Volume 1 Issue 11, November 2022

Atomically thin materials have exciting physicochemical properties but multi-element and non-layered 2D materials are difficult to prepare by conventional methods. Now, a flux-assisted method is reported, enabling the synthesis of such 2D materials by confining reaction space.

Inverse vulcanization uses high temperatures to form sulfur-rich polymers. Now, using a photoinduced method, polymerization occurs at ambient conditions enabling a broader selection of viable comonomers compared with existing routes, as well as eliminating the formation of toxic gas.

Coordination of a photoswitchable chiral phosphate ligand to an achiral manganese(iii)-salen complex yields a catalyst that can produce either enantiomer of an epoxide from a single alkene substrate. This enantiodivergent catalysis is governed by the transfer of the chirality of the phosphate ligand to the manganese(iii)-salen complex.

The construction of seven-membered carbocycles through cycloaddition reactions represents a longstanding challenge in organic synthesis. A study now reports a copper-catalysed enantioselective (4 + 3) cycloaddition between 2-aminoallyl cations and dienol silyl ethers that affords structurally diverse cycloheptanoids with high stereoselectivities and shows broad substrate scope.

Nucleophiles are versatile reagents that can engage in a plethora of C–C and C–heteroatom bond-forming reactions. This Review examines their increasing role in transition metal-catalysed directed C–H functionalization, with a focus on synthetic approaches involving organometallic nucleophiles and X-based (X = N, O and S) coupling partners.

The complexity of carbohydrate structures makes their synthesis challenging. Now, an automated glycan synthesizer is reported which is capable of preparing a library of bioactive oligosaccharides, including a fully protected fondaparinux pentasaccharide. Furthermore, the synthesizer can rapidly assemble arabinans up to 1,080-mer size, starting from monosaccharide building blocks.

Two-dimensional materials have many desirable properties but controllable synthesis is difficult. Now, a flux-assisted growth approach has been designed to reproducibly prepare high-quality, atomically thin materials. Eighty atomically thin composite flakes have been prepared by this approach.

Developing enantiodivergent catalysts capable of preparing both enantiomeric products from one substrate in a controlled fashion is challenging. Now, a manganese(III)-salen complex with a chiral photoswitchable phosphate counterion is reported for the epoxidation of alkenes in a stereoselective manner, where irradiation with light allows access to either enantiomer of the epoxide.

Synthesis of seven-membered carbocycles via (4 + 3)-cycloaddition reactions is often challenging due to the instability of the zwitterionic three-carbon component required. Now, a copper-catalysed enantioselective (4 + 3)-cycloaddition of 2-amino cations with dienol silyl ethers is reported, providing seven-membered carbocycles in good yields and with excellent enantiocontrol.

Controlling the enchainment of ether and carbonate segments during copolymerization of CO₂ and epoxides is rarely possible. Now, precise control of enchainment is realized by tuning the structure of an organoboron catalyst and the reaction conditions. Mechanistic and computational studies probe the origin of the unique ABB microstructure of the polymer.

Automated organic synthesis is often limited to making simple molecules, requiring a small number of synthetic steps, because of the complexity and variety of organic molecules. Now, a robotic platform has been instructed to build complex structures, such as the core fragment of (+)-kalkitoxin, in a stereochemically controlled and iterative manner.

Current synthesis of 2D crystalline superconductors mainly limits them to layered materials. Now, crystalline, non-layered 2D PdTe has been synthesized by inducing interfacial reactions at a solid–solid interface, exhibiting 2D superconductivity with a thickness-dependent onset critical temperature of ~2.56 K.