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Phenols are toxins that must be removed from water before we use it. However, oxidative water treatments may transform these toxins into dangerous compounds that react with our proteins and DNA.
C–H functionalization logic has enabled rapid synthetic access to arylomycin antibiotics which could lead to the identification of new broad-spectrum antibiotics.
Phosphonium adducts of pyridines are labile in basic solution, an undesirable property with regard to organic synthesis. Yet, this very lability proves valuable for the labelling of pyridine and diazines with heavier isotopes of hydrogen.
Electrocatalytic O2 reduction on metal surfaces is well understood in acidic solution, but the mechanism in basic solution has been a point of contention. On studying the O2 reduction activities of a series of Pt(111)–Cu surface alloys, it becomes clear that the surface-bound oxygenic intermediates are the same regardless of the pH.
The practicality of radical polymerizations is limited by their sensitivity to O2. This inhibitor can be enzymatically degraded into H2O2, which is scavenged by pyruvate as part of a new atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) methodology.
Semiconductor nanocrystals absorb light and are involved in energy transfer to and from surface chromophores. Tuning the nanocrystal- and chromophore-centred exciton energies affords exquisite control over an excited-state equilibrium.