Themed collection Chemical Communications HOT Articles

The preparation, reactivity and catalytic applications of cobalt fluorides in fluorination and C–F functionalization have been highlighted.

The electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) has attracted substantial attention owing to its important role in realizing economic and sustainable hydrogen production via water electrolysis.

Metal–organic frameworks with enzyme-like catalytic features (MOF nanozymes) exhibit great promise in detecting various analytes with amplified signal outputs.

Thieno[3,4-c]pyrrole-4,6-dione (TPD) based conjugated polymers as an electron donor, acceptor and single-component for application in organic solar cells in the past ten years have been intensively reviewed in this Feature Article.

Theoretical methods and models for the description of thermodynamics and kinetics in electro-catalysis, including solvent effects, externally applied potentials, and many-body interactions, are discussed.

This review highlights the strategies employed to load and release gasotransmitters such as NO, CO and H₂S from different kinds of porous materials, including zeolites, mesoporous silica, metal–organic frameworks and protein assemblies.

The application of imines as electrophiles (acceptors) or as a source of nucleophiles (donors) in N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) catalysis for the synthesis of various nitrogen heterocycles and functionalized amines is presented.

This article summarizes recent progress on biomimetic subcellular structures and discusses integration of these isolated systems.

This feature article summarizes the recent contributions of the authors in the synthesis, characterization, and applications of SASCs.

Acid strength and proton affinity, the independent properties of catalysts and molecules, are incomplete descriptors of because cations and conjugate anions reorganize their charges as they interact as bound intermediates and transition states.

Recent advances in various metal-catalysed asymmetric sequential double hydrofunctionalizations of alkynes have been highlighted in this feature article.

Herein we report a diaminocyclopentadienone iron tricarbonyl complex catalyzed synthesis of substituted cyclopentane, cyclohexane and cycloheptane compounds using the borrowing hydrogen strategy in the presence of various substituted primary and secondary 1,n diols as alkylating reagents.

Hydrophobicity-driven folding of cystine-based dimeric diamides with aromatic substituents at the C- and N-termini slows their spontaneous assembly and thus seeded supramolecular polymerization was achieved in aqueous media.

Multicomponent reactions can efficiently construct complex molecular structures from simple precursors.

Metal cyanurates K₄Cu₃(C₃N₃O₃)₂X (X = Cl, Br) containing π-conjugated anions are synthesized in flame-sealed silica tubes and they exhibit 2D graphene-like layered structures and intriguing semiconductor behaviors.

We have proven that Baird's rule can also be applied to a series of all-metal species with both σ- and π-aromaticity.

Strongly solubilising multibranched aliphatic side chains for π-conjugated polymers are reported, enabling soluble polymers with a high density of unsubstituted, ‘unshielded’ aromatics.

A facile synthetic strategy for in situ cyclisation of peptides and conjugation with functional boron dipyrromethenes (BODIPYs) using a bifunctional linker is reported.

A redox-active polyoxometalate, V₁₀O₂₈, was immobilized into a water-stable zirconium-based metal–organic framework, NU-902. The V₁₀O₂₈@NU-902 can show redox hopping-based charge transport and electrocatalytic activity for dopamine sensing.

Continuous and scalable synthesis of nano-stirbars is achieved by combining electrospinning and ultrasonic breaking.

Protein/RNA droplet formation by liquid–liquid phase separation has emerged as a key mechanism for cellular organization. We show that binding of antimicrobial peptides such as LL-III can lead to loss of droplet function.

An autonomously catalytic assembly of an HCR-DNAzyme circuit was facilely constructed for reliable intracellular miR-21 imaging.

A new organocatalytic bicyclization of α-alkynylnaphthalen-2-ols with nitrones was first reported, leading to the convergent synthesis of polycyclic indoles with substantial substitution diversity in generally good yields.

Increasing the steric pressure in a low-valent β-diketiminate Mg(I) did not lead to radical formation but gave Mg–N bond cleavage and formation of an asymmetrically substituted Mg–Mg complex.

A new tin-supported iron complex catalyzes N₂ fixation. The role of this heavy main group element in the catalysis is evaluated.

A divergent photocatalytic system for the reaction of α-bromo nitroalkanes with styrene derivatives is established.

Cluster anions [Cp*RuPb₁₁]³⁻ (1) and [Cu@Cp*RuPb₁₁]²⁻ (2) represent the first vertex-substituted zintl icosahedra and 1 is the first non-centered zintl icosahedron isolated in the condensed phase.

Supramolecular glyco-nanovesicles (SeSe-(P5)₂⊃Man-NH₃⁺) were successfully constructed via the self-assembly of a diselenium-bridged pillar[5]arene dimer and a mannose derivative, which exhibited tumor microenvironment-responsiveness and targetability.

The minidumbbell containing an abasic site is used to construct a Mg²⁺/EDTA-controlled molecular switch for regulating DNA duplex formation and dissociation instantly and reversibly.

A new fluorescent peptide provides a quick and simple method of identifying areas of high MMP activity allowing ‘tumour painting’.

Activated carbon nanospheres were embedded into polymer-derived porous carbon to form heterostructures with improved surface area and ORR performance.

A diagram to show the differences between wild-type and deamidated hIAPPs interaction with site specific and non-specific inhibitors.

Fe(II)-Fenton reaction in bicarbonate buffer yields CO₃˙⁻, not HO˙, oxidizing 2′-deoxyguanosine to yield 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2′-deoxyguanosine with no ribose damage.

An Fe^II complex, 1, having a pentadentate ligand with an NHC moiety catalyzes substrate oxidation to afford 2e⁻-oxidized products with high selectivity by suppression of overoxidation in water.

Polyoxometalate-functionalized macroporous polymer microspheres were synthesized and applied for highly selective separation/enrichment of glycoproteins from a complex matrix.

Polytetrafluoroethylene submicro-rod, serving as “oxygen tanks” and binders, have been mixed into Os redox polymer-based bilirubin oxidase cathodes, leading to enhanced performance.

The incorporation of sterically hindered boron centers into MOFs allows the recyclable adsorption of NH₃ vapour from aqueous solution.

We analyse 3D coordination networks in 33 790 coordination polymers and discuss relations between their topological and porosity properties.

A mononuclear cobalt(III)–bis(tert-butylperoxo) adduct (Co^III–(OO^tBu)₂) bearing a tetraazamacrocyclic ligand was synthesized and characterized using various physicochemical methods, such as X-ray, UV-vis, ESI-MS, EPR, and NMR analyses.

Synthesis, magnetic studies and, theoretical calculations of a new family of transition metal complexes bridged by a quinoxaline-based radical.

We report the synthesis of a cyclic hexavanadate polyoxovanadate-alkoxide cluster, [VO(OC₂H₅)₂]₆, and its conversion, under solvothermal conditions, to an oxygen-deficient Lindqvist assembly, [V₆O₆(OC₂H₅)₁₂]ⁿ (n = 1−, 0).

Polymer dots emitting in the red, green and blue color regions, have been successfully applied as lysosome-targeting nanoprobes for the simultaneous detection and multicolor imaging of pH and Cu²⁺ in HeLa cells and zebrafish.

A Ce³⁺-based layered perovskite compound, Dion–Jacobson type RbCeTa₂O₇, has been discovered for the first time by introducing only a trivalent cerium ion to form [CeTa₂O₇]⁻ layers.

Quasi-static quantum calculations of the mechanochemical decomposition rate of methyl thiolate species on Cu(100) accurately reproduce the experimental kinetics measured in ultrahigh vacuum by an atomic force microscopy tip.

A novel gold(I)-catalyzed protocol for the synthesis of 4H-1,3-dioxin-3-ones is presented.

Color-tunable green and yellow room temperature phosphorescence is realized through a ratiometric co-crystal strategy.

Stereogenic osmium center mediates enantioselective ring-closing C(sp³)–H aminations of sulfonylazides and azidoformates.

Hybrid ultramicroporous ZU-36-Ni (GeFSIX-3-Ni) synthesized by a mechano-assisted thermal transformation method exhibits excellent trace CO₂ capture performance through strong host–guest interactions.

A porous fence-like MOF transforms into a dense pillared-layer coordination polymer, improving its chemical stability and exhibiting an excellent electrolytic OER performance.

Hydro-Si-oxazines were exploited as NIR fluorescent probes to monitor HClO/ONOO⁻ produced by phagocytes in inflammation-related diseases.

A two-photon fluorescent probe NPClA was developed for imaging mitochondrial stress.

An efficient enzymatic modular assembly strategy was developed for the preparative-scale synthesis of poly-LacNAc glycans with defined fucosylation and sialylation patterns.

A combined computational and anisotropic NMR investigation defined likely configuration of phormidolide.

The combinatorial modulation of inter- and intra-subunit interactions was demonstrated to show promise for engineering multimeric enzymes.

Undissociated binding of SSB to single-stranded DNA facilitates fast gel-free capillary electrophoresis analysis of fundamentally important DNA strand exchange reactions.

A simple change has important consequences: the guest-displacement assay (GDA) is introduced which allows for binding affinity determinations of supramolecular complexes with spectroscopically silent hosts and guests.

An endoplasmic reticulum stress-inducing rhenium isonitrile complex was investigated for its axial ligand stability in living cells using X-ray fluorescence microscopy.

Trimetallic NiCoMo/graphene multifunctional electrocatalysts with moderate structural/electronic effects demonstrate excellent catalytic performance towards alkaline urea oxidation reaction.

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

Directly extracted membrane proteins are stable and suitable for functional and high-resolution structural studies; however, the efficacy is modulated by the net charge of the target protein and the polymer used at a given pH.

Styrene derivatives can be easily synthesized from vinyl triflates and arenes under mild reaction conditions, using [Li][Al(OC(CF₃)₃)₄] as a catalyst and LiHMDS as a base.

An uncommon macrocyclization reaction between 3-triflyloxybenzynes and tetrahydrofuran leading to novel 19-membered polyether macrocycles is reported.

Oscillating Ag-containing micromotors release silver ions that diffuse and deposit on the surface of Au–Rh microrods, which then learn to oscillate individually or collectively as a wave.

Here, we report the synthesis of all major 2-alkyl-4(1H)-quinolone N-oxide classes of Pseudomonas and Burkholderia, quantification of their native production levels and their antibiotic activities against competing Staphylococcus aureus.

Alcohol dehydrogenases catalyze the regioselective lactonization of dialdehydes via a bio-Tishchenko-like reaction. The nicotinamide-dependent self-sufficient reduction–oxidation sequence proceeds through a formal intramolecular hydride shift.

We report a bimetallic complex [Ir₄Ho₂(pq)₈(H₂dcbpy)₄(OAc)₂] (denoted as Ir₄Ho₂, pq = 2-phenylquinoline, H₂dcppy = 2,2′-bipyridine-3,3′-dicarboxylic acid) and its application for radiotherapy/radiodynamic therapy (RT/RDT).

An atroposelective synthesis of configurationally stable nonbiaryl N–C atropisomers through direct asymmetric aminations of 1,3-benzenediamines has been developed.

A new type of colloidal surfactant that not only has a nanoscale platelet geometry, but can also induce complementary face-to-face interactions among Pickering emulsion droplets is introduced.

Temperature-dependent metalation of a new hexadentate enables the selective synthesis of both mononuclear (i.e. kinetic product) and trinuclear (i.e. thermodynamic product) complexes.

Due to the weakly bound alkene ligands, [(Ph₃P)AuPt(nbe)₃][BAr₄^F] can serve as a precursor for the synthesis of formal Au^+IPt⁰ complexes.