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Developing high-current-density catalysts is key to efficient water splitting. Here, the authors report a single-atom Ru-doped amorphous Ni–Mo oxide that dynamically self-reconstructs to retain high activity at industrial current densities in an anion-exchange membrane water electrolyzer.

Observations of natural samples combined with laboratory experiments reveal that manganese minerals substantially influence nickel cycling in marine sediments and seawater, driven by adsorption and incorporation processes.

The electronic behaviour of complex oxides such as LaNiO₃ depends on many intrinsic and extrinsic factors, making it challenging to identify microscopic mechanisms. Here the authors demonstrate the influence of oxygen vacancies on the thickness-dependent metal-insulator transition of LaNiO₃ films.

The electronic ground state of a correlated oxide interface is reversibly switched by light. Stemming from interfacial reconstructions, electrostatic confinement and photodoping, this effect opens a path towards engineering the optical response of oxides.

To make Mars colonization cheaper by reducing the heavy supplies needed from Earth, scientists have created a highly efficient recycling system that turns carbon dioxide and hydrogen into fresh water and rocket fuel (methane), and it works reliably even with the inconsistent solar power available on Mars.

Electrochemical reduction of CO₂ in acidic conditions offers high utilization but is hindered by competing hydrogen evolution. Here, the authors demonstrate a nickel-based catalyst that regulates interfacial water, enabling efficient and durable CO₂ conversion to CO.

An outstanding question about the iron-based superconductors has been whether or not their magnetic characteristics are dominated by itinerant or localized magnetic moments. Absolute measurements and calculations of the magnetic response of undoped and Ni-doped BaFe₂As₂ indicate the latter.

The CO dehydrogenase–acetyl-coenzyme A synthase complex produces acetyl-coenzyme A from CO₂, but its structural dynamics during catalysis remain unresolved. Now cryo-EM maps of six intermediate states reveal how ligand binding to a Ni–Fe cluster orchestrates the conformational changes of the complex during catalysis.

Methods for asymmetric alkyl–alkyl bond formation between sp³-hybridized carbon atoms, C(sp³)–C(sp³), are limited yet highly desirable. Now an approach for asymmetric alkyl–alkyl bond formation by Ni-catalysed cross-coupling between alkenes has been developed to construct tertiary stereogenic carbon centres with head-to-tail regioselectivity and excellent chemo- and enantioselectivity.

Selective chemical upcycling of polyolefin mixtures remains challenging due to the structural similarity of their backbones. Now it has been shown that a single-site nickel catalyst can preferentially and efficiently cleave branched C–C bonds, enabling the hydrogenolytic separation of isotactic polypropylene from mixtures containing both isotactic polypropylene and polyethylene.

Chiral tertiary alcohols are an important structural motif, but the general methodologies for the synthesis are less reported. Herein, the authors report a Ni(ІІ)-catalyzed asymmetric alkenylation and arylation of aryl ketones with organoborons under air via a 1,5-metalate shift to obtain chiral tertiary allylic alcohols and diaryl alcohols.

During electrocatalytic nitrate reduction, cobalt-based catalysts degrade fast due to the combined effect of nitrate oxidation and electric-field reduction. Here, the authors develop a Co6Ni4 heterostructured catalyst to prevent high valence Co accumulation and achieve efficient ammonia synthesis.

All-solid-state batteries face complex chemo-mechanical degradation. Here, authors reveal how interfacial chemical reactions in Ni-rich oxides govern reaction dynamics and microstructural changes and unveil that coatings enhance uniformity and durability.

Alkaline hydrogen production needs stable catalysts, but the electrical double layer is overlooked. Here, the authors report a dense epitaxial hydroxide layer that strengthens the double layer, prevents catalyst leaching, and enhances material stability for 1,400 h in an industrial electrolyzer.

Alcohols are ubiquitous molecules throughout the chemical sciences, making them highly attractive starting materials for creating new C − C bonds. Herein, a method for the photoelectrochemical C − C functionalization of various alcohols was developed.

Earth-abundant Ni-X (X= Zn, Ga, In) bimetallic nanocrystals are achieved via colloidal synthesis and studied as alkyne semihydrogenation catalysts, for which the Ni₃Zn composition is found to offer an optimal balance between selectivity and activity.

Accessing saturated stereogenic centers by asymmetric alkyl-alkyl formation is attractive yet challenging. Here, the authors develop a Ni-catalysed cross-coupling reaction of two alkyl halides enabled by the in-situ formation of alkyl zinc from one alkyl halide.

The synthesis of regio- and stereo-defined alkenes with multiple alkyl substituents is an unmet challenge. Here, the authors report a nickel-catalyzed intermolecular cross-dialkylation of alkynes devoid of directing or activating groups to afford multiple aliphatic substituted alkenes in a syn-selective fashion.

Single-atom and nanocluster catalysts have been widely studied in heterogeneous catalysis, yet their coexistence and potential synergistic effects remain unclear. Here, the authors investigate atomic-scale Ni-based catalysts for bioethanol reforming and reveal a synergistic interaction between single atoms and nanoclusters.

Nitriles are key intermediates in production of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and organic materials. Here, the authors report a nickel-catalyzed reductive cyanation of organic chlorides with CO₂/NH₃ and urea as cyanation reagents to afford a broad range of organic nitriles.

The authors develop a miniaturized Mg3Bi2-based thermoelectric cooler, achieving a high cooling power density of 5.7 W cm-2 and a cooling speed of 65 K s-1, demonstrating great promise for localized thermal management in electronics.

Propane oxidative dehydrogenation offers a promising path for propylene production, but selective propylene formation with minimal COx remains challenging. Here, the authors introduce dual-atom catalysts achieving just 5.2% COx selectivity at 46.1% propane conversion (520 °C) with stable performance for over 1000 hours.

Viruses such as EBV use various mechanisms to avoid antiviral responses. Here the authors propose that the EBV protein BRRF2 is secreted via extracellular vesicles from NPC cells, disrupts the cGAS-STING pathway, reduces cGAS-DNA phase separation and the subsequent antiviral response.

A one-step process using fossil-free hydrogen-plasma-based reduction is used to extract nickel from low-grade ore and create high-grade ferronickel alloys, providing a more sustainable and environmentally friendly method for obtaining nickel.

This paper reports engineering of metal vacancy to activate lattice oxygen in NiO, enabling photocatalytic ethane dehydrogenation to ethylene at 604.5 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ with 100% selectivity and stable 200-cycle recyclability via a light-enhanced Mars-van Krevelen mechanism.

The Zika viral protease NS2B-NS3 is a crucial target for antiviral drug development due to its role in processing viral polyproteins. Here, the authors utilize crystallographic fragment screening and deep mutational scanning to identify binding sites for resistance-resilient inhibitors.

Waste lithium-ion batteries and low-density polyethylene plastics present environmental issues. Herein, the authors demonstrate a synergistic pyrolysis approach for efficient and selective lithium extraction and upgrading of transition metal-carbon composites.

The industrial viability of alcohol electrooxidation is hindered due to low reaction rates. Here, the authors report a synergistic approach that integrating an active electrode (Ni_0.67V_0.33-layered double hydroxide) and aminoxyl radical to enhance the oxidation of alcohols at high current densities.

Common methods for regulating metal-support interactions for single-atom catalysts usually suffer from interference of the variation of supports or sacrificing the stability of catalysts. Here, the authors report a facile electrochemical deposition strategy to design highly active oxygen evolution catalysts with site-specific metal-support interactions via selective anchoring of single atoms.

Predictive electrocatalyst design is challenged by uncontrollable precatalyst reconstruction during operation. Here, informed by operando spectroscopies, activation protocols are developed to stabilize surfaces and improve catalyst reliability.

The activity and stability of supported metal catalysts is in large part influenced by their interaction with the support. Now, neural network molecular dynamics simulations are combined with interpretable machine learning to reveal the governing factors of metal–support interactions for Pt nanoparticles on various oxide supports, identifying key features and proposing sinter-resistant supports.

Genome-wide association analyses identify new risk loci for heart failure and its subtypes, extending understanding of the underlying biological pathways and disease mechanisms.

Considerable attention has been drawn to tune the geometric and electronic structure of interfacial catalysts via modulating strong metal-support interactions (SMSI). Here the authors report the remarkable catalytic performance of CO hydrogenation over an interfacial TiO_2−x/Ni catalyst by means of SMSI.

Nickel-catalyzed C–H bond functionalization reactions provide an impressive alternative to those with noble metal catalysts but the regioselective C(sp²)−H borylation reaction of arenes accomplished by nickel catalyst remains challenging. Here the authors disclose a silyl-directed ortho C(sp²)−H borylation of substituted arenes with a Ni(cod)₂/PMe₃/KHMDS catalyst system.

Transcription factors must retain specificity despite recognising a variety of DNA sequences. Here, the authors find that the transcription factor AflR does this by using its structured and disordered regions together to recognise DNA sequences.

The synthesis of polymers with diverse properties is often limited by the lack of methods to produce the required monomers. Now, the regio- and diastereoselective synthesis of 5,6-diaryl cyclooctene monomers is reported using nickel catalysis. The monomers can be used in ring-opening metathesis polymerization reactions to form polymers with head-to-head styrene dyads.

Particles produced by intense biomass burning can be transported, potentially by deep convection, in large numbers to the lower stratosphere, changing the stratospheric aerosol layer’s chemical and radiative properties, according to in situ measurements during an active fire season.

The Panoptes antiphage system defends bacteria by detecting phage-encoded counter-defences that sequester cyclic nucleotide signals, triggering membrane disruption and highlighting a broader strategy of sensing immune evasion through second-messenger surveillance.

The valorization of undesirable substrates offers a two-fold strategy for pollution remediation and renewable energy conversion. Here, authors demonstrate the scavenging of Ni from electroplating wastewater and subsequent utilization as materials for photothermal CO₂ reduction.

It is known that chloride anions cause severe anode corrosion during seawater electrolysis. Here we found that bromide in seawater is even more harmful to Ni-based anodes, causing the spalling of the catalyst layer and the formation of shallow-wide pits on the substrate, leading to performance degradation.

Here the authors show that LC3-associated phagocytosis is initiated by various receptors, which enrich phosphatidylserine in the membrane domains proximal to the phagosome, recruiting Rubicon to the membrane for phagosome maturation.

The lack of microenvironment understanding results in unsatisfactory conductivity of solid polymer electrolytes. Here, authors report a data-driven exploration of weak coordination manipulation by plasticizer design for safe and energy-dense batteries.

Radiation-induced malignantly transformed cells undergo multi-scale 3D genome reorganization. TP63 acts as a key mediator, creating accessible chromatin sites that form tumour-specific loops activating the MYC oncogene during malignant transformation.

Here the authors demonstrate a scalable and durable minimodule size artificial leaf with a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of >10% using a metal-halide perovskite-based photoelectrodes encapsulated with metal foil deposited co-catalysts.

Understanding the reaction mechanism of electrochemical nitrate reduction is critical but challenging. Here, the authors use Ni(OH)₂ as a model catalyst to investigate an OH cycle mechanism and activate the catalyst interface through plasma-induced surface vacancies, resulting in nearly 100% Faradaic efficiency.

Urea electrooxidation often produces harmful cyanates and nitrites instead of N2, limiting its use in wastewater denitrification. Here, the authors develop an asymmetric Ni–O–Ti catalytic sites on Ti foam that reduce these byproducts, achieve 99% N2 selectivity, and boost H2 evolution.