemical control in the asymmetric dihalogenation of alkenes and alkynes is challenging. Now, an organocatalytic method is developed, whereby installing a urea-directing moiety on these substrates enables their stereo- and regioselective homo- and hetero-dihalogenation.

Common native functional groups would be appealing as handles to enable C–H annulation with diverse aromatic rings. Now, this is achieved using ketones as unconventional alkyl radical precursors providing a practical method to synthesize biologically important fused-ring systems.

Modifying Pt surfaces with highly oxophilic metals can increase the hydrogen evolution and oxidation performance in alkaline media, but the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Now, it is demonstrated that the activity improvement of Ru-modified Pt mainly originates from the strain and electronic effects rather than an alternative bifunctional mechanism.

CH₄ selectivity in CO₂ photoreduction is a kinetic challenge as a result of the complex pathway involving many intermediates. Here, the authors present dual-metal-site pairs embedded in a metal-organic framework structure with flexible adaptive active sites leading to high CH₄ activity and selectivity.