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Although molecular complexes can serve as well-defined model catalysts for CO2 electroreduction, few compounds reduce CO2 beyond two electrons. Now, hydrophobic molecular cobalt terpyridine complexes, containing perfluorinated alkyl side chains, have been shown to assemble at the gas–liquid–solid interface and to electrocatalytically reduce CO2 to methane with high efficiencies.
Malononitriles are widely used precursors for the synthesis of diverse enantioenriched nitrogen-containing molecules, but controlling the stereochemistry of their asymmetric transformations is challenging. Now, the desymmetric reduction of disubstituted malononitriles to chiral amines has been achieved, enabled by a bidentate ligand with extended flanks that can differentiate between the precursor’s nitrile groups through tailored steric pairings.
Understanding how photoswitchable chiral dopants can control the helical pitch of host liquid crystals will aid the development of smart and adaptive soft materials. Now the molecular-level mechanisms that control the chirality transfer in chiral triptycene-containing bistable hydrazones have been elucidated. This enables the preparation of rewritable multi-coloured liquid crystal canvases.
Adam Noble discusses the diverse uses of eosin Y over its 150-year history, from its origin as a dye and pigment used by post-impressionist masters to its versatile reactivity as a catalyst in visible light photochemistry.
Determining the ligandability of the human proteome can provide key insights to characterize biological processes and promote drug discovery. Now, multi-tiered activity-based protein profiling provides comprehensive proteomic maps of chiral small-molecule interactions. Over 300 distinctive proteins were identified to ligand tryptoline acrylamides, including stereoselective and site-specific events.
The enzymatic conversion of NH4+ and NO2– to N2 catalysed by bacteria is critical to maintain nitrogen balance in the environment and for wastewater treatment. Now, a simple abiotic catalyst, the naturally occurring mineral, covellite, shows a remarkable mimicry for the entire reaction pathway.
Despite advances, a general olefination strategy for the direct conversion of carboxylic acids, alcohols and alkanes into alkenes remains challenging owing to their inherent differences in reactivity. Now, a one-pot photochemical method comprising a Giese addition followed by a Norrish type-II fragmentation enables the on-demand production of alkenes from diverse substrates.
Despite widespread use of azides across material science and various areas across chemistry, the underlying biosynthetic pathways for its formation have so far been unknown. Now, a promiscuous ATP-utilizing enzyme, Tri17, capable of synthesizing various azide molecules has been identified. Biochemical, structural and computational analyses support a potential molecular mechanism for azide formation by Tri17.
Aldolases have been a mainstay in synthesis, but their scope has been limited to activated electrophiles. Now carbon–carbon bond formation with ketone electrophiles is enabled by transaldolases, which form a strong nucleophile that is resistant to protonation. This chemistry enables convergent synthesis of non-canonical amino acids bearing tertiary alcohol side chains.
The synthesis of alkenes from carboxylic acids, alcohols and alkanes is a formidable challenge owing to their inherent differences in reactivity. Now the one-pot conversion of these building blocks into alkenes is reported through an integrated photochemical strategy using a phenyl vinyl ketone as the olefination reagent.
Before the internet, chemists used references books to find necessary information. Michelle Francl takes us on a journey through the weird and wondrous world captured in the most famous reference book of them all, known to some as the ‘Rubber Bible’.
Amines are predominant motifs in pharmaceuticals, but complex amines are challenging to generate. Now, enabled by triple Au–H/Au+/Au–H relay catalysis, the synthesis of complex and structurally diverse amines by a direct reductive hydroamination of alkynes with nitroarenes is reported. Catalytic intermediates were isolated to elucidate the mechanism.
The first steps of charge transfer in molecules after their interaction with light occur on an ultrafast timescale. Now, by combining attosecond pump/few-femtosecond probe spectroscopy with quantum chemistry calculations, it has been shown that a concerted nuclear and electronic motion drives electron transfer in donor–π–acceptor molecules on a sub-10-fs timescale.
Liposomal systems frequently face challenges, such as low encapsulation efficiency and inadequate controlled release capabilities. Innovatively designed multi-compartment liposomes now overcome these limitations by facilitating precise control over cargo loading and release kinetics, and by serving as microreactors for biochemical synthesis.
Although all-solid-state Li batteries offer a safe, energy-dense alternative to commercial Li-ion batteries, their development is impeded by the sluggish Li-ion transport within solid electrolytes. Now, anion configuration regulation has been shown to promote Li-ion migration, offering a new approach for designing highly Li-ion-conductive solid electrolytes.
The translocation of alkenes and remote functional groups is an ingenious strategy to reorganize complex structures, yet it is rarely investigated, owing to the challenges in controlling multiple selectivities. Now, an efficient photo/cobalt dual-catalytic method has been developed to accomplish alkene difunctionalization.
While solid-state lithium-ion batteries offer promising energy densities for safe energy storage, typical solid electrolytes show poor room-temperature ionic conduction. Now the origin of the superionic transition observed in Li3YCl6-type Li-ion conductors is revealed by in-depth crystal structure characterizations and improved ionic conductivities achieved by lowering the transition temperature.
A method called flash-within-flash Joule heating (FWF) has been developed based on a dual reactor design, enabling the gram-scale synthesis of diverse inorganic materials within seconds. Comparison with commercially available materials suggests that FWF products can offer comparable, or superior, electronic characteristics and tribological performance.