Reviews & Analysis

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.

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.

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

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.

Tuning the kinetics of photo-induced crosslinking between mechanically distinct polymer phases produces strong and tough hydrogels.

Precisely controlling the thickness of two-dimensional polymers (2DPs) is challenging. Now, crystalline monolayer and bilayer 2DPs are synthesized by embedding macrocyclic molecules in the polymer backbones to form mechanical bonds and provide control over the number of layers. This mechanical interlocking endows the synthetic bilayer with a high Young’s modulus.

The synthesis of covalent organic frameworks — a class of crystalline porous polymer — has been limited to reversible polycondensation reactions, whereas irreversible coupling reactions have typically yielded amorphous materials. Now, a micro-interfacial polymerization method is developed that uses the Glaser–Eglinton coupling reaction to synthesize covalent organic frameworks.

Determining the atomic-level structures of confined polymers is challenging. Now, helical polythiophene and polypyrrole are synthesized in situ within a chiral iron-based metal–organic framework (MOF) and resolved by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The polymers form single-handed helices in the MOF’s narrow channels and amplify its chirality-induced spin selectivity.

The scalable fabrication of perovskite solar cells is hindered by the uneven deposition of perovskite colloidal particles during printing. Now, introduction of a mechanically interlocked network into the precursor ink to construct a three-dimensional network immobilizes the particles, regulating their rheological behaviour and enabling uniform deposition of large-area films.

Inspired by nature’s spatially organized catalytic systems, multiscale confinement emerges as a powerful strategy for programmable biocatalysis. This Review highlights recent advances in designing artificial enzymes, enzyme immobilization methods and substrate channelling techniques, discussing current challenges and future directions towards efficient, sustainable enzyme catalysis for organic synthesis.

An electrochemical method for forming C–N bonds has been developed that proceeds through oxidation of amines to reactive nitrogen radicals. This strategy expands the accessibility of potentially bioactive aryl amines as it can be used to selectively aminate electron-poor aromatics — a challenge in many aromatic C–H functionalizations.

Charge-selective contacts have a key role in increasing the efficiency of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). A hole-transport material (HTM) is designed based on a symmetric aromatic molecule that facilitates long-range ordered π–π stacking on substrates. This HTM shows enhanced charge-transport properties, and when incorporated into PSCs, helps to deliver good efficiency and stability.

Photo-electrocatalysis under alternating polarity allows enantioselective redox-neutral cross-coupling through β-scission of alcohols to afford optically pure chiral α-arylated amines.

Thianthrene, long used in materials science, has recently emerged as a powerful reagent in organic synthesis. Its unique electronic structure enables access to diverse aryl, alkenyl and alkyl thianthrenium salts, which exhibit reactivity beyond conventional (pseudo)halides. This Review highlights the fundamental properties, distinctive reactivity and synthetic applications of these thianthrenium salts.

Selective functionalization of methylene C−H bonds at distal positions remains a challenge. Now, through ligand design, the Pd-catalysed activation of distal methylene C(sp³)–H groups in free carboxylic acids for the assembly of γ,δ-benzocyclobutene (BCB) acids is demonstrated. This approach enables the preparation of diverse BCBs from simple starting materials.

Three-component, iron-based catalytic transformations offer a promising and sustainable approach to building complex molecules in a single step. This Review highlights advances and ongoing challenges in the development of iron-catalysed difunctionalization of alkenes. Mechanistic insights that enhance our understanding and guide the development of new transformations are discussed.

Two-dimensional (2D) perovskite passivation layers can enhance the performance of perovskite solar cells but controlling their phase purity remains a challenge. Now, a non-invasive surface reaction (NSR) strategy enables the formation of phase-pure 2D perovskite passivation layers with controlled dimensions. Devices based on NSR-treated perovskites show good efficiency and operational stability.

Post-synthetic modification of olefin moieties to form coumarin linkages within covalent organic frameworks enhances their stability.