Themed collection Celebrating our 2022 Prizewinners

Hydrogen may play a major role as an energy source to support net zero but combustion leads to emissions of NO_x, a key air pollutant. Delivering optimal air quality co-benefits may need more ambitious hydrogen-specific emission standards developing.

Halide segregation represents a severe stability problem for certain mixed-halide perovskites. Here we explore a myriad of methods for mitigating halide segregation, including several largely unexplored approaches that show significant promise.

Recent approaches in which at least two metal or main-group centres are involved in the homologation of CO are reviewed.

Many industrially important chemical transformations occur at the interface between a solid catalyst and liquid reactants. In situ and operando spectroscopies offer unique insight into the reactivity of such catalytically active solid–liquid interfaces.

This review describes the synthesis and application of shapeshifting molecules, whose covalent skeletons dynamically reconfigure in response to their surroundings.

Recent developments to achieve further physicochemical control in metallic nanomaterials by galvanic replacement are discussed towards applications in catalysis.

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) are celebrating their 30^th birthday and they are attracting a wealth of research efforts aimed at unleashing their full potential. Righteous font designed by Astigmatic and licensed under the Open Font License.

Reactive oxygen species and redox markers in plants are measured using a range of chemical probes and biosensors.

An overview of enzymatic tools for generation of carbon–halogen bonds and their use in enabling selective C–H functionalisation through combination of enzyme and chemo catalysis.

3D-Bioprinting has seen a rapid expansion in the last few years, with an increasing number of reported bioinks, amongst which, alginate is an ideal ingredient due to its biocompatibility and ease of gelation.

This review summarized the enzymatic and non-enzymatic crosslinks found in collagen and elastin and their organic synthesis.

Hypothetical transmembrane rotaxane as a model for trajectory thermodynamic theory of synthetic molecular pumps.

Fluorescent materials-based information storage systems are characterised by attractive data security, stability, and stimuli responsive features. We summarise here, recent progress in the area of fluorescent materials-based information storage codes.

Solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell components, materials, architectures and interfaces are comprehensively reviewed.

This Review article provides a summary and critical metrics-based analysis of recently developed catalytic Mitsunobu reactions.

Borane mediated hydride abstraction of amines efficiently generates useful iminium salts. This review explores this fascinating reactivity and discusses how the iminium intermediates are utilised in a variety of stoichiometric and catalytic processes.

Lignin is an inexpensive raw material that can be utilised in polymer industry. This review critically appraises the recent progress and provides framework for future developments in lignin valorisation into rigid polyurethane foam.

SARS-CoV-2 and humoral response determinations to understand and control the spread of COVID-19.

Electroporation combined with native liquid extraction surface analysis mass spectrometry allows analysis of intact protein assemblies directly from bacterial colonies.

Ninhydrin bis-acetals give access to 8-ring lactones, benzocyclobutenes and spirocyclic orthoanhydrides through photoextrusion and tandem photoextrusion reactions.

The electronic and nuclear changes that take place before isomerisation sets in for the PYP chromophore anion are captured.

A dynamic gelation system, in which the solvent intimately controls the chemical equilibria which underpin the dynamic assembly event.

The metal–support interaction between Ni and VN contributes to an outstanding performance for Ni/VN towards hydrogen evolution electrocatalysis following the Volmer–Tafel mechanism.

The hydroboration of aldehydes, ketones and CO₂ is demonstrated using a cheap and air stable [Fe(salen)]₂-μ-oxo pre-catalyst with pinacolborane (HBpin) as the reductant under mild conditions.

Air-borne hydrocarbon contamination is investigated for slit-like angstrom-channels made from 2D-materials, using gas flow measurements. Our results constitute a new way to monitor, assess and alleviate the hydrocarbon contamination in nanochannels.

Streptavidin-based secondary amine enables organocatalytic hydride reduction.

Expression of energy filtering to boost thermoelectric performance through grain boundary engineering utilising graphene.

The hydrophosphination of activated alkenes and internal alkynes is reported using a remarkably simple Ge(IV) pre-catalyst. Preliminary mechanistic investigations indicate that the reaction proceeds via a redox neutral catalytic cycle.

We report a novel way to promote photochemical benzylic radical arylations using Pd nanostructures.

The synthesis of primary, secondary and tertiary ¹⁸O-enriched alcohols from readily available ¹⁶O-alcohols via a Mitsunobu esterification and hydrolysis is described.

An enantioconvergent hydrogen borrowing strategy enables the catalytic asymmetric alkylation of ketone enolates with unactivated, racemic secondary alcohols.

A small-molecule UV-filter with a pendant collagen mimetic peptide anneals to a collagen-laden surface and protects against UV radiation.

Two new hexadecanuclear lanthanide complexes employing H₂bsc ligand are crystallized in the R space group, which is unprecedented in a family of lanthanide complexes with such high nuclearity.

Reaction of a cyclotrisilene, c-Si₃R₄ (R = iPr₃C₆H₂), with 1,4-diethynyl benzene results in the cross-conjugated bridging of two 1,2,3-trisilacyclopentadiene moieties by para-phenylene.

This work demonstrates a controllable strategy for designing bicontinuous composite electrolytes.

An innovative temperature-resistant organocatalyst allows the depolymerisation of PET through a solvent-free process, opening routes to green recycling of common plastics.

We aim to establish the effect of bacterial diversity in assessing nanotoxicity.

Sinapate esters are used throughout the plant kingdom, for example in photoprotection from ultraviolet radiation.

Cp*Al reacts with diphenylacetylene to form a Cp*-substituted 1,4-dialuminacyclohexene, which mediates the coupling of isonitriles to form a new zwitterionic diamide ligand with a carbocationic backbone.

The triplet state of PDI can be sensitized efficiently by radical-enhanced intersystem crossing. A detailed study of several related structures allows us to propose new strategies to optimize triplet formation in materials for optoelectronic devices.

First-principles molecular dynamics simulations of imidazole-2-carboxaldehyde at the air–water interface highlight the role of surfactants in stabilising the reactive triplet state involved in photosensitisation reactions in aqueous aerosols.

Carbazole containing expanded carbaporphyrinoid ligand supports the formation of 2 : 1 metal-to-ligand complexes with Pd, Co, and Zn. Solid-state studies also revealed formation of a 6 : 3 metal-to-ligand metallocage in the case of Co complexation.

The synthesis and photophysical properties of phenolic barbiturics are reported. These molecules convert absorbed ultraviolet light to heat with high fidelity and may be suitable for inclusion in foliar sprays to boost crop protection and production.

A homogeneous model system that constructs carbon chains from CO is reported. The system exploits the cooperative effect of a transition metal complex and main group reductant. An entire reaction sequence from C₁ → C₂ → C₃ → C₄ has been synthetically verified.

The monomeric Fe species in Fe/ZSM-5 have been identified as the intrinsic active sites for the low-temperature methane oxidation.

Pyridines can be activated at a single point with a new benzyl group, followed by dearomative functionalisation at C3 using formaldehyde.

We report reductive alkylation reactions of amines using carboxylic acids as nominal electrophiles.

Electron poor pyridines can be activated by reduction and then methylated at C3/5 using formaldehyde.

Molecular simulations were used to design large scale loop motions in the enzyme cyclophilin A and NMR and biophysical methods were employed to validate the models.

Perfect partners for photoprotection: orally ingestible sporopollenin confers striking photoprotection to the powerful, polyene antibiotic, marinomycin A, as well as enabling its selective extraction.

Four compounds in clinical trials for anaemia treatment are potent inhibitors of the hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) prolyl hydroxylases (PHDs), but differ in potency and how they interact with HIF at the PHD active site.

Switching on thermally activated delayed fluorescence through quaternisation of an sp²-hybridised nitrogen atom.

Phosphine oxide-decorated polymer immobilized ionic liquid stabilized RuNPs catalyse the hydrogenation of aryl ketones with remarkable selectivity for the CO bond, complete hydrogenation to the cyclohexylalcohol and hydrogenation of levulinic acid to γ-valerolactone.

Copper(II)–quinaldinate-amino alcohol reaction systems produced structurally diverse compounds with amino alcohol molecules or their deprotonated forms serving as ligands.

The rational molecular design of non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) in organic solar cells (OSCs) can profoundly influence the photovoltaic (OPV) performance.

We identify the limiting factors of wide bandgap metal halide perovskite solar cells. To overcome these losses, we developed an efficient optimisation strategy and outline the necessary steps for the continued development of these perovskites.

Direct structural evidence for the presence of trapped molecular O₂ in charged Li-rich O-redox cathodes from neutron total scattering data.

Carbon cloth substrates outperform their nickel foam counterparts for electrodeposited cobalt-doped nickel hydroxide anodes for ultrahigh efficiency decoupled water splitting in a membraneless electrochemical – thermally activated chemical process.

SO₂ uptake and rapid hydration to bisulfite on dry and wet hydroxylated silica-based dust aerosols may prevent direct SO₂ photochemistry, and be an additional source of sulfate in the atmosphere of desert and industrialized areas.

Here, we combine the use of host screening, protein crystallography and QM/MM molecular dynamics simulations to investigate how protein enviroment affects iminium catalysis by biotinylated secondary amines in a model 1,4 conjugate addition reaction.

Transient absorption spectroscopy reveals the excited state dynamics of meta- and para-methyl anthranilate in solution. Implicit solvent computational methods insufficiently model these systems's behaviour, implying the need for explicit solvent models.

Lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO₂), an example of nanoscale transition metal oxide and a widely commercialized cathode material in lithium ion batteries, has been shown to induce oxidative stress and generate intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) in model organisms.

The synthesis and spectroscopic characterisation of eight new first-row transition metal (M = Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu) aluminylene complexes is reported.

We apply a silica pillaring method to create a porous Mo₂TiC₂ MXene with nanoengineered interlayer distances, significantly improving performance in Li and Na-ion batteries. The charge storage mechanism is studied experimentally for the first time.

VOCs are used ubiquitously in consumer products. This population study investigates a wide-range of VOC concentrations indoors and links high butane concentrations with universal and frequent aerosol use.

Reduction of carbon–carbon double bonds is reported using a three-coordinate iron(II) β-diketiminate pre-catalyst, PMHS and nBuOH.

Varying the size of an alkyl side-chain group, installed by thiol–ene addition of alkylthiols to poly(ε-allyl caprolactone), the semi-crystallinity and lipophilicity of functional PCLs could be modulated to achieve divergent physico-chemical properties.

A life cycle thinking analysis (LCT) conducted on the production of vanillin via bamboo wet air oxidation compared to vanillin production from crude oil or kraft lignin.

Branched or multiply branched iron oxide nanoparticles are synthesized, the crystal domains rearrange forming single crystalline structures, that is crucial for efficient magnetic hyperthermia.

Polymer additives reliably prevent incongruent melting of sodium acetate trihydrate when temperature-cycled over multiple thousands of melting and freezing cycles.