Download: Download high-res image (293KB) Download: Download full-size image

Despite the long-lasting research on proton transfer as a fundamental chemical reaction, not all details regarding its precise mechanism have been revealed. Particularly, a complete spectroscopic and kinetic characterization of all intermediates remains challenging. In the September issue of Cell Reports Physical Science, Lee et al. identify a transient Eigen complex and determine the molecularity

In the current issue of Chem, Gugin et al. are showcasing the power of energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction to track kinetics and chemical phenomena in situ during twin screw extrusion. This technique holds great promise for industrial scale-up of green chemical syntheses.

Zinc and manganese are the reductants of choice for nickel-catalyzed cross-electrophile coupling (XEC), but their exact redox potentials are unknown in organic solvents. In a recent report from Stahl and colleagues in Nature Chemistry, these potentials have been measured for the first time and their implications on model XEC reactions have been discussed.

In this issue of Chem, Popescu and Paton report a new method to predict triplet energy sensitization of small molecules by sampling the instantaneous vertical energy gaps over molecular vibrational motions. This approach has reduced the mean absolute error of predicting ET from 9.5 to 1.7 kcal/mol compared with previous state-of-the-art methods.

Advancements in cost-effective direct air capture (DAC) technology have become critical in addressing climate change, with a particular emphasis on energy and cost reductions. Recent innovations have significantly decreased the energy requirements of DAC systems. In collaboration with experts from industry leaders such as Climeworks, Carbon Capture, Mission Zero, and Heirloom, the latest developments

Late-stage deuteration is a crucial technique in the pharmaceutical industry. Direct aromatic deuteration without the use of directing groups or transition-metal catalysts presents a substantial challenge. Now, through the integration of an interrupted Birch reduction, Liang, Xia, and co-workers have developed a photochemical protocol for the efficient hydrogen isotope exchange to incorporate deuterium

In this issue of Chem, Kinjo and Feng report the synthesis of a cyclotriborate trianion (B3R63−), a highly charged boron ring system with discrete two-center two-electron bonds. With three contiguous borates, the B33− core of the feature compound defies Coulomb’s law and represents the first homocyclic boron analog of the ubiquitous cyclopropane. The remarkable stability enabled full characterization

Download: Download high-res image (678KB) Download: Download full-size image

Anode-free Li-ion batteries could attain new levels of energy density, but challenges remain in controlling deposition and managing degradation. In this issue of Chem, Kwon et al. probe Li metal growth using operando NMR to unravel how cathode materials impact performance and establish criteria for the high-energy/low-cost design tradeoff.

Mechanochemical force can pull apart specific bonds, an action that is crucial for efficient and selective chemical transformations. Predicting chemical reactivity under tension force unlocks the selective bond cleavage reaction using ultrasonic irradiation. In this issue of Chem, Craig, Kulik, Moore, and colleagues developed an intuitive physical organic model to understand and predict the chemical

Recent advances in artificial transmembrane transporters that may address the limitations of natural ion channels include a photoswitchable Cl− anion pump developed by Aprahamian et al., reported in Science,1 utilizing hydrazone units for active transport against the concentration gradient. This molecular transporter leverages light-induced isomerization to control anion grabbing and releasing, showing

Organic cages, featuring the selective stimuli response and reversible encapsulation of guest molecules, demonstrate a huge potential in guest-triggered actuation. In this issue of Chem, Khashab and co-workers exploited host-guest recognition of organic urea cages with three-dimensional structures to integrate multiple mechanical actuations into a single material for the first time.

In this issue of Chem, Li and Rawal present an exciting new application of Ar3BiCl2 as convenient reagents for arylative difunctionalization of alkenes using visible or near-visible light. Unburdened by air and moisture sensitivity, the method affords rapid and facile azido-, cyano-, and chloro-arylation of a bevy of functionalized alkenes.

The production of tailored biological drugs by genetic engineering represents a significant challenge in the field of natural product chemistry. In this issue of Chem, Bode and co-workers have successfully developed a biosynthetic production platform for novel syrbactin-class proteasome inhibitors by assembling an NRPS/PKS hybrid from four different natural megasynthetases.

The environmental accumulation of oil-based plastics calls for the introduction of alternatives emerging from renewable resources that are chemically recycled back to monomer. In this issue of Chem, Miyake and coworkers describe camphor-derived monomers that give polymers of varying stereo-regularities and desired properties that may be depolymerized back to monomer.

Prof. Li-Xin Dai will always be remembered for his development of organometallic chemistry and asymmetric synthesis, especially for the refining and synthesis of aureomycin, organoboron chemistry, and the development of novel chiral ligands for transition-metal-catalyzed asymmetric reactions. In addition to making significant contributions to science, Prof. Dai has also made a profound impact as an

Entangled structures have fascinated scientists for both their artistic beauty and functional properties. Zhang and co-workers have recently reported, in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the synthesis of a cinquefoil knot in which metal coordination sites can be tuned using post-synthetic protocols, providing a way to edit the skeletons of topological molecules in order to endow them with

(Chem 10, 2761–2775; September 12, 2024)