Themed collection Celebrating a Century of Excellency in Chemistry at Xiamen University

Guest Editors Jun Cheng and Bin Ren introduce the Celebrating a Century of Excellence in Chemistry at Xiamen University themed collection.

This review aims to provide in-depth insights into CTC analysis, including various techniques for isolation of CTCs and single-cell analysis of CTCs, as well as current developmental trends and promising research directions.

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a vibrational spectroscopy technique with sensitivity down to the single molecule level that provides fine molecular fingerprints, allowing for direct identification of target analytes.

Recent research progress in sensing based on induced supramolecular aggregation or disaggregation.

Recent advances in photocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ with H₂O using semiconductor-based catalysts have been highlighted.

This review highlights recent advances in photocatalytic transformations of lignocellulosic biomass (polysaccharides and lignin) into chemicals (in particular organic oxygenates).

Recent advances in bifunctional catalysis for conversion of syngas and hydrogenation of CO₂ into chemicals and fuels have been highlighted.

A fundamental theoretical understanding of SERS, and SERS hotspots, leads to new design principles for SERS substrates and new applications in nanomaterials and chemical analysis.

Fluorescence spectroscopy with strong emitters is a remarkable tool with ultra-high sensitivity for detection and imaging down to the single-molecule level.

TERS offers the high spatial resolution to establish structure-function correlation for surfaces and interfaces.

Micro/nano-machining (MNM) is becoming the cutting-edge of high-tech manufacturing because of the ever increasing industrial demands for super smooth surfaces and functional three-dimensional micro/nano-structures in miniaturized and integrate devices, and electrochemistry plays an irreplaceable role in MNM.

Structural characteristics, synthetic methods and applications of well-faceted noble-metal nanocrystals with nonconvex polyhedral shapes are reviewed.

This review summarizes the latest trends and developments of Brønsted acid-mediated reactions of ynamides, including cycloaddition, cyclization and so on.

The confluence of available membrane materials and the explorations into fluid behaviors have revolutionized liquid-based porous membranes, which deserve more attention.

AFM force curve measurements reveal a long-range force switch from attraction to repulsion at the mica/ionic liquid interface due to the increase of water content.

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

Inhomogeneity of adsorbed CO introduced by the aggregation of Pt nanoparticles.

The redox-responsive manganese(II)/(III) complexes serve as a pair of reversible probes for ¹H MRI and ¹⁹F MRI of biological redox species.

Pyridines containing adjacent CC bonds were utilized as ligand units and integrated into the skeleton of conjugated microporous polymers.

Excited state energies on a two-dimensional light-harvesting metal–organic layer (MOL) are efficiently transported to Re- and Ir-based reaction centers for converting CO₂ to CO or HCOOH.

Transition metal catalyzed [2+2+2] cycloaddition and aromatic C–H oxygenation enables concise, divergent total syntheses of five bioactive illudalane sesquiterpenes.

Reaction of phosphanylhydrosilylalkyne with tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane occurs by the intramolecular hydrosilylation between the Si-centered geminal H and CC functionalities along with the bonding of the borane or boryl group to produce (E)- and (Z)-alkenes.

This work presents a general strategy to produce 3D array electrode structures based on transition metal nitrides that otherwise are much more difficult to directly prepare by conventional routes and further to enhance their electrochemical performance for supercapacitors.

The intramolecular C(sp³)–H/C(sp²)–H cross-coupling of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds has been achieved through Cp₂Fe-catalyzed electrochemical oxidation.

VGCF 3D conducting host coating on a glass fiber filter has been demonstrated for its use as a lithium metal anode.

A portable detection method based on a target-responsive hydrogel for target recognition and gold nanorods as a multicolor signal readout circuit was developed.

N-heterocyclic ylide-like germylene effectively promotes the hydroboration of aldehydes and ketones under mild conditions with broad substrate tolerance, operational simplicity of the procedure and excellent yields.

We report a versatile method for the direct, catalytic reductive alkynylation of tertiary amides to give propargylic amines.

In dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), the TiO₂/dye interface significantly affects photovoltaic performance.

A facile stitching thienannulation between acetylenic rylene dyes and S₃˙⁻ for rapid synthesis of largely π-extended thienoacenes was developed.

An integrated approach for quantitatively predicting the electrochemical-infrared and electrochemical-Raman spectra and STM images of Pt(111)(2 × 2)-3CO adstructures has been developed.

Multi-network elastomers with a reformable sacrificial network containing mechanochemically sensitive anthracene-dimer cross-links manifest reversible mechanochromism and remodeling.

Chiral organic cages can assist enantio-selective supramolecular polymerization through a catalyzed assembly (catassembly) strategy, like chaperones assist the assembly of biomolecules.

Here we report photoelectric-effect-enhanced interfacial charge transfer reactions.

Destroying coordination open sites may significantly enhance the stability of metal nanoclusters.

A metal-free intramolecular tandem sequence involving alkoxylation, Claisen rearrangement and lactone expansion has been achieved.

Based on various applications in cancer theranostics of two-dimensional Pd-based nanomaterials in mice models, this work aimed at investigating their biobehaviors, biocompatibility and theranostic effects in bigger animals for future clinical translation.

Complex arrangements of tetraphenylethylene motifs resulted in a variety of chiralities of face-rotating sandwich structures (FRSs).

Electrical and in situ SERS characterization of the benzene-1,4-dithiol (BDT) junction suggested that dimerization of BDT contributed to the low conductance.

Zn–ZrO₂/SSZ-13 catalyzed direct conversion of syngas into lower olefins via methanol/DME intermediates with 77% selectivity at 29% CO conversion.

The enantioselective photoredox reaction of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds and tertiary/secondary α-silylamines was enabled by a readily available single Ni^II–DBFOX catalyst under visible light conditions.

We report a pH-sensitive multifunctional theranostic platform with radiolabeled Pd nanosheets through a simple mixture of ultra-small Pd nanosheets and radioisotopes utilizing the specific adsorption of ¹³¹I and ¹²⁵I on their surfaces.

We developed a novel approach for designing a class of constrained and sequence-independent peptide scaffolds with three or four disulfide bonds. Even specific peptide folds that have been considered to be topologically formidable can be de novo created and synthesized in high yields.

The protonation of azulene cores offers significant conductance tuning in single-molecule junctions with quantum interference.

The catalytic asymmetry conjugate addition of carbamates to α,β-unsaturated 2-acyl imidazoles is accomplished using visible-light-induced proton-coupled electron transfer.

We report the design and synthesis of artificial disulfide-rich peptide scaffolds with precisely defined disulfide patterns and a minimized number of isomers.

We demonstrated contact electrification induced interfacial redox reactions and developed a direct electrochemical nanoimprint lithography method applicable to crystalline semiconductors.

A hetero-organelle partition and lysosome activable sensor was developed for fluorogenic detection of mitochondrial depolarization in autophagy and cell death.

Apart from the more familiar π-conjugation, there is also significant π–π repulsion which is a kind of unrecognized intramolecular strain and can be quantified with the linear B₄H₂ model system.

A reverse agglomeration of sintered large Au particles into small ones with size controlled Au nanoparticles has been successfully developed.

The halogenation of metallapentalyne led to the formation of metallapentalenes. Experimental and computational studies indicate that four resonance structures, including the first examples of metallaiodirenium and metallabromirenium ions, contribute to the overall structure of the complexes.