The making of mirror-image versions of naturally occurring cyclodextrins (CDs) is challenging and constitutes an untouched goal of the CD community. Now a concise approach is developed for the diastereoselective synthesis of three mirror-image CDs in an efficient and scalable manner.

Acid-triggered reversible addition–fragmentation chain-transfer polymerizations, in the absence of conventional initiating species and in the dark, are reported to prepare polymers with low dispersity and high end-group fidelity. The protonation of monomers catalyses both the initiation and propagation steps and can also be applied to free radical polymerizations.

The synthesis of high-nuclearity copper(I) nanoclusters remains challenging due to their low stability. Now four high-nuclearity Cu(I) nanoclusters have been successfully isolated by introducing a bifunctional phosphoramide ligand into the Cu/RC≡CH assembly system, enhancing complex stability through cooperative bonding.

Enzymatic C–Se bond forming reactions are rare. Now an enzymatic method for the synthesis of organoselenium compounds is reported using an ‘element engineering’ strategy. This method allows selenium analogues of cysteine, thiamine and a chuangxinmycin derivative to be produced using sulfur carrier proteins.

Enantioselective triple [2 + 2 + 2] cycloadditions are reported that enable the synthesis of 3D π-extended carbo[11] and [13]helicenes, which show excellent circularly polarized luminescence brightness (up to 513 M⁻¹ cm⁻¹), the highest value among helicene derivatives.

Renewable electricity-driven nitrogen oxidation is a green alternative to Haber–Bosch and Ostwald processes, but it is challenging to effectively steer oxygen intermediates towards the nitrogen oxidation reaction pathway. Now, to mitigate competing oxygen evolution and improve nitrogen oxidation efficiency, the use of hydroxyl radicals as the nitrogen oxidant is proposed.

Atomically thin gold nanosheets are predicted to have interesting properties but their synthesis is challenging. Here the exfoliation of two-dimensional single-atom-thick gold, termed goldene, is achieved through wet-chemically etching Ti₃C₂ from Ti₃AuC₂. The synthesized goldene has promising properties as a heterocatalyst.

The controlled degradation of larger and potentially harmful molecules into smaller, and preferably valuable, products is a crucial step to close the waste–degradation–synthesis loop envisioned by circular chemistry. Now, a forward-synthesis algorithm is designed to facilitate such degradation-oriented analyses, and proof-of-concept experimental validation is provided.

Palladium-catalysed C(sp³)–H amination reactions of carboxylic acids are challenging due to N-coordination often outcompeting the carboxylic acid directing effect. Now, the development of chlorinated pyridine–pyridone ligands for palladium-catalysed methylene C(sp³)–H lactamization and cycloamination is reported, enabling the synthesis of lactams and cyclic amines.

Quaternary oxides can be synthesized from a variety of precursors, but there is a poor understanding of how to design efficient synthesis recipes. Here a strategy to navigate high-dimensional phase diagrams in search of the best precursors for quaternary oxide materials is reported and validated experimentally by a robotic laboratory.

Irreproducible synthetic methods consume time, money, and resources. Here, we highlight the steps Nature Synthesis takes to help authors make their synthetic procedures as reproducible as possible.

Metal–organic frameworks are important catalysts for photocatalytic CO₂ reduction but if the field is to continue to advance, then reporting of photocatalytic metrics and practices must be standardized.