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Photoredox-catalysed coupling of electron-rich aryl electrophiles based on simple nickel salts usually suffers from a slow oxidative addition. Now, it is shown that thianthrenation leads to more favourable redox properties of the substrates, alleviating this problem in carbon–heteroatom bond-forming reactions.
Direct stereoselective amination of tertiary C–H bonds without the assistance of directing groups is a challenging task in synthetic organic chemistry. Now a nitrene transferase is engineered to aminate tertiary C–H bonds with high enantioselectivity, providing direct access to valuable chiral α-tertiary primary amines.
Atropisomerism is an expanding target of asymmetric catalysis. In this Review, recent advances in atroposelective synthesis under catalytic control are highlighted with a focus on general strategies that provide high versatility and modularity.
Asymmetric versions of radical-mediated alkene difunctionalizations featuring hydrocarbon precursors are currently elusive. Here the authors report an asymmetric vicinal alkene dicarbofunctionalization based on the activation of C(sp3)–H bonds through the combination of photocatalysed hydrogen atom transfer and nickel catalysis.
Gut microbes have enzymes that break down the heavily glycosylated mucin protein of host animals, but known enzymes recognize only one glycan chain. Now, bioinformatic exploration has uncovered a family of mucinases that targets dense sugar residues.
Malonyl-CoA is one of the fundamental building blocks for the synthesis of industrially or pharmaceutically important chemicals, but its biosynthesis via the innate acetyl-CoA carboxylation pathway remains slow and inefficient. Now, an artificial non-carboxylative malonyl-CoA biosynthetic pathway has been developed, significantly enhancing malonyl-CoA supply by boosting carbon and energy efficiency while sidestepping the inhibitions by host cell regulations.
Ethylene, despite being a cornerstone of the modern petrochemical industry, continues to pose challenges during its production. Now, a dual single-atom catalyst design emerges as a remarkable solution for the efficient semi-hydrogenation of acetylene.
Material–microbe hybrids represent an interesting class of catalyst with potential for high energy efficiency and product selectivity. In this Perspective the authors discuss some of the difficulties in understanding these interdisciplinary systems and the attempts to unify the approaches taken by different research communities to further the field.
Aminated heteroaromatics are usually synthesized from heteroaromatic substrates. Now, a general photochemical approach that exploits non-aromatic N-heterocyclic ketones as starting materials for the coupling with amines under desaturative catalysis is reported as an alternative.
The use of data science tools in catalysis research has experienced a surge in the past 10–15 years. This Review provides a holistic overview and categorization of the field across the various approaches and subdisciplines in catalysis.
Synthetic methylotrophic organisms provide potential for valorization of greenhouse gas-derived methanol. Here an Escherichia coli strain is generated that reaches a similar growth rate on methanol to many natural methylotrophs and is capable of producing chemicals from this carbon source.
Biomass is a renewable source of carbon that can be exploited to produce valuable chemicals and fuels. This Perspective discusses the electrochemical valorization of biomass, identifying specific chemical transformations in which the approach can excel.
The tunable design of molecular catalysts presents opportunities for the control of product selectivity in CO2 reduction, yet to date, complexes capable of producing multicarbon products have been elusive. Here, a Br-bridged dinuclear Cu(I) complex that turns over C3H7OH is reported.
Electrocatalysts are often dynamic and their surface structure changes under working conditions. Now the dynamic evolution of MoS2 edges is monitored with nanometre-resolution via electrochemical tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy during the hydrogen evolution reaction.
The development of superior and cost-effective catalysts for the oxygen reduction and evolution reactions is pivotal for the future hydrogen economy. Now a series of Ru-modified Li2MnO3 catalysts have been designed to optimize the electronic structure and achieve a high performance in both oxygen reduction and evolution reactions, as demonstrated in practical anion exchange membrane fuel cell and water electrolyser tests.