News & Views

Splitting water to generate oxygen is vital for space missions; but without gravity, bubbles cling to electrodes, blocking this process. Now, researchers show that a permanent magnet can push these bubbles away, boosting efficiency.

Accurately predicting the adsorption of small molecules is a long-standing challenge in surface chemistry. Now, an automated simulation protocol, combining theory at different levels, has been demonstrated to accurately and efficiently recover binding enthalpies of a diverse set of small adsorbates on ionic surfaces.

The partial hydrogenation of multi-substituted allenes is a highly useful reaction but impeded by difficult selectivity control. Now, pincer cobalt catalysts enable this transformation through metal–ligand cooperative interactions, achieving ligand-controlled selective allene semihydrogenation in a divergent manner.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are widely utilized across various fields such as energy and electronics industries, but concerns have been raised about their environmental accumulation. Now, recent studies have revealed methods to decompose these compounds into reusable fluorine sources, enabling a circular economy.

High-entropy materials offer an exciting realm of possibilities for material discovery and application; however, their nanoscale synthesis is limited by the need for specialized equipment. Now, a simple synthetic strategy employing wax candles enables production of these compositionally complex nanomaterials.

Chemical upcycling of waste plastic is challenging because of its heterogeneous nature. Now, a newly designed single-site organo-nickel catalyst cuts through the mix by selectively snipping branched C–C linkages, allowing for the separation of polyolefin mixtures.

The application of physisorption-based processes under humid conditions has long been hindered by the tendency of water to adsorb in preference to CO₂. Now, macrocyclic aromatic systems have been shown to selectively take up CO₂ in the presence of water.

The development of materials with tunable electronic and magnetic properties contributes to the advancement of spintronic technologies and optoelectronics. Now, the combination of π- and d-electron magnetism has been achieved through the lateral fusion of periodic metalloporphyrins along the zigzag edges of graphene nanoribbons.

Long-lived charge carriers in semiconductors are essential for effective sunlight-to-energy conversion. Still, few studies have fundamentally rationalized the charge carrier lifetimes. Now, metal-centred ligand field states of transition metal oxides have been suggested to control carrier lifetimes, akin to those for molecular photosensitizers.

Amines are highly valued molecules, used to understand biological processes and in the discovery of new medicines. However, medium-sized cyclic and macrocyclic amines are extremely challenging to synthesize and are therefore underutilized. Now, up to 15-membered cyclic amines can be formed directly from smaller, more accessible rings via an organoborane-catalysed two-carbon-unit C–C bond insertion.

Direct C–H selenylation of biomacromolecules under biocompatible conditions has long posed a formidable challenge. Now, engineered selenoxide reagents have been shown to achieve site-specific incorporation of selenium into DNA and proteins within physiologically relevant environments.

The π-allyl cation is a three-carbon system featuring a positive charge and a conjugated π-system. There is interest in preparing heavier π-allyl cation analogues, but the synthesis of these is challenging. Now, a compound featuring a cationic triatomic bismuth-based core has been isolated and fully characterized.

Electrochemical CO₂ and CO reduction are promising for the sustainable synthesis of multi-carbon products. However, the kinetics that govern the activity and selectivity of the interface between catalyst and solution remain poorly understood. Now, new research shows how the interfacial solvent can influence the product selectivity.

Traditional methylamine synthesis from methanol and ammonia relies on high-temperature and high-pressure reaction conditions, resulting in byproducts and challenging purification. Now, electrochemical nitromethane reduction under mild conditions has been realized with a copper catalyst, enabling selective and sustainable methylamine synthesis.

The lanthanides comprise a series of 15 elements that have applications in many modern technologies, including magnetic materials and optics. Their chemistry has been traditionally dominated by the +II and +III oxidation states; higher oxidation states, except in the case of cerium, have long been deemed unreachable. Now, an example of a stable praseodymium complex in the formal oxidation state +V has been observed.

Synthetic and biological chemistry are traditionally seen as separate fields. Now, a biocompatible chemical reaction enables an engineered microbe to convert plastic waste into valuable compounds under mild, cell-friendly conditions.

Chemists first synthesized acylsulfenic acids in the 1990s, but natural products containing this labile moiety have so far not been isolated. The identification of a new natural product, sulfenicin, and the characterization of its biosynthesis now suggest this functional group is widespread among bacteria, hinting at an undiscovered subclass of natural products.

Hydration frustration — such as burying polar residues or exposing hydrophobic ones — is a hallmark of protein chemistry and critical for biological functions. Now, such frustration can be designed using synthetic copolymers, without the need for defined sequence or structure.

Gold redox catalysis has remained challenging owing to the high redox potential of the Au(I)/Au(III) couple (E° = 1.41 V). Now this challenge has been resolved by employing bidentate N-ligands with Au(I) catalysts in combination with hydrogen peroxide as a green and cost-effective oxidant.

Tauopathies are neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the pathological aggregation of tau, which forms distinct polymorphic structures in a disease-specific manner. A recent study presents macrocyclic tau-mimicking peptides that structurally and functionally resemble these disease-associated folds, providing new tools for studying tau aggregation and potential therapeutic strategies.