Chemistry articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article |

    Microbial fuels cells present a way of generating electricity using the natural metabolism of microorganisms. Here the authors carry out single-cell current measurements ofGeobacter sulfurreducensDL-1 to determine the upper limits of microbial fuel cell performance.

    • Xiaocheng Jiang
    • , Jinsong Hu
    •  & Justin C. Biffinger

  • Article |

    Solid contacts on a microscopic level are widely described by a classical contact mechanics theory. Here Styleet al.show that this theory breaks down when a small particle adheres to a soft surface where a fluid-like behaviour is observed because of the predominant role played by surface tension.

    • Robert W. Style
    • , Callen Hyland
    •  & Eric R. Dufresne

  • Article |

    Biomineralization processes have inspired the design of synthetic silica structures in vitro. Here, the authors use a living diatom to fabricate organo-silica constructs and are able to incorporate thiol moieties into the diatom frustule without the loss of nano-scale architectural features.

    • Yvonne Lang
    • , Francisco del Monte
    •  & Abhay Pandit

  • Article |

    Molecularly interconnected networks are the building blocks for molecular circuits in nanoelectronic devices, but a mass production with tunable properties is difficult. Escárcega–Bobadilla et al.develop an approach to form interconnected self-assembled nano-rings, which resemble a network of neurons.

    • Martha V. Escárcega-Bobadilla
    • , Gustavo A. Zelada-Guillén
    •  & Arjan W. Kleij

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Two-photon-pumped dye lasers are useful for applications such as biological imaging; however, loss processes reduce their efficiency. Here, metal-organic frameworks, into which the laser dye is incorporated, demonstrate enhanced laser operation because losses such as dye aggregation-caused quenching are reduced.

    • Jiancan Yu
    • , Yuanjing Cui
    •  & Guodong Qian

  • Article |

    Nanopores of porous electrodes have key roles in enhancing supercapacitor performance, but little is known at the atomic level. Merlet et al. perform molecular dynamics simulations and report the effects of confinement of electrolyte ions inside the pores on charge storage efficiency.

    • C. Merlet
    • , C. Péan
    •  & M. Salanne

  • Article |

    Curved π-conjugated compounds, such as the fullerenes, have a variety of practical uses in addition to being structurally striking. Here, the authors demonstrate metal-mediated assembly and subsequent reductive elimination as an elegant synthetic route to a fully conjugated ball-like molecule.

    • Eiichi Kayahara
    • , Takahiro Iwamoto
    •  & Shigeru Yamago

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Droplets of water on very hot surfaces form levitating droplets, according to the Leidenfrost effect. Here, the authors show that green chemistry can be performed in these charged droplets, demonstrated by the synthesis of a range of nanoparticles, nanoscale coatings and porous metallic materials.

    • Ramzy Abdelaziz
    • , Duygu Disci-Zayed
    •  & Mady Elbahri

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Nanoscale plasmonic assemblies are known to display exceptionally strong chiral optical activity. Here, the authors assemble gold nanorods into DNA-bridged chiral systems, and demonstrate their high efficiency for DNA detection at very low concentrations.

    • Wei Ma
    • , Hua Kuang
    •  & Nicholas A. Kotov

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Short-lived precursors typically occur before molecules chemisorb on surfaces. Liu et al. predict that for benzene derivatives on metal surfaces, the precursors can be long-lived and the transition to chemisorption states can be reversible, which may be useful in molecular switch applications.

    • Wei Liu
    • , Sergey N. Filimonov
    •  & Alexandre Tkatchenko

  • Article |

    The selectivity and activity of enzymes is largely attributed to the well-defined cavities around their active sites, defined by the secondary coordination sphere. Here, the authors show that similar strategies may be applied to tune the selectivity of synthetic rhodium hydroformylation catalysts.

    • Vladica Bocokić
    • , Ayfer Kalkan
    •  & Joost N. H. Reek

  • Article |

    Understanding the anisotropic electronic structure of lanthanide complexes is useful for a range of advanced applications. Here, the authors present a simple electrostatic method, capable of predicting the magnetic anisotropy of low-symmetry mononuclear and polynuclear dysprosium(III) complexes.

    • Nicholas F. Chilton
    • , David Collison
    •  & Alessandro Soncini

  • Article |

    Photoreduction is a promising method for the synthesis of reduced graphene oxide, but the dynamics of the process are unclear. Here, the authors explore the process via a pump–probe technique, revealing its ultrafast nature and the involvement of solvated electrons produced by irradiation of the solvent.

    • Régis Y. N. Gengler
    • , Daniel S. Badali
    •  & R. J. Dwayne Miller

  • Article |

    In chemical reactions, inner barriers, which precede the rate-determining transition state, are kinetically invisible but mechanistically significant. On an example of reduction of macrocyclic disulphides, the authors quantify these inner barriers by studying the reaction rate as a function of applied force.

    • Yancong Tian
    • , Timothy J. Kucharski
    •  & Roman Boulatov

  • Article |

    Host–guest materials open up the possibility of tuning physical properties based on the addition of appropriate guests. Here, a flexible, porous coordination polymer is reported, in which the addition of guest molecules significantly alters the thermal expansion properties as well as deforming the crystal lattice.

    • Hao-Long Zhou
    • , Rui-Biao Lin
    •  & Xiao-Ming Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Membranes allowing transfer of a gas between a liquid and gas layer have applications in areas such as blood oxygenation and carbon dioxide capture. Here, a super liquid repellent membrane is fabricated, allowing high gas transfer and also avoiding wetting and clogging of the membrane pores.

    • Maxime Paven
    • , Periklis Papadopoulos
    •  & Hans-Jürgen Butt

  • Article |

    The allenylation of terminal alkynes is a convenient route to allenes from simple starting materials, though previously limited to formaldehyde and aldehyde substrates. Here a method enabling the use of ketones is reported, giving easy access to trisubstituted allenes.

    • Xinjun Tang
    • , Can Zhu
    •  & Shengming Ma

  • Article |

    Platinum is a widely studied catalyst for the reduction of protons to hydrogen in water splitting, but it also catalyses the competing hydrogen oxidation back-reaction, thus limiting efficiency. Here, the authors show that the back-reaction can be limited by tuning the platinum oxidation state.

    • Yu Hang Li
    • , Jun Xing
    •  & Hua Gui Yang

  • Article |

    Control of active sites of heterogeneous catalysts can lead to enhanced product selectivity. Here, the authors use self-assembled alkanethiolate monolayers with varying surface densities to tune the selectivity of hydrogenation and hydrodeoxygenation of furfural on supported palladium catalysts.

    • Simon H. Pang
    • , Carolyn A. Schoenbaum
    •  & J. Will Medlin

  • Article |

    Methane is a major constituent of planetary interiors, yet phase relations in the C–H system are poorly understood. This work documents the chemical reactivity of the C–H system over a wide range of temperatures and pressures, and sheds light on the chemical composition of Earth and icy giants.

    • Sergey S. Lobanov
    • , Pei-Nan Chen
    •  & Alexander F. Goncharov

  • Article |

    The mechanical properties of brittle materials are largely determined by how cracks propagate through them. Contrary to expectations, Kermodeet al.show that a crack propagating below a critical speed through a silicon crystal can be scattered by a single isolated boron impurity.

    • J.R. Kermode
    • , L. Ben-Bashat
    •  & A. De Vita

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Colorimetric differentiation of solvents is difficult as many solvatochromic molecules exhibit broad overlaps in their absorption and emission bands. Here, the authors present a ‘turn-on’ type sensor in which the colorimetric sensor responds only when its protective layer is disrupted by a specific solvent.

    • Jung Lee
    • , Hyun Taek Chang
    •  & Jong-Man Kim

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Hyperpolarization of chemical nuclei is known to greatly increase sensitivity to characterization by magnetic resonance imaging. Here a new platform that allows for the design of a number of hyperpolarized probes for chemical sensing applications is demonstrated.

    • Hiroshi Nonaka
    • , Ryunosuke Hata
    •  & Shinsuke Sando

  • Article |

    The development of a series of orthogonal binding interactions to direct the controlled self-assembly of mesoscale objects is desirable. Here, the authors use DNA as a sequence-specific glue to assemble hydrogel cuboids into a diverse series of structures in the micro- to millimeter length scale.

    • Hao Qi
    • , Majid Ghodousi
    •  & Ali Khademhosseini

  • Article |

    Noble metal nanoparticles are used for applications in optics, catalysis, sensing and others. Here the authors study the crystal structures of silver and gold-silver intermetallic nanoparticles stabilized by thiol ligand layers, helping to understand the relationship between their structure and properties.

    • Huayan Yang
    • , Yu Wang
    •  & Nanfeng Zheng

  • Article |

    Nanoscale copper catalysts are useful for the selective hydrogenation of carbon–oxygen bonds, although they may be deactivated under harsh conditions. Here the authors report the enhanced activity and stability of core-sheath copper-phyllosilicate nanoreactors due to electronic and morphological effects.

    • Hairong Yue
    • , Yujun Zhao
    •  & Jinlong Gong

  • Article |

    Pipecolidepsin A—commonly isolated from a marine sponge—is a promising anticancer agent but is challenging to synthesise in the lab. Here the authors describe the first total synthesis of this cyclodepsipeptide using a versatile strategy applicable to other similar compounds.

    • Marta Pelay-Gimeno
    • , Yésica García-Ramos
    •  & Fernando Albericio

  • Article |

    Efficient and economical water splitting is desirable for energy conversion, but it is limited by high overpotential and the need for noble metals. Zhao et al. report that nitrogen-doped graphite materials function as a promising electrocatalyst, with efficiency comparable to that of benchmark metal oxides.

    • Yong Zhao
    • , Ryuhei Nakamura
    •  & Kazuhito Hashimoto

  • Article |

    Despite their prevalence in the d-block, f-block cyclobutadienyl complexes are hitherto unknown. Here, the authors report the syntheses of inverted sandwich cyclobutadienyl dianion uranium(IV) complexes and show computational analysis that suggests the bonding is predominantly electrostatic.

    • Dipti Patel
    • , Jonathan McMaster
    •  & Stephen T. Liddle

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