Articles in 2025

A divergent electrochemical nitrogen atom insertion into saturated carbocycles is reported, enabling selective access to either functionalized quinolines or N-alkylated saturated N heterocycles. This approach is applicable to late-stage functionalization and the synthesis of bioactive molecules.

The ambiphilic reactivity of alkyl sulfonyl fluorides in stereoselective cyclopropanation under Pd(II) catalysis is reported. The method provides convenient access to cis-disubstituted cyclopropanes that are otherwise challenging to access. A representative carboxylic acid cyclopropane building block is scaled up to 100 mmol, demonstrating the practicality of this transformation.

Sodium metal is of interest for high-energy-density batteries, but the lack of large-area ultrathin sodium metal foils hinders research. Here a metre-length, ultrathin (≤50 μm), mechanically strengthened sodium metal foil is fabricated by a roll-to-roll calendaring process with interfacial lubrication and functional modification.

A mechanochemical protocol for the direct synthesis of organosodium compounds is developed using cheap and shelf-stable sodium lumps and readily available organic halides under bulk, solvent-free conditions. This approach allows for the generation of an array of organosodium compounds in minutes, without special precautions against moisture or temperature control.

Microbial biosynthesis is a promising alternative to plant extraction to obtain post-modified flavonoids, but current de novo biosynthesis is limited to milligrams per litre. Now the production of plant-derived medicinal flavonoid monoglycosides and diglycosides is reported from simple carbon sources in an unconventional yeast at over 26 g l⁻¹.

Laser technology offers high energy, precise spatial resolution and seamless automation for materials synthesis and device fabrication. This Review highlights laser-assisted materials engineering at the atomic and nanoscales and examines the laser-assisted discovery of materials with interesting properties and applications.

Ti-, Zr- and Nb-based MXenes with Cl, Br or mixed terminations can be synthesized by a bottom-up, atom-economic route directly from metals and molecular organohalides. The reactivity of organohalide precursors can be controlled to enable direct synthesis of MXene nanostructures that exhibit enhanced surface reactivity compared with conventional micrometre-scale MXenes.

Building space into solids is the focus of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, which has been awarded to Susumu Kitagawa (Kyoto University), Richard Robson (University of Melbourne) and Omar M. Yaghi (University of California, Berkeley) “for the development of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs)”. These materials, composed of metal ions or clusters linked by organic molecules, contain permanent and tunable cavities that have transformed how chemists design in the solid state.

Confining conjugated polymers within chiral metal–organic frameworks enables direct visualization of helical order and enhances their charge transport and spin selectivity properties.

Discovering new chemical reactions is often a slow process. Now a data-driven strategy that integrates expert intuition with artificial intelligence-guided exploration enables the rapid identification of reaction conditions for cobalt(IV)–enamine catalysis, while uncovering unique reactivity patterns and demonstrating an effective approach for efficient and targeted development of catalytic transformations.

Photochemical oxygen atom migration into carbon–carbon bonds enables the efficient synthesis of ethers from alcohol motifs.

Nanoclusters have precise structures and therefore offer a molecular-level approach for studying surface adsorption phenomena. Here, spherical aluminium oxo clusters are synthesized via a co-encapsulation strategy to examine the inclusion of various guest molecules. This model paves the way for rapid recognition of organic molecules by nanoparticle surfaces.

AIRES (algorithmic iterative reticular synthesis) is an integrated cycle combining automated synthesis, image recognition, single-crystal X-ray diffraction and algorithmic decision-making to maximize the discovery of distinct crystal structures. Demonstrated on zeolitic imidazolate frameworks, AIRES offers a systematic and efficient blueprint for reticular synthesis, with broad implications for accelerating materials discovery.

Liquid gallium is employed as a reaction medium to synthesize uniquely structured solid–liquid–solid core–shell–shell nanoparticles, enabling the fabrication of diverse metallic nanostructures with excellent electrocatalytic performance.

Electrolysis enables selective dual C–H functionalization for transforming inert polyolefin deconstruction products into dynamic recyclable networks.

A family of 2D hybrid perovskites engineered with bulky organic ligands in a copper halide lattice is synthesized, demonstrating mixed tetrahedral–octahedral connectivity. These materials undergo strain-driven reversible transformation into Ruddlesden–Popper phases and exhibit structural asymmetry, leading to the coexistence of ferroelectricity and intralayer antiferromagnetism in one compound.