Search

Two-dimensional poly(arylene vinylene) frameworks are promising polymer semiconductors, yet obtaining highly crystalline materials is a major challenge. Now a series of 11 highly crystalline or single-crystalline 2D poly(arylene vinylene)s have been prepared—from 2D imine-linked covalent organic frameworks through a Mannich-elimination strategy—with diverse lattices, enhanced conjugation and specific surface areas up to 2,000 m² g⁻¹.

An 11-qubit atom processor comprising two precision-placed nuclear spin registers of phosphorus in silicon is shown to achieve state-of-the-art Bell-state fidelities of up to 99.5%.

Direct enantioselective α-C(sp³)–H functionalization of Lewis-basic N-alkyl anilines has remained a significant challenge in synthetic chemistry. Now it has been shown that a metallaphotoredox-catalysed radical approach, with a sterically hindered aryl ketone photocatalyst, enables site-selective, enantioselective (hetero)arylation with exceptional functional group tolerance.

The implementation of asymmetric Heck/cross coupling cascades of highly flexible haloalkene substrates remains a challenging and long-standing goal. Here the authors report an asymmetric domino Heck/Tsuji−Trost reaction of flexible vinylic halides with 1,3-dienes enabled by palladium catalysis.

The construction of three-dimensional covalent organic frameworks for gas separation is challenging due to the similar physicochemical properties of the gas mixture. Here, the authors report functional three-dimensional covalent organic frameworks by fine-tunning the pore environment with pyridine units to achieve effective separation of ethane from ethylene.

Up to now, all iron-based high-T_c superconductors contain a square iron lattice. Here, Wang et al. report the observation of superconductivity in an iron honeycomb lattice accompanied with pressure-driven spin-crossover, in-plane lattice collapse and insulator-metal transition.

The properties of high harmonic generation from solids are not fully understood. Here, Wang et al. control the photo-carriers injected in a semiconductor to distinguish interband and intraband contributions to different high harmonics, and investigate the wavelength dependence of the harmonics.

Coherent control of plasmon wavepackets is essential for quantum information processing using flying electron qubits. Here, the authors demonstrate a method to isolate and select electron channels contributing to a plasmon using a cavity formed by local constrictions, enabling precise control of plasmon eigenstates.

Although polymers have been studied for well over a century, there are few examples of covalently linked polymer crystals synthesized directly from solution. Here, the authors demonstrate a strategy to synthesize single crystalline 1D metallo-covalent organic frameworks by combining dynamic covalent chemistry and metal-ligand coordination.

1,6 enynes are a useful synthetic building block, but their use asymmetric intramolecular reductive couplings with cobalt catalysts have not been well-explored. Here, the authors describe an enantioselective intramolecular reductive coupling of enynes via the combination of electrochemistry and cobalt catalysis.

3D covalent organic frameworks (COF) show interesting hierarchical arrangements of nanopores and open sites but their synthesis remains challenging. Here the authors report a fluorescent AIEgen-based 3D COF and demonstrate application as a coating material for white LEDs and for sensing of picric acid

Tuning of molecular switches in solid state toward stimuli-responsive materials attracted attention in recent years but has not yet been realized in three-dimensional (3D) covalent organic frameworks (COFs). Herein, the authors demonstrate a stable and switchable 3D COF which undergoes reversible transformation through a hydroquinone/quinone redox reaction.

The RAD51 recombinase plays a pivotal role in replication fork reversal during replication stress. Here, the authors show that the GCFC domain-containing protein TFIP11 interacts with BLM helicase and is important for fork reversal during replication stress to preserve genome stability.

Three-dimensional covalent organic frameworks hold great potential for diverse applications, but their structural diversity is constrained by the synthetic approaches available. Now it is shown that ‘eight-connected’ building blocks with reduced symmetry enable the synthesis of such frameworks with rare topologies and enhanced gas adsorption performance.

Genomic and phenomic screens of 827 wheat landraces from the A. E. Watkins collection provide insight into the wheat population genetic background, unlocking many agronomic traits and revealing haplotypes that could potentially be used to improve modern wheat cultivars.

Structure determination of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) is the key to pushing the development of COF-based materials further but precise determination of the structure of COFs is challenging. Here, the authors develop a universal ab initio structure determination method for polycrystalline 3D COFs using cryo-cRED by combining hierarchical cluster analysis with cryo-EM technique and demonstrate COF structures with atomic preciscion and up to 0.79-angstrom resolution.

Characterization of the genetic architecture underlying the 7 pairs of contrasting traits studied by Mendel and the over 70 additional agronomic traits in pea (Pisum sativum) reveals their molecular details and provides tools for further studies in pea genetics, functional genomics and crop improvement.

Asymmetric hydrophosphorylation of unsaturated compounds is a straightforward and atom-economic approach to obtaining chiral organophosphorus compounds. Herein, the authors describe a Pd-catalzyed ligand controlled regiodivergent and enantioselective hydrophosphorylation of styrenes.

The emergence of universal collective behaviour is demonstrated through collisions of electron droplets containing up to five particles, which exhibit strong all-body correlations characteristic of a Coulomb liquid.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have remained difficult to grow as single crystals. Now, amphiphilic amino-acid derivatives that assemble in micelles in aqueous solutions have been shown to promote the growth of a variety of imine-bridged COFs into single crystals, in a step-by-step fashion, within their hydrophobic compartment.

Crystal size effects are of vital importance to understand various properties and functions of a material but have not been reported for Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs). Here, the authors report a crystal-size-controlled synthesis of two COFs and look into different crystal size effects.

Little attention has been paid to the fundamental mechanism of molecular self-assembly into crystallised films or wires on surfaces. Here the authors use real time in-situ scanning probe microscopy to monitor the growth trajectories of organic semiconducting films as they crystallize from an amorphous solid state under ambient conditions.

The mechanisms of the partial reproductive isolation between the two subspecies of rice remains obscure. Here, the authors show that the two adjacent genes form a killer-protector system to induce hybrid male sterility and reproductive isolation between indica and japonica.

The development of electronic flying qubits requires the ability to generate and control single-electron excitations. Here the authors demonstrate quantum coherence of ultrashort single-electron plasmonic pulses in an electronic Mach-Zehnder interferometer, revealing a non-adiabatic regime at high frequencies.

While the reported methods for the synthesis of organoselenium compounds mainly employ preformed activated selenium reagents, the direct utilization of elemental selenium in the synthesis is a more attractive but challenging strategy. Here, the authors report the rapid synthesis of versatile organoselenium compounds via mechanical stimulation.

Triple-cation perovskite solar cells are more stable than formamidinium lead iodide but possess more defects. Here, grain boundary cracks and passivate interfacial defects are patched using ammonium formate which forms a stable adduct on the perovskite surface.

X-ray diffraction is crucial for the phase elucidation of polycrystalline materials but remains challenging for complex multiphase systems. Now serial rotation electron diffraction has been shown to enable rapid, reliable and semiquantitative phase analysis of such systems, facilitating high-throughput screening of complex synthesis systems and providing new opportunities for materials development.

Here the authors have developed a superconducting microwave frequency comb that is fully integrated, easy to manufacture, and operates with ultra-low power consumption, and could significantly advance microwave photonics and quantum processor integration.

The roles of marine plastisphere in global nitrogen cycling are largely unknown. Here, the authors indicate that the plastisphere could act as a potential source of N2O production, which is mainly regulated by the biotic denitrification

Chinese vegetable production accounts for 1.7% of the global harvest area of crops but uses 7.8% of the chemical fertilizer and produces 6.6% of the crop-sourced greenhouse gas emissions of the global agricultural sector. An innovative management programme offers opportunities for producing more vegetables with lower environmental impacts.

A three-dimensional continuous rotation electron diffraction method allows atomistic characterization of the chemistry of curved layered cathode materials.

Controlling O₂ reduction pathways can help optimize catalytic activity and product selectivity. Here the authors report facile manipulation of 2e^‒ /4e^‒ pathways on Pt-coordinated motifs by varying the Pt site density or the coordination environment.

Improving plasticity in non-oxide ceramics while maintaining their high-temperature strength is challenging. Here, the authors report an enhancement of plasticity in B₄C owing to the boundary non-stoichiometry. The results show excellent strength maintenance before the onset of plasticity.

Full utilization of ZSM-5 shape-selectivity is restricted by crystal external surface acid sites and co-existence of two different sized channels. Here, the authors synthesize reverse Al zoned ZSM-5 with sinusoidal channel preferentially opened to its inert external surface to achieve 99.3% p-xylene selectivity.

Designing core/shell quantum dots with desired optoelectronic properties remains a challenge. Here, the authors investigate the negative and positive trions dynamics within a quantum dot, proposing an Auger engineering strategy based on geometry-dependent dielectrics for tuning optical properties.

Caloric restriction is a common approach to weight reduction, however, weight regain is common. Here the authors report that caloric restriction reduces the abundance of Parabacteroides distasonis in the gut and alters serum bile acid (BA) profile, which contribute to weight regain in mice.

The early identification of metabolic disorders could improve or prevent overt disease. Here the authors show that the circulating concentration of hyocholic acid (HCA) species is decreased in the context of obesity and diabetes and increased after gastric bypass surgery in humans, and further that serum HCA species are predictive of metabolic outcomes in healthy individuals.

Recently, the asymmetric bifunctionalization of alkenes has received much attention but the development of enantioselective alkoxyalkenylation has posed a considerable challenge and has lagged largely behind. Here, the authors report a palladium-catalyzed enantioselective alkoxyalkenylation reaction, using a range of primary, secondary, and tertiary γ-hydroxyalkenes with alkenyl halides.

Analysis of the phase 3 CheckMate 816 trial shows that the depth of pathologic response as assessed by percent residual viable tumor is correlated with event-free survival following neoadjuvant immunotherapy plus chemotherapy, supporting pathologic response as a biomarker of survival.

Large-area single-crystal high-index copper and nickel foils with several types of facet are fabricated using mild pre-oxidation of the metal foil surface followed by annealing in a reducing atmosphere.

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a type of radiotherapy that induces cell damage through a localized nuclear reaction. Here the authors describe the design of a carborane-based covalent organic framework as a boron capsule loaded with immune adjuvants for concurrent BNCT and immunotherapy, promoting anti-tumour immune responses in preclinical cancer models.

Vascular addressins control lymphocyte homing, thus regulating immunity and inflammation, but how addressin expression is patterned remains unknown. Here the authors identify composite DNA elements (NCCEs) that bind NKX2 homeodomain proteins cooperatively with COUP-TFII to define a morphogenetic code that targets transcription of mucosal vascular addressins.