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A disilagermirene is a cyclopropene analogue with an unsaturated Si=Ge moiety. Such rings can be generated and stabilized in the presence of Ni, which the Si=Ge group binds through its σ-bond rather than π-bond.

It has so far proved difficult to characterize halogen bonds in solution. A new and simple approach is to use scalar coupling between atoms in a halogen bond donor as a measure of bond strengths with diverse acceptors.

A new diradical features two three-electron sigma interactions between pairs of Se atoms.

Models for polyhedral clusters with different symmetries enable us to understand their electronic structures and predict the formation of new clusters.

One can combine two distinct chain-transfer agents to tune the dispersity of vinyl polymers. The polymer chains remain living and can be transformed into diblock copolymers.

Seven-membered rings are rare motifs in fullerene derivatives. However, these motifs can be stabilized by adjacent five-membered rings and feature in a hydrofullerene isolated from combustion soot.

Thin films of hydrogenase enzymes dispersed in a redox-active gel effect rapid anodic oxidation of H₂ even in the presence of O₂.

Certain frustrated Lewis pairs can undergo single electron transfer to give frustrated radical pairs. Such radical pairs have been implicated as important species in the activation of small molecules such as dihydrogen.

Oleaginous yeasts grown on biomass sustainably produce high yields of triglycerides for use in foods and fuels.

Neutral and anionic 20-valence-electron heteroatomic tetrahedra are well known. There now exists a synthetic pathway for isoelectronic cationic derivatives.

A persistent silylene complex of CO is reminiscent of metal carbonyls and features interesting bonding interactions.

Particle swarm optimization allows one to search vast compositional space for new viable species. Additionally, simulating high pressures has enabled the prediction of hypervalent species such as IF₈.

Superatoms — particularly paramagnetic ones — can be difficult to isolate and study. Bulky organic ligands have been shown to stabilize a large copper-aluminium superatom with a unique open-shell electronic structure.

First-row transition metal stannyls feature an unusual combination of M–Sn bonding and a high-spin ground state.

Low-temperature spectroscopy shows that the electronic structure of gold clusters is sensitive to the donicity of surface-bound phosphine ligands.

Ethylene is a plant hormone that has proved difficult to measure. A new catalytic chemiresistor senses ethylene in the parts per billion regime and can monitor plant senescence.

Spectroscopy reveals the speciation of a merocyanine photoacid that serves as a light-sensitive pH switch.

One can now prepare tertiary amides directly from CO and a tertiary amine by means of an atom-economical Fe-catalyzed reaction.

Air-stable nickel precatalysts enable one to rapidly screen ligands, organic substrates and conditions in an accessible and scalable fashion. The best method can be identified and translated to an industrial setting.

Abiotic sources of H₂ in the lithosphere outweigh the sinks, with the balance potentially being available to a large microbial community.

X-ray diffraction not only paints a picture of atomic structure but also, when performed at multiple wavelengths, tells us about relative redox levels of metals in clusters.

The archetypal hydride donor for unsaturated organics, LiAlH₄, has also been used in catalytic reductions. Indeed, LiAlH₄ has now been shown to be a precatalyst for imine hydrogenation under mild conditions.

Aquo complexes at salt surfaces feature in important processes such as salt dissolution and water desalination. Scanning tunnelling microscopy and atomic force microscopy have afforded the first real-space data concerning the structures and dynamics of single aquo complexes.

Gold(III) complexes can undergo facile reductive elimination of aryl halides, particularly when bulky co-ligands are present. This study informs us about the elementary reactions of copper(III) congeners, which are prominent intermediates in organic cross-couplings.

Laser ablation enables the study of discrete metal difluorides and their reactions with dioxygen and ozone. Metal-fluoride vibrational energies give an indication of the charge on a metal difluoride moiety and help us rationalize the resultant structures.

Bio-othogonal chemistry lets us determine the fate of a lignin monomer using a radical tag and EPR spectroscopy.

Electrolyte cations exert different effects that can enhance the rate and selectivity of electrocatalytic CO reduction.

Formylglycine residues are important functional handles on native and synthetic proteins. The formation of these residues is mediated by a copper enzyme operating via a superoxo intermediate.

Silicon and germanium are predicted to form stable planar pentacoordinate species when inside a ring of five donor atoms.

Carbon dioxide molecules help toluene form gas-phase clusters through non-covalent interactions.

There are many formally copper(iii) complexes, but X-ray spectroscopy and theory now reveal that they often feature strong covalence and physical oxidation states lower than +iii.

Looking back at some of the key discoveries that shaped the field.

Understanding the catalytic mechanism of redox-active hydrogenases is a key to efficient hydrogen production and consumption. Here, the authors use nuclear resonance vibrational spectroscopy to study [NiFe]-hydrogenase, and observe a bridging hydride structure in an EPR silent intermediate.

Thermal denaturation of proteins affords species that differ in terms of cofactors and conformations. Ion mobility spectrometry and mass spectrometry can be used to unravel these mixtures and learn the factors stabilizing certain protein forms.

It is challenging to efficiently reduce CO₂, let alone do so with deliberate control of selectivity. A new study on metalloporphyrin-catalyzed CO₂ electroreduction reveals why some catalysts make CO and others make HCO₂H.

Phenols are toxins that must be removed from water before we use it. However, oxidative water treatments may transform these toxins into dangerous compounds that react with our proteins and DNA.

The rate of Berry pseudorotation in iron pentacarbonyl is measured using variable-temperature infrared spectroscopy and spectral simulations.

Copper efflux oxidase is a special oxygen reduction electrocatalyst with five copper binding sites. Mutations at the fifth site can give highly active variants and tell us which factors are important for catalysis.

Martian sediments and meteorites contain a complex mixture of inorganic and organic materials. The identities and localizations of these species point to a mechanism of organic synthesis that begins with the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide.

Bacteria sense metal ions using proteins whose interactions with DNA are sensitive to metal ion availability and identity. Less competitive metal ions trigger protein–DNA binding only at high concentrations.

Mechanical gating of a photochemical reaction has been realized by constructing a norbornene that, when subjected to tensile stress, undergoes fission into a UV-light-sensitive diarylethene.