A chemical dedoping technique is introduced to mitigate excessive electron doping in molecular cation intercalated MoS₂, producing a stable bulk monolayer material with monolayer-like optical properties but a much larger optical cross-section.

The synthesis of polycyclic conjugated hydrocarbons with antiaromatic moieties is realized by the thermal rearrangement of dibromomethylene-functionalized molecular precursors on a hot Au(111) metal surface.

The reversible deactivation process in polymerization using chain-end hydrogen atoms remains underexplored and difficult to control. Now, deprotonation–protonation equilibrium-driven C(sp³)–H alkylation polymerization of cyclopropanes is reported using the cooperative catalysis of an organic base and a metal salt to control the polymerization.

Shape-controlled multimetallic nanoparticles remain elusive due to large existing miscibility gaps. Now, a low-temperature (≤80 °C) non-equilibrium synthesis of nanosurface alloys with tunable size, shape and composition is reported. The nanosurface alloys can be used as selective and phase-stable CO₂ reduction electrocatalysts.

Polymetallic rings are formed via the collision-induced dissociation of larger complexes. Ion mobility mass spectrometry can be used to determine whether the formed polymetallic complexes are cyclic or acyclic.

The electroreduction of CO to methanol catalysed by supported cobalt phthalocyanine molecules is hindered by low selectivity and poor mechanistic understanding. Here a mechanism-guided reaction based on systematic kinetic studies is used to achieve an improved methanol Faradaic efficiency of roughly 85%.

The synthesis of conjugated aromatic molecules and polymers with tailored properties provides a useful range of materials for electronic devices.

Birgit Esser, Full Professor of Organic Chemistry at Ulm University, talks to Nature Synthesis about the challenges of synthesizing conjugated nanohoops and other aromatic systems.