Themed collection Viewpoints

39 items
Viewpoint

Enantioselective hydroacylation of olefins with rhodium catalysts

Since James and Young's seminal report on the kinetic resolution of 4-pentenals by hydroacylation, enantioselective methods have progressed to include 4-pentenal cyclisations, medium-ring syntheses, and intermolecular variants.

Graphical abstract: Enantioselective hydroacylation of olefins with rhodium catalysts
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

In the dawn of magnets made from molecules

I discuss here the contribution from J. S. Miller and co-workers concerning the discovery of ferromagnetism in an organometallic compound.

Graphical abstract: In the dawn of magnets made from molecules
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

Molecular crystals by design?

In this Viewpoint, the impact of the paper published by Gautam R. Desiraju and Angelo Gavezzotti (J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun., 1989, 621) upon the development of Crystal Engineering, now recognised a key discipline in contemporary chemical/pharmaceutical/materials science, is discussed.

Graphical abstract: Molecular crystals by design?
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

The origins of cyanobactin chemistry and biology

Publication of the correct structure for ascidiacyclamide, a symmetrical patellamide, led to studies on the application and origins of these ribosomally produced compounds.

Graphical abstract: The origins of cyanobactin chemistry and biology
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

Opening an Aladdin's cave: the Suzuki coupling in a room-temperature ionic liquid

This viewpoint will discuss the impact of the 2000 Chem. Commun. report that the palladium-catalysed Suzuki coupling can be performed quickly and easily in a room-temperature ionic liquid.

Graphical abstract: Opening an Aladdin's cave: the Suzuki coupling in a room-temperature ionic liquid
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

Finding the right path: Baldwin “Rules for Ring Closure” and stereoelectronic control of cyclizations

In 1976, Baldwin suggested the favorable modes of ring closure. These guidelines have become the common starting point in the design of new cyclization reactions and catalyzed the development of modern stereoelectronic concepts.

Graphical abstract: Finding the right path: Baldwin “Rules for Ring Closure” and stereoelectronic control of cyclizations
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

The birth of protein electrochemistry

The results from a final-year undergraduate project led to an $876M sale of a spin-out company 19 years later: the 1977 communication from Mark Eddowes and Allen Hill seeded the rich field of protein electrochemistry, the technology that underpins commercial glucose biosensors.

Graphical abstract: The birth of protein electrochemistry
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

The foundation of modern spin-crossover

The first explanation of spin-crossover in iron(II) complexes was published in Chem. Commun. in 1966. This has led to nearly 50 years of research in coordination chemistry, crystal engineering, solid state chemistry and physics, and nanoscience.

Graphical abstract: The foundation of modern spin-crossover
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

Robinson's landmark synthesis of tropinone

Sir Robert Robinson's landmark total synthesis of tropinone is discussed.

Graphical abstract: Robinson's landmark synthesis of tropinone
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

A durable template for carbosilane dendrimer synthesis

The hydrosilylation/Grignard sequence reported 20 years ago is still the most widely used method for the synthesis of carbosilane dendrimers.

Graphical abstract: A durable template for carbosilane dendrimer synthesis
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

Guidelines for radical reactions: some thirty years on

The “guidelines for radical reactions”, first articulated by Beckwith in 1980, transformed the free radical landscape and represents a major contribution to chemistry from the past thirty years.

Graphical abstract: Guidelines for radical reactions: some thirty years on
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

Topology, chirality and interpenetration in coordination polymers

This Viewpoint turns back the clock to 1998 when a contribution by Carlucci, Ciani, Macchi and Proserpio (Chem. Commun., 1998, 1837-–1838) addressed the existence of multiple properties in coordination polymer networks and the use of topology for classifying network connectivity, thereby serving as a presage of the exponential growth in the field of coordination polymers that continues unabated to this day.

Graphical abstract: Topology, chirality and interpenetration in coordination polymers
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

Chemical bonding involving d-orbitals

The landmark 1954 paper by Craig et al. exploring the role of d-orbitals in chemical bonding is discussed.

Graphical abstract: Chemical bonding involving d-orbitals
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

A brief perspective on the evolution of plastic electronics – from highly conducting polymers to conjugated organic semiconductors

Organic semiconductor technology has developed rapidly over the last three to four decades, providing thin-film electronic devices that are highly functional and extremely marketable.

Graphical abstract: A brief perspective on the evolution of plastic electronics – from highly conducting polymers to conjugated organic semiconductors
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

Sulfonic acid functionalised ordered mesoporous materials as catalysts for fine chemical synthesis

In 1998, Wim M. Van Rhijn et al. tethered sulfonic acid on mesoporous silica. This contribution explores the impact it had of material science and green catalysis.

Graphical abstract: Sulfonic acid functionalised ordered mesoporous materials as catalysts for fine chemical synthesis
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

The first chiral Raman spectrum report of a protein: a perspective of 20 years

In 1990 the first measurement of Raman Optical Activity of a protein opened up this chiroptical technique to the biological world, which dramatically contributed to its further development.

Graphical abstract: The first chiral Raman spectrum report of a protein: a perspective of 20 years
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

Cinchonine and thiourea

In this viewpoint, we discuss the seminal work contributed by Dixon, who reported the first use of a bifunctional cinchona-derived thiourea organocatalyst for the enantioselective conjugate addition of malonate esters to nitroalkenes.

Graphical abstract: Cinchonine and thiourea
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

Supported gold catalysts: new properties offered by nanometer and sub-nanometer structures

Nano-sized gold particles on solid supports offer unexpected catalytic properties, with new discoveries emerging rapidly for oxidation, hydrogenation, coupling, and other reactions.

Graphical abstract: Supported gold catalysts: new properties offered by nanometer and sub-nanometer structures
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

Tetrathiafulvalene: the advent of organic metals

The first paper reporting pristine TTF showed the outstanding properties of this singular molecule which paved the way to conducting and superconducting organic compounds.

Graphical abstract: Tetrathiafulvalene: the advent of organic metals
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

Demonstration of permanent porosity in flexible and guest-responsive organic zeolite analogs (now called MOFs)

In the late 1990s rigorous proof of coordination polymer framework or MOF integrity in the absence of guest molecules still needed to be developed.

Graphical abstract: Demonstration of permanent porosity in flexible and guest-responsive organic zeolite analogs (now called MOFs)
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

Calixarenes and cations: a time-lapse photography of the big-bang

Starting in the 1980s in ChemComm, the reports on cation complexation by calixarenes triggered a massive “big-bang” explosion of studies on these macrocycles.

Graphical abstract: Calixarenes and cations: a time-lapse photography of the big-bang
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

On the early development of organic dyes for dye-sensitized solar cells

Starting from the D5 dye reported in 2006, the properties and development of organic D–π–A sensitizing dyes for dye-sensitized solar cells are highlighted in this viewpoint article.

Graphical abstract: On the early development of organic dyes for dye-sensitized solar cells
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

Brook silenes: inspiration for a generation

The impact of the landmark paper published in Chem. Commun. by Adrian Brook on the synthesis of a solid, stable silene is discussed.

Graphical abstract: Brook silenes: inspiration for a generation
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate: from ionic liquid prototype to antitype

In this viewpoint we discuss how the publication of the crystal structure of [C2mim][PF6] by Fuller et al. (J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun., 1994, 299) helped to shape the perception of ionic liquids simultaneously spurring exponential growth in the field while leading to overgeneralizations that still plague the field today.

Graphical abstract: 1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate: from ionic liquid prototype to antitype
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

Locked nucleic acid: tighter is different

This viewpoint briefly reviews the impact of Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) oligonucleotides, first described in a ChemComm paper in 1998. A number of unique applications in oligonucleotide biotechnology have been made possible by the high binding affinity and specificity of LNA, and these provide the main focus of the viewpoint.

Graphical abstract: Locked nucleic acid: tighter is different
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

Alkyne metathesis by molybdenum and tungsten alkylidyne complexes

Alkyne metathesis catalysts are now readily accessible and relatively efficient, even for terminal alkynes.

Graphical abstract: Alkyne metathesis by molybdenum and tungsten alkylidyne complexes
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

N2 coordination

The impact of the report by Allen and Senoff in 1965 on the serendipitous discovery of the first complex with coordinated dinitrogen, [Ru(NH3)5N2]2+, is discussed in the context of what was known beforehand and the impact this work had on coordination chemistry.

Graphical abstract: N2 coordination
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

Bartlett's discovery of noble gas fluorides, a milestone in chemical history

In 1962, Neil Bartlett published a terse note in Proc. Chem. Soc. eradicating the long held dogma that noble gases are inert and cannot form stable compounds.

Graphical abstract: Bartlett's discovery of noble gas fluorides, a milestone in chemical history
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

The supramolecular approach for the syntheses of porphyrin complex species

The paper published by C. M. Drain and J.-M. Lehn in 1994 in Chemical Communications offered a new, elegant way of synthesizing, in high yield, porphyrin species with controlled structure and stoichiometry.

Graphical abstract: The supramolecular approach for the syntheses of porphyrin complex species
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

The significance and impact of Wade's rules

The emergence of a set of simple yet powerful electron counting rules following a classic paper by Wade published in 1971 in J. Chem. Soc. D has transformed the way chemists think about the structures of clusters with delocalised skeletal bonding.

Graphical abstract: The significance and impact of Wade's rules
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Open Access Viewpoint

The making of iLiquids – the chemist's equivalent of the iPhone

In this viewpoint we discuss the contributions from John S. Wilkes and Michael J. Zaworotko concerning the discovery of stable ionic liquids (ILs) and their accompanying structural studies (J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun., 1992, 965) and those of Robin D. Rogers and James H. Davis et al. who described the rational modification of ILs for specific applications – so-called task-specific ionic liquids (TSILs) (Chem. Commun., 2001, 135).

Graphical abstract: The making of iLiquids – the chemist's equivalent of the iPhone
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

Metal-bound halogen atoms in crystal engineering

Metal-bound halogen atoms are good hydrogen- (HB) and halogen bond (XB) acceptors.

Graphical abstract: Metal-bound halogen atoms in crystal engineering
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

Calixarenes and cations

Synthesis of calix[4]arene ethers providing pendent chelating groups proved to be the basis of an extensive field of coordination chemistry with truly practical applications.

Graphical abstract: Calixarenes and cations
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

Two experiments that impacted the fate of fullerenes

Two papers showing fullerenes as a huge family of new nanoforms of carbon and the way to supramolecular chemistry of fullerenes are discussed.

Graphical abstract: Two experiments that impacted the fate of fullerenes
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

An overview of the synthesis of ordered mesoporous materials

In this viewpoint, we discuss two contributions from Inagaki et al. and Kleitz et al., respectively, and present an overview of their historical contributions to the synthesis and evolution of ordered mesoporous materials, as well as the progress based on the achievements.

Graphical abstract: An overview of the synthesis of ordered mesoporous materials
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

The brave new world of coordination frameworks

In 1994 the field of coordination frameworks was still in its infancy and yet to give birth to its offspring research field of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs).

Graphical abstract: The brave new world of coordination frameworks
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

Beyond spheres: Murphy's silver nanorods and nanowires

We discuss the impact of the pioneering work of Murphy et al. on the solution phase synthesis of anisotropic metal nanostructures.

Graphical abstract: Beyond spheres: Murphy's silver nanorods and nanowires
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

First glimpse at a calixarene clathrate

The 1979 X-ray crystal structure of the p-t-butylcalix[4]arene toluene 1 : 1 intra-cavity inclusion complex proved a landmark result that established the iconic calixarene shape, proved the tetrameric calixarene structure and showed that an intrinsic molecular cavity in an artificial receptor could contain a guest molecule.

Graphical abstract: First glimpse at a calixarene clathrate
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
Viewpoint

Gold nanoparticle research before and after the Brust–Schiffrin method

In this viewpoint we discuss the early contribution from Brust et al., which is not only the most cited paper ever published in Chem. Commun., but also a landmark in gold nanoparticle research and in nanotechnology.

Graphical abstract: Gold nanoparticle research before and after the Brust–Schiffrin method
From the themed collection: Viewpoints
39 items

About this collection

In 2012 ChemComm became the first chemistry journal to publish 100 issues in a year, making it the largest international publisher of high quality communications within general chemistry. To celebrate this exciting new era, ChemComm is publishing a new type of article; Viewpoints will highlight some of the seminal research published in ChemComm and its predecessors over the last 100 years.

New Viewpoints will be added to this collection as they are published, so please come back and take a look!

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