Nature Synthesis - Palladium makes agostic C–H bonds more acidic

Photo-electrocatalysis under alternating polarity allows enantioselective redox-neutral cross-coupling through β-scission of alcohols to afford optically pure chiral α-arylated amines.

Thianthrene, long used in materials science, has recently emerged as a powerful reagent in organic synthesis. Its unique electronic structure enables access to diverse aryl, alkenyl and alkyl thianthrenium salts, which exhibit reactivity beyond conventional (pseudo)halides. This Review highlights the fundamental properties, distinctive reactivity and synthetic applications of these thianthrenium salts.

Molecular engineering has increased the power conversion efficiency of inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs), surpassing that of regular PSCs. Here, the symmetric molecule (2-(pyren-2-yl)ethyl)phosphonic acid (pPy) enables long-range-ordered π–π stacking, enhancing charge transport. pPy films show face-on orientation and uniform distribution, yielding PSCs with power conversion efficiencies of 26.6%.

An alternating current paired photo-electrocatalysis approach, integrating electrochemistry, ligand-to-metal charge transfer photocatalysis and asymmetric nickel catalysis, enables enantioselective C(sp3)–C(sp2) cross-coupling of alcohols. This approach has high catalytic efficiency and stability, achieving up to 99% enantiomeric excess with broad substrate compatibility, and is suitable for late-stage functionalization of complex molecules.

A covalent organic framework-based type-II heterojunction (TpPa/TpDz) enables efficient photocatalytic H2O2 production in pure water. The highest and lowest occupied molecular orbitals are spatially separated, driving directional photogenerated carrier transport and minimizing recombination, therefore enhancing photocatalytic activity.

A microinterfacial solvothermal polymerization strategy is developed for irreversible coupling reactions to form porous crystalline sp-carbon-conjugated covalent organic frameworks with diverse topologies. These two-dimensional frameworks exhibit enhanced conductivity and tunable magnetic properties.

A N-heterocyclic carbene–nickel-catalysed dynamic kinetic asymmetric aldehyde–alkyne reductive coupling reaction is reported, achieving control over chemo-, regio-, E/Z-, diastereo-, and enantioselectivity. This approach offers a streamlined route to construct multifunctional allylic alcohols with adjacent stereocentres from readily accessible substrates.

Helicity-overriding behaviour in supramolecular copolymers is reported by manipulating the energy landscape of chiral co-monomers, where one chiral monomer can override the intrinsic helical preference of another, even when present in the minority. This finding offers insights into asymmetry amplification in multicomponent supramolecular systems.

The electrosynthesis of amino acids is hindered by inefficient oxime intermediate conversion. Here, a relayed electron transfer mechanism is proposed using an ionic-liquid@Bi catalyst. Electrons are accepted by the ionic liquid to generate related radicals, which then transfer electrons to oxime, enabling efficient amino acid production.

A cooperative electrolytic strategy is designed, enabling dual C–H functionalization of deconstructed polyolefin oligomers, converting carbon fibre-reinforced polymer waste into adaptive materials. This approach forms covalently adaptable networks and establishes electrochemical backbone editing as a versatile platform for advanced polymer design and functionalization.

The synthesis of benzocyclobutenes is reported through Pd(II)-catalysed γ,δ-methylene C(sp3)–H bond activation and [2 + 2] annulation between aliphatic carboxylic acids and dihaloarenes, using bidentate carboxyl-pyridone ligands. Regiocontrol is achieved in benzocyclobutene formation through the differentiation of reactivity between the aryl iodide and bromide sites.

A sustainable two-step strategy for oxime synthesis in a neutral KHCO3 medium is reported. Free-state NH2OH is initially synthesized via nitrite electroreduction over a Ketjen-black-supported iron phthalocyanine catalyst, followed by a chemical aldehyde or ketone oximation using the electrochemically synthesized NH2OH.

Multiple bonds involving heavier elements were considered impossible but have recently been shown to be stable and offer divergent reactivity. Here the isolation of an alumene (a compound containing an Al=C bond) via direct CO reduction is described. Analysis of the alumene and its ability to homologate CO is reported.

Nature Synthesis - Dynamic Al–Cd frameworks

Nature Synthesis - Global aromaticity at the macrocyclic size limit

Nature Synthesis - Hydrogenation using ammonia-borane

Perovskites are an important class of materials with applications in optoelectronics and catalysis.

Molecular-dynamics-simulation-guided evolution of flavoenzymes produces efficient catalysts for non-C2-symmetric biaryl synthesis with excellent atroposelectivity, offering promise for natural product...

Axially chiral sulfoxides have attracted considerable attention due to their broad application potential. Now, a catalytic asymmetric approach to the one-step construction of these compounds is report...

Three-component, iron-based catalytic transformations offer a promising and sustainable approach to building complex molecules in a single step. This Review highlights advances and ongoing challenges ...

The synthesis and purification of perovskite precursors and charge-transport materials are critical for achieving stable, high-efficiency lab-scale devices and for the scalable industrial production o...

The hydroheteroarylation of internal alkynes with indolizines via Pd and Rh catalysis is reported. This catalyst-controlled three-dimensional divergent protocol produces eight types of diaryl allyl sk...

In this study meta-selective single-step bromination and chlorination reactions of pyridines and their derivatives are developed, with pyridinium radical cations as the key intermediates. A spin-densi...