Themed collection Chemical Communications HOT articles 2025

In recent years, small molecular fluorescent probes have significantly advanced biosensing and cancer therapy, enabling applications such as target detection, cellular imaging, fluorescence-guided surgery, and phototherapy.

Edible batteries integrate exceptional energy efficiency with a safe energy supply, advancing the intersection of sustainable energy and biomedical engineering.

1,2-N/O heterocycles hold great promise for exhibiting diverse pharmacological activities. This review summarizes an overview of recent methods (up to 2024) for the synthesis of these heterocycles starting from alkynyl hydroxylamines.

This review article discusses the limitations and potential of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) for cathodes applications and introduces key molecular and structural engineering strategies to enhance the performance of COF cathodes in batteries.

The sacrificial cathode additive (SCA) method holds great promise for industrial application. This review explores recent progress in SCA presodiation technology, with a focus on optimizing strategies to develop near-ideal SCAs.

This review explores the TE properties of graphene and strategies to enhance its performance. Nanostructuring and hybridization approaches are introduced to overcome its limitations, highlighting the potential for high-efficiency TE applications.

This Highlight presents an emerging strategy for methane photocatalytic oxidation using chlorine species, emphasizing their advantages and outlining future challenges.

The development and generation of affordable and highly efficient energy, particularly hydrogen, are one of the best approaches to address the challenges posed by the depletion of non-renewable energy sources.

Metal–organic materials (MOMs), including both discrete metal–organic cages (MOCs) and metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), are emerging as promising materials for peptide and protein immobilisation.

This feature article highlights cutting-edge fluorescent probes for monitoring dynamic microenvironments and exploring heterogeneity in lysosomes, mitochondria, and lipid droplets.

Promoting hematite by water oxidation reaction on the surface, charge separation and transport in the bulk, and parallel multi-stacked design.

Ultrasmall coinage metal nanoclusters (MNCs, <3 nm) are promising broad-spectrum antibacterials with tunable core–shell structures. This review discusses their design, mechanisms, applications, and challenges for future antimicrobial development.

This account highlights the recent developments of catalytic enantioselective transformations of AMA towards the construction of valuable chiral molecules and heterocycles.

This article covers the developments and outlook in auxiliary assisted C–H functionalization with vinylcyclopropanes and cyclopropanols utilizing transition-metal-catalysis.

In this review, we highlight recent advancements in the application of metal–organic frameworks for radionuclide detection, focusing on sensing techniques such as fluorescence, scintillation, colorimetric, and electrochemical methods, among others.

The benefits of a systematic nature-inspired chemical engineering (NICE) approach to addressing fouling in membrane filtration are explored, with examples leveraging advances in mechanistic insights, functional materials chemistry, and manufacturing.

The present review primarily focuses on highlighting recent developments in the synthesis of H₂S-donating organic polysulfanes and their potential pharmacological implications for cancer.

This review introduces functional DNA applications in point-of-care diagnostics, highlighting its potential to revolutionize diagnostics, and explores synergies with emerging technologies like nanotechnology and artificial intelligence.

Cavity-type zeolites or molecular sieves exhibit significant advantages in shape-selective catalysis, following the cavity-controlled catalytic principles, including molecular adsorption, diffusion, reaction, and deactivation processes.

This feature article presents cyclophane-based host–guest complexes for which electronic interactions between the host and guest molecules can modulate excited-state properties in an advanced way involving both singlet and triplet excited states.

A review of the state-of-the-art advances for upgrading ethanol to n-butanol via the Guerbet reaction catalyzed by molecular homogeneous complexes is provided here. Key advancements in catalyst design based on mechanistic understanding is discussed.

Wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells suffer from severe V_OC loss. The reported studies on reducing the V_OC deficit in terms of interface modification, charge transport layer engineering, and additive engineering are systematically reviewed.

Synthesis of vinyl-containing COFs using an efficient and rapid mechanochemical method.

Treatment of two equivalents of Trip₂GaCl (Trip = 2,4,6-triisopropylphenyl) with pyrazine and 4,4′-bipyridine affords adducts 1 and 2 in high yields.

The arrayed MoS₂ nanosheets are planted on specific substrates by a dynamic magnetic field at a rate of more than 1.5 μm min⁻¹.

An eco-friendly oxidative N-functionalization of sulfonamides with aldehydes using a sodium iodide–sodium percarbonate system achieves high selectivity and yields, enabling drug modification and derivatization for pharmaceutical optimization.

Au⋯Au interaction from a bisphosphine Au(I) complex without a bridging ligand.

A family of Pd₃L₄, Pd₄L₄, and Pd₅L₄-type cages possessing two, three and four cavities, capable of encapsulating up to two, three and four units of pyrazine-N,N'-dioxide (PZDO), respectively.

An ionic porous organic cage (OFT-RCC3⁶⁺6Br⁻) served as a metal-free catalyst for the solvent-free conversion of CO₂ into cyclic carbonates, achieving high catalytic turnover.

A benzene-based annihilator and a high triplet energy sensitizer were combined in an upconversion scheme, emitting photons with unprecedented energy.

Boramidine, a small organic fluorophore, is protonated in water and highly protic media and behaves as a photoacid upon optical excitation.

LEDs based on nanocubic CsPb(I_xBr_1−x)₃ achieved a maximum EQE of 10.75%, the highest reported for perovskite superlattice bright red LEDs.

We report two carbazole-functionalized Chichibabin diradicaloids that in comparison to the parent compound exhibit red-shifted absorption and 2–3-fold brighter emission.

Photoresponsive colloidal rings are synthesized, which facilitate controlled self-assembly of open crystallites and also enable hybrid-assembly with passive colloids.

CsMgGa₅S₉ features a diamond-like framework with uniformly stacked mixed tetrahedral units and embedded Cs⁺ ions.

We present a series of low-cost polymer donors based on a simple-structured 4-ester-substituted thiazole derivative, proposed as promising candidates for high-performance organic solar cells.

We report an innovative APDG approach to control the matrix thickness in PbS quantum dot films, significantly enhancing photovoltaic performance.

We present a self-anchored nickel on nitrogen-doped carbon dots co-catalyst on carbon nitride nanosheets for enhancing photocatalytic H₂ production.

Rational computational design yields push–pull 4,5-substituted 1,2-azaborinines as molecular solar thermals with improved light harvesting.

Silicon-tethered benzyne–ene reactions efficiently convert allylic alcohols to aryl-substituted homoallylic alcohols, offering excellent regio- and diastereoselectivity with a broad substrate scope.

Halide-mediated Ag–Zn batteries with excellent cycling performance by suppressing the shuttle effect and cathode dissolution.

We developed mineralized macroaggregated albumin microspheres with tunable density to mimic the biodistribution of resin and glass microspheres, establishing universal platforms to accurately mimic the biodistribution of therapeutic microspheres.

A novel nickel-catalyzed enantioselective reductive iminodisulfuration of alkene-tethered oxime esters has been developed for the construction of chiral C–N and C–SSR bonds with both remarkable regio- and enantioselectivity.

Restructuring of mortise-and-tenon frameworks at the molecular level has never been achieved. Here, in this work, the inaugural instance of such restructuring within molecular mortise-and-tenon joints has been reported.

The solvent interface controls CsPbX₃ nanocrystal growth kinetics, enabling ultra-wide tunable photoluminescence emission.

We present a new non-destructive approach to detect CRISPR-Cas biomolecules and distinguish active from inactive forms using Raman optical activity (ROA) and sensitive Eu(III)-probes inducing circularly polarized luminescence (CPL).

This study explores defect-healing via heat/steam treatments to enhance FAU's thermal stability.

We demonstrate the ability of a non-heme iron containing L-lysine dioxygenase to perform sequential oxidation on its native substrate and computationally explore structural elements that promote this reactivity.

A lithium zincate-based one-pot strategy enables divergent and regioselective dual C–C bond formation in thiophenes by tuning the zinc composition.

In this study, sodium cobalt(II) hexacyanoferrate(II) (NaCoHCF) nanoparticles were synthesized and incorporated into electrospun nanofibers to enhance their ammonium adsorption capacity.

CuO/In₂O₃ heterojunction with tunable built-in field enables efficient CO₂-to-syngas electroreduction. Voltage-controlled CO/H₂ ratio achieves 10 h stability. DFT shows interfacial e⁻ transfer optimizes intermediates, suppressing HER.

This study demonstrates that O₂ critically accelerates the photodegradation of CdS-MPA QDs by acting as an electron acceptor to generate ⋅O₂⁻, with rapid structural collapse in oxygen-rich conditions versus stable retention in nitrogen atmospheres.

Trimetallic NiFeHf layered double hydroxide (LDH) catalysts were successfully synthesized, demonstrating excellent electrocatalytic performance and stability for the alkaline oxygen evolution reaction (OER).

We design a multifunctional protective layer for rapid Zn²⁺ ion diffusion and anion repulsion toward ultra-long cycling of Zn–I₂ batteries.

An efficient metal-free carbon catalyst boosting carbon oxidation integrated with hydrogen production below the 1.23 V water electrolytic boundary.

An ansa-aminoborane exhibited pronounced water tolerance, resulting in strong nuclear spin hyperpolarization being observed upon metal-free activation of parahydrogen in water-containing solvents.

Nanosizing boosts antimony's electrochemical performance in lithium-ion batteries by lowering phase transition energy barrier and entropy changes.

Ti₃C₂T_x (MXene) was coated with silver (Ag) nanoparticles using a bio-inspired surface coating method.

Herein we developed a NNO–Mn complex having a relatively low-congestion metal–ligand cooperative environment, one enabling the alkylation of bulky α-branched ketones with bulky alcohols via a chelation-asisted aldol process.

Owing to the strong chemical adsorbing and catalytic effect of HEO on polysulfide transformation, the HEO@S electrode exhibits excellent electrochemical performance.

We report a strategy to modulate the optical properties of xanthene-based fluorophores by manipulating their ring strain, which influences the rigidity and planarity of the conjugated structure, thereby impacting their optical characteristics.

A platform of glass electrospray coupled with mass spectrometry is developed to rapidly detect living cells cultured on glass slides.

Identification of U(IV), U(V) and U(VI) oxidation states in rocks can be achieved with HERFD-XRF imaging at the uranium M₄ edge.

Using hyperpolarized NMR with signal enhancements over 30 000, elusive pathways in furfural upgrading are clarified, revealing initial Baeyer–Villiger oxidation and subsequent epoxidation steps.

We report a novel guanidine quinolinyl entatic state model system with an electron transfer rate on the order of 10⁵ M⁻¹ s⁻¹ and remarkably little internal reorganization.

The positively charged sites resulting from electronic redistribution in the metal phosphate heterostructures lead to reduced energy barriers, demonstrating an effective strategy for OER catalysts with low overpotentials and remarkable stability.

Herein, a sulfonated ionomer with intrinsic microporosity was designed as a catalyst binder in a low-Pt-loaded fuel cell to achieve an obvious 57% reduction of local oxygen-transport resistance and a notable 47% improvement in power output.