Among the platinum-group metals, ruthenium (Ru), with a low water dissociation energy, has been considered a promising alternative to substitute Pt for catalyzing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, optimizing the adsorption/desorption energies of H* and OH* intermediates on Ru catalytic sites is extremely desirable but remains challenging. Inspired by the natural catalytic characteristics

Osmotic power, also known as “blue energy”, is a vast, sustainable and clean energy source that can be directly converted into electricity by nanofluidic membranes. However, the key technological bottleneck for large-scale osmotic electricity is that macroscopic-scale bulky membranes cannot synergistically satisfy the demands of high power density and low resistance without sacrificing scalability

Polycyclic aromatic compounds with an open-shell singlet diradical ground state, namely singlet diradicals, have recently gained attention in the fields of organic electronics, photovoltaics, and spintronics owing to their unique electronic structures and properties. Notably, singlet diradicals exhibit tunable redox amphoterism, which makes them excellent redox-active materials for biomedical applications

Natural nitrogen cycle has been severely disrupted by anthropogenic activities. The overuse of N-containing fertilizers induces the increase of nitrate level in surface and ground waters, and substantial emission of nitrogen oxides causes heavy air pollution. Nitrogen gas, as the main component of air, has been used for mass ammonia production for over a century, providing enough nutrition for agriculture

Interlayer coupling in materials, such as exchange interactions at the interface between an antiferromagnet and a ferromagnet, can produce exotic phenomena not present in the parent materials. While such interfacial coupling in magnetic systems has been widely studied, there is considerably less work on analogous electric counterparts (i.e., akin to electric “exchange-bias-like” or “exchange-spring-like”

A Markovnikov-selective hydrodifluoromethylation of alkynes with BrCF2H via nickel catalysis is described. This protocol proceeds via a migratory insertion of nickel hydride to alkyne followed by a CF2H-coupling, enabling straightforward access to diverse branched CF2H-alkenes with high efficiency and exclusive regioselectivity. The mild condition applies to a wide array of aliphatic and aryl alkynes

Imine-based covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are crystalline porous materials with prospective uses in various devices. However, general bulk synthetic methods usually produce COFs as powders that are insoluble in most of the common organic solvents, arising challenges for the subsequent molding and fixing of these materials on substrates. Here, we report a novel synthetic methodology that utilizes

Cu-exchanged mordenite (MOR) is a promising material for partial CH4 oxidation. The structural diversity of Cu species within MOR makes it difficult to identify the active Cu sites and to determine their redox and kinetic properties. In this study, the Cu speciation in Cu-MOR materials with different Cu loadings has been determined using operando electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and operando ultraviolet-visible

Recently, a new naturally occurring covalent linkage was characterised, involving a cysteine and a lysine, bridged through an oxygen atom. The latter was dubbed as the NOS bond, reflecting the individual atoms involved in this uncommon bond which finds little parallel in lab chemistry. It is found to form under oxidising conditions and reversible upon addition of reducing agents. Further studies have

Since polyoxometalates (POMs) can undergo reversible multi-electron redox transformations, they have been used to modulate the electronic environment of metal nanoparticles for catalysis. Besides, POMs possess unique electronic structures and acid-responsive self-assembly ability. These properties inspire us to tackle the drawbacks of the well-known copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC)

We demonstrate that arylchlorodiazirines serve as photo-activated halocarbene precursors for the selective one-carbon ring expansion of N-substituted pyrroles and indoles to the corresponding pyridinium and quinolinium salts. Preliminary investigations indicate that the same strategy also enables the conversion of N-substituted pyrazoles to pyrimidinium salts. The N-substituent of the substrate plays

Photocatalytic 2-iodoethanol (IEO) coupling provides 1,4-butanediol (BDO) of particular interest to produce degradable polyesters. However, the reduction potential of IEO is too negative (−1.9 vs NHE) to be satisfied by most of the semiconductors, and the kinetics of transferring one electron for IEO coupling is slow. Here we design a Ni-complex cocatalyst, which works synergistically with TiO2, realizing

π-Conjugated nanoribbons attract interest because of their unusual electronic structures and charge-transport behavior. Here, we report the synthesis of a series of fully edge-fused porphyrin-anthracene oligomeric ribbons (dimer and trimer), together with a computational study of the corresponding infinite polymer. The porphyrin dimer and trimer were synthesized in high yield, via oxidative cyclodehydrogenation

LiNiO2-based high-nickel layered oxide cathodes are regarded as promising cathode materials for high-energy-density automotive lithium batteries. Most of the attention thus far has been paid towards addressing their surface and structural instability issues brought by the increase of Ni content (> 90%) with an aim to enhance the cycle stability. However, the poor safety performance remains an intractable

Ammonia borane (AB) is a promising material for chemical H2 storage owing to its high H2 density (up to 19.6 wt%). However, the development of an efficient catalyst for driving H2 evolution through AB hydrolysis remains challenging. Therefore, a visible-light-driven strategy for generating H2 through AB hydrolysis was implemented in this study using Ni–Pt nanoparticles supported on phosphorus-doped

Andrew Robinson reviews five of the best science picks.

The energy drink ingredient offers striking health benefits in mice, monkeys and worms. But more work is needed to investigate its link with ageing.

Goopy ‘biofilms’ normally serve as a protective shield, but Vibrio cholerae uses them to kill immune cells.

The high cost of ‘reformatting’ prompts a call for journals to change their requirements.

Decades of data show the widespread belief that morality is waning is an illusion. Plus, the first images of the tallest tree in the Amazon and a ‘lost world’ of previously unknown microorganisms that once dominated complex life on Earth.

Highly strained methylenecyclobutanes (MCBs) are intriguing scaffolds in synthetic chemistry and drug discovery, but there is no such a strategy that enables the synthesis of structurally diverse MCBs with defined stereochemistry. We report a general strategy for (boromethylene)cyclobutanes (BMCBs) and spiro-BMCBs by a challenging Cu-catalyzed highly chemo-, stereo-, and regioselective borylative cyclization

Accurate 3D structures of membrane proteins are essential for comprehending their mechanisms of action and designing specific ligands to modulate their activities. However, these structures are still uncommon due to the involvement of detergents in the sample preparation. Recently, membrane-active polymers have emerged as an alternative to detergents, but their incompatibility with low pH and divalent

Our recent success in exploiting graphical processing units (GPUs) to accelerate quantum chemistry computations led to the development of the ab initio nanoreactor, a computational framework for automatic reaction discovery and kinetic model construction. In this work, we apply the ab initio nanoreactor to methane pyrolysis, from automatic reaction discovery to path refinement and kinetic modeling

Herein, the synthesis and chemical resolution of 1,1'-spirobisindane-3,3'-dione have been accomplished utilizing inexpensive and readily available benzaldehyde and acetone as starting materials, and (1R,2R)- or (1S,2S)-1,2-diphenylethane-1,2-diol as a recyclable chiral resolution reagent. The further transformation of R- and S-1,1'-spirobisindane-3,3'-dione into chiral monomers and polymers has been

1-Methylhexylammonium tin iodide yields the lowest reported melting temperature (Tm=142°C) to date among lead-free hybrid perovskite semiconductors. Molecular branching near the organic ammonium group coupled with tuning of metal/halogen character suppresses Tm and facilitates effective melt-based deposition of films with 568 nm absorption onset.

A surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) active metasurface composed of metallic nanohole arrays and metallic nanoparticles is developed. The metasurface can operate in aqueous environments, achieves an enhancement factor of 1.83 × 109 for Rhodamine 6G, and enables the detection of malachite green at a concentation of 0.46 ppb.

We developed a rapid and accurate biosensor to detect SARS-CoV-2 and distinguish its mutations. Benefitting from the DNA framework modified ordered interface and the dual signal amplification strategy, our biosensor could detect SARS-CoV-2 with a detection limit down to 10 fM. It performed well on pseudo virus and SARS-CoV-2 RNA standard material, revealing the potential application in disease diagnosis

Application of heteroatom doped graphene for the photochemical and electrochemical reaction is primarily hindered by the lack of controllable and facile synthesis strategy. In this work, the few-layer CoN-graphene (1.8 nm thickness) with atomical Co have been fabricated via pyrolysis exfoliation. Half wave potential of CoN-graphene reaches 0.875 V vs. RHE, and the corresponding direct methanol fuel

Classical local anesthetics are unsuitable to treat regional pain lasting several days due to their limited duration and systemic toxicity. Self-delivery nano system without excipients were designed for long-term sensory block. 1a self-assembled into different vehicles with different fractions of intermolecular π-π stacking, transported themselves into nerve cells, and released single molecules slowly

Despite extensive development, oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts still require significant overpotentials to function. In this study, we show that the overpotential of a nickel (Ni) electrode for OER can decrease by about 100 mV with fluorine (F) incorporation, particularly, by a facile electrochemical approach at room temperature

A catalytic amount of CsI enables dual concurrent activation of poorly reactive perfluoroalkoxide and alkyl halides, especially alkyl chlorides, leading to the formation of diverse perfluoroalkoxylated organic compounds. Installation of perfluoroalkoxy groups by this methodology is cost-effective, circumventing the need for over-stoichiometric cesium or silver salts. This methodology also provides

A wide variety of synthetic methods have been developed for the synthesis of functionalized aliphatic amines because of their broad utility in both synthetic and medicinal chemistry. The synthesis of functionalized aliphatic amines via direct C-H functionalization of readily available aliphatic amines, the majority of which rely on the use of metallic reagents/catalysts and hazardous oxidants, is advantageous

Herein, we report nanodiamonds oxide (NDOx), obtained from modified hummers’ oxidation of nanodiamonds (ND), showing excellent proton conductivity and thermal stability. NDOx possesses hydrophilicity resulting in higher water adsorption and the retention of functional groups at elevated temperatures can be attributed to the high proton conductivity and thermal stability, respectively.