Coordination chemistry articles from across Nature Portfolio

High-pressure experiments on the aperiodic material TRUMOF-1 reveal that linkage disorder thwarts collapse mechanisms, thus enhancing mechanical stability.

The synthesis of isoreticular (3,12,24)-connected uru metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) is reported by the assembly of 12-connected cuboctahedral and 24-connected rhombicuboctahedral supermolecular building blocks. The resulting uru-MOF-1 is a promising candidate for low-temperature methane storage.

Bioinspired Fe-Mo complexes are promising for the activation of small molecules, offering valuable insights into the interactions and transformations of unsaturated hydrocarbons with abundant metals. Here, the authors report the synthesis and mechanistic studies of FeMo carbyne complexes and unveil the pivotal role of H₂O as a proton shuttle.

Coinage-metal-based cyclic trinuclear complexes have potential in diverse applications, but their use in biochemical applications has been limited due to particle size and hydrophobicity. Here, the authors report the development of such complexes with multi-photon luminescent properties for use in cell imaging.

We describe recent advances in the understanding of covalency in the f element–other element bond through the synergistic application of computational quantum chemistry with nuclear magnetic resonance and X-ray spectroscopies.

Post-synthetic ion-exchange is a key method for tuning the chemical and physical properties of ionic polymers, but achieving control over functionality through ion-exchange remains challenging. Here, anion-exchange within a redox-active bis(terpyridine)cobalt(II) polymer enables modulation between capacitor and conductor behaviours in response to an external electric field.

High-pressure experiments on the aperiodic material TRUMOF-1 reveal that linkage disorder thwarts collapse mechanisms, thus enhancing mechanical stability.

A. Ken Inge pores over the history and applications of bismuth subsalicylate, from dispelling digestive distress to breaching bacterial biodefences.

Compounds containing metal–metal bonds can provide fresh insights into electronic structure and bonding, and their synthesis can open up new chemical space. A sandwich complex containing a lithium–aluminium bond has now delivered some food for thought in this arena.

The Be–Be bond has long represented a ‘missing link’ between the H–H bond of dihydrogen and the B–B bond of diborane(4) species. Now, a complex with a polarized Be–Be bond that acts as a source of the beryllyl anion is reported. This work also reveals similarities between the homo-elemental linkages of boron and beryllium.

Palladium can be stabilized in the zero-oxidation state with one, two or three anionic aluminium ligands to produce mono-, di- or trianionic complexes, respectively. The palladium centres in the resulting complexes are highly negatively charged, and this electron richness enables the trianionic complex to undergo a hitherto hypothetical oxidative addition reaction with a diboron species.

Biological and synthetic catalysts often utilize iron in high oxidation states (+IV and greater) to perform challenging molecular transformations. A coordination complex featuring an Fe(VII) ion has now been synthesized through sequential oxidations of nonheme iron–nitrido precursors.