Reviews & Analysis

A machine-learning-powered framework, CARE, enables the automated generation of reaction networks in heterogeneous catalysis. Integrating tasks routinely handled by computational scientists, CARE facilitates the fast prediction of experimental reaction rates and the elucidation of reaction mechanisms, enabling the systematic study of previously inaccessible processes.

High-throughput production of uniform nanocarriers could drive biomedical breakthroughs, but remains challenging. Now an approach based on robust, scalable self-nanoemulsification driven by non-equilibrium surfactant partitioning is developed to synthesize diverse uniform nanocarriers at a rate of up to 5 l min⁻¹.

Condensates are often treated as equilibrium droplets, yet they can be remodeled by transient environmental cues. Now, a study shows how the rate of a pH change determines whether droplets stay uniform or develop vacuoles.

A post-assembly, reversible crosslinking strategy stabilizes lipid nanoparticles against extracellular stresses while permitting mRNA release following disassembly triggered by the acidic endosomal environment. This strategy enhances endosomal escape and increases in vivo mRNA expression.

The wearability of conventional artificial kidneys is limited by their dependence on large volumes of dialysate required for dialysis to remove excess water and toxins from the blood. Now, a dialysate-free wearable artificial kidney prototype employs vapor-driven water removal and adsorption to clear toxins. This system achieves a high water clearance rate in renal replacement therapy in animal models.

Fifty years after it was commercialized, global carbon capture and storage (CCS) capacity is equal to 0.09% of global emissions. Meanwhile, global emission-free electricity generation grows at a steady, linear rate. This Perspective argues that it is now too late for CCS or hydrogen to make a substantial contribution by 2050, so other solutions are required to decarbonize industry.

Solar fuels synthesis is a promising technology for net-zero chemicals production, but capacity is inherently tied to area, and water is often required as a reagent, making land-based deployment costly. This Perspective examines floating designs for scaling solar chemical pathways for a bright future on open water.

Rapid prototyping of microfluidic systems has made possible an enormous array of studies enabled by controlling fluid flow and chemistry at small scales. In 1998, Whitesides and colleagues introduced manufacturing methods, such as soft lithography, that triggered a wide adoption of these approaches, which now permeate the field of microfluidics and help advance new technologies.

Polymer membranes able to separate organic molecules present in hydrocarbon liquids were demonstrated in the 1960s and first commercialized in the 1990s. Now, a new generation of research advocates using advanced polymer membranes to separate large-scale hydrocarbon mixtures, such as crude oils. This technology holds great promise for low-energy separation applications.

Conventional separations account for a large share of global energy consumption. Efficient membrane technologies have the potential to substantially reduce energy use, costs and CO₂ emissions — particularly through ultramicroporous polymers, a key class of materials advancing membrane-based gas separations first reported by Budd and McKeown in 2004.

To address the challenge of data scarcity in the autonomous discovery of electronic materials, an artifical intelligence (AI)-powered autonomous experimentation platform is developed featuring an AI advisor that enables adaptive decision-making. Applied to a mixed ion–electron conducting polymer, the platform provides insight into molecular packing–property relationships and reveals a previously unknown polymorph.

Reducing energy consumption is a key priority in carbon capture and release. Now, a thermally responsive pH-swing mediator for CO₂ capture is presented that operates at an impressively low regeneration temperature of 60 °C, making it compatible with a solar-driven capture–release cycle.

Atmospheric CO₂ removal through direct air capture (DAC) may help restore CO₂ concentrations to optimal levels, but slow CO₂ uptake rates remain a major impediment. Now, an intensified DAC process has been demonstrated, involving enhanced CO₂ capture rates and reactive K₂CO₃ crystallization at the interface of ultraconcentrated KOH solutions with air.

From vacuum tubes to heterogeneous photocatalysts, the Menzel–Gomer–Redhead mechanism describes how electronically excited molecules behave on surfaces. Advances in LED light sources and photocatalyst design have turned this mechanistic picture into a promising strategy for driving and steering catalytic reactions.

Effective delivery has long constrained RNA therapeutics. A 2008 combinatorial chemistry approach transformed lipid discovery and testing, establishing a paradigm that is still contributing to the clinical translation of RNA medicines today.

On the 100-year anniversary of Fischer–Tropsch synthesis, we take stock of how this technology has evolved since its inception. In this Viewpoint, eight scientists involved in various aspects of Fischer–Tropsch synthesis share their vision for its future.

From 19–21 September 2025, a Nature Conference on Chemical Processes Towards Net-Zero Emissions was held in Tianjin, China to discuss recent advances and identify hurdles that must be overcome to drive the field toward sustainable chemical process design and implementation.