Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Exploring artificial photosynthesis with water, air and light is a challenging goal. Here, a donor–acceptor porous framework photocatalyst enables efficient production of hydrogen peroxide from aerated water under ambient conditions.
Carbon-based fuels and value-added chemicals can be produced sustainably using electrochemical CO2 reduction (CO2R). This Review examines the expansion of scope through the coupling of CO2R with heteroatomic co-reactants.
Geometry control in organic reactions can be used to promote dynamic processes or stabilize reactive transition states. This Review discusses the concept of geometry control, its impact on transition states and bonding, as well as the reactivity and properties that emerge as a consequence of constraining molecules.
The synthesis, isolation and characterization of palladium complexes featuring one, two and three anionic aluminium ligands are reported, in which the aluminium ligands effectively stabilize the palladium in the zero-oxidation state. The aluminium–palladium bonds are highly polarized and the negatively charged palladium centre readily undergoes activation of B–B and C–N bonds.
A one-pot method is introduced for synthesizing highly reactive and potentially chiral low-valency Ga(i) complexes, facilitating their application as a versatile catalyst.
An artificial metalloenzyme based on streptavidin with a biotinylated Rh(III) cofactor provides enantioselective access to various isoindolones with different functional groups. Rational engineering of the streptavidin scaffold reverses the stereoselectivity, offering an enantiodivergent method for the synthesis of isoindolones.
A diazapentadienyl radical featuring a disubstituted carbon centre is discovered allowing the isolation and structural characterization of a stable secondary carbon radical.
The isolation of secondary and primary carbon radical species is challenging, owing to their instability. Now the reduction of an acyclic bis(imino)carbene conjugate acid enables the isolation of a stable pentadienyl-type radical. In silico and in vitro probing of its properties reveal a propensity to act as a secondary carbon radical.
Biocatalytic methods for the synthesis of isoindolones, via C–H activation, have remained elusive. Now, an enantiodivergent artificial-metalloenzyme-catalysed method for the synthesis of chiral isoindolones is reported, using a streptavidin–biotin–Rh(III) catalyst system. Crystallographic analysis reveals the key residues that control stereoselectivity in streptavidin.
Photoinduced C(sp3)–H functionalization reactions, through hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) processes, have become a useful tool in synthesis, but challenges remain. This Perspective showcases the potential of pyridine N-oxides as HAT reagents in photoinduced C(sp3)–H functionalization reactions, highlighting how they can be readily tuned to achieve site-selectivity.
The in situ generation of reactive (di)gallenes from a gallium–fluorobenzene complex and commercial chiral and achiral bisphosphine ligands is presented. The Ga(I) complex cations can undergo reversible cycloadditions to 1-alkenes and bond insertions into H–Si and H–B bonds.
Development of fluorine rebound processes at an enzymatic Fe(III) centre are a challenge. Now, a plant-derived non-haem iron enzyme, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid oxidase, is repurposed and evolved to catalyse chemo- and enantioselective C(sp3)–H fluorination, forming a range of enantioenriched organofluorine products.
A computationally guided approach was used to predict the hierarchical assembly of four trigonal-shaped organic cage compounds into a more symmetric, higher-order, tetrahedral-shaped ‘cage of cages’ that crystallizes into a porous superstructure.
Using liquid gallium as an atomically smooth substrate enables the deposition of single-crystal layers of conducting two-dimensional metal–organic frameworks.