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Chemistry articles from across Nature Portfolio

Chemistry is a branch of science that involves the study of the composition, structure and properties of matter. Often known as the central science, it is a creative discipline chiefly concerned with atomic and molecular structure and its change, for instance through chemical reactions.

Tailor-made glycans

A highly chemoselective method for the insertion of carbohydrates into existing oligosaccharides has been developed. The reaction sequence involves a selective Lewis-acid catalysed cleavage of one glycosidic bond followed by sequential construction of two new glycosidic bonds.

• Sugyeom Kim
• George A. O’Doherty

Mitigating uncertainties enables more accurate greenhouse gas accounting for petrochemicals

The carbon footprints of petrochemicals have large uncertainties, challenging decarbonization efforts. Now, a study identifies the main uncertainty sources and strategies for improving the accuracy of greenhouse gas emissions estimations and reporting for petrochemicals.

Trio of radicals choreographed for versatile chemical reaction

The idea that three different free radicals could be used together to carry out specific steps in a chemical reaction has long been implausible. A ‘radical sorting’ strategy now achieves this feat to make organic molecules.

• Kenneth F. Clark
• John A. Murphy

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Latest Research and Reviews

Paired electrocatalysis unlocks cross-dehydrogenative coupling of C(sp 3 )-H bonds using a pentacoordinated cobalt-salen catalyst

Cross-dehydrogenative coupling (CDC) of C-H bonds is an ideal approach for C-C bond construction but suffers from low selectivity of similar C-H bonds. Here, the authors describe a highly selective paired electrocatalysis strategy towards CDC combining hydrogen evolution reaction catalysis with hydride transfer catalysis.

• Sheng Zhang

Aluminum corrosion–passivation regulation prolongs aqueous batteries life

Aqueous batteries have a short lifespan due to Al current collector corrosion and Li loss from side reactions on the anode. Here, the authors propose a prototype of self-prolonging aqueous Li-ion batteries by introducing hydrolyzation-type anodic additives to regulate Al corrosion-passivation.

• Binghang Liu

Anaerobic cryoEM protocols for air-sensitive nitrogenase proteins

It can be challenging to obtain meaningful and accurate structural information for air-sensitive proteins. This protocol describes the application of customized vacuum manifold and anaerobic chamber setups for the purification and cryo-electron microscopy analysis of air-sensitive nitrogenase enzymes.

• Rebeccah A. Warmack
• Belinda B. Wenke
• Douglas C. Rees

Soluble individual metal atoms and ultrasmall clusters catalyze key synthetic steps of a natural product synthesis

Individual metal atoms and few-atom metal clusters have shown promising catalytic activities, however, their exploitation in the total synthesis of complex organic molecules remains underexplored. Here, the authors develop a total synthesis of the bioactive natural product (±)-Licarin B involving key steps catalyzed by soluble individual Pd atoms and Cu/Pd/Pt clusters, achieving an 11-step linear synthesis and overall yield of 13.1%.

• Silvia Rodríguez-Nuévalos
• Miguel Espinosa
• Antonio Leyva-Pérez

Aggregation induced emission dynamic chiral europium(III) complexes with excellent circularly polarized luminescence and smart sensors

Chiral luminescent materials are of increasing interest in various applications, but achieving a desirable balance of properties can be challenging. Here, the authors report the development of Eu-based complexes with chiral luminescence and aggregation induced emission.

• Hai-Ling Wang
• Hua-Hong Zou

A highly crystalline face-on π-conjugated polymer based on alkoxythiophene-flanked benzobisthiazole for organic photovoltaics

We synthesized a new benzobisthiazole (BBTz) containing building unit in which two alkoxythiophenes were attached to the BBTz moiety so as to induce oxygen–sulfur noncovalent intramolecular interactions and thereby interlock the linkage. As a result, the π-conjugated polymer incorporating the new building unit, PDBTz2 , had a more coplanar and rigid backbone than the alkyl counterpart, PDBTz1 . Interestingly, the backbone orientation was completely altered from the edge-on orientation ( PDBTz1 ) to the face-on orientation ( PDBTz2 ), which is preferable for organic photovoltaics. Accordingly, PDBTz2 showed a much higher photovoltaic performance than PDBTz1 .

• Tsubasa Mikie
• Itaru Osaka

News and Comment

Reproducing synthesis.

Irreproducible synthetic methods consume time, money, and resources. Here, we highlight the steps Nature Synthesis takes to help authors make their synthetic procedures as reproducible as possible.

Triple catalysis for quaternary stereocentre synthesis

• Thomas West

Substrate-selective synthesis

• Peter W. Seavill

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