Research Highlights in 2010

The enantiomers of chiral compounds pass through doped soap films at different rates resulting in chiral separation.

A material with viscoleastic properties that are stable over a large temperature range has been created from carbon nanotubes.

Desorption electrospray ionization has been used to detect reaction intermediates through mass spectrometry.

Polymeric particles based on silyl ether crosslinkers create acid-sensitive biomaterials whose degradation is controlled in vivo by natural pH gradients.

A ruthenium complex has been shown to catalyse the oxidation of water in a non-aqueous solvent with a rate greater than in the aqueous system.

A hydrogen-bonded dimer of triruthenium complexes is an unusual example of proton-coupled mixed valency.

Small-molecule microarrays facilitate the search for Alzheimer's disease therapeutics by screening compounds that bind to the amyloid-β peptide.

The isolation of pure quantities of the active intermediate in cytochrome P450 enzymes — known as compound I — has led to this elusive species being characterized in detail.

A thermally induced rearrangement of a triazole that releases nitrogen gas is the key to the development of a self-extinguishing polymer.

The performance of dye-sensitized solar cells that use non-conventional redox mediators has been improved by decreasing the steric bulk of the mediator while increasing that of the associated dye.

In the key step of a natural product synthesis, two diastereomers of an intermediate react with opposite stereo- and regioselectivity to provide a single product enantiomer.

The use of dyes as catalyst initiators means that they are incorporated into polymer molecules, which removes the need for harsh post-dyeing treatments.

Introducing a layer of gold alloy between the outer platinum shell and palladium core of a nanoparticle improves its activity as a catalyst for oxygen reduction.

Single crystals of chromium silicide have been prepared that grow into highly crystalline nanowebs.

Single molecules have been imaged using the heat they release on absorption of light.

The complex pore structures of mesoporous crystals can be elucidated by assessing the curvature of their boundary surface.

The formation of an aromatic cation has been used to promote the Beckmann rearrangement, but mechanistic investigations suggest that a non-catalytic mechanism might operate under some conditions.

Differences in nanoparticle surface energies account for varying phase stabilities on the nanoscale compared with bulk.