Trends in Chemistry最新文献

Transition metal-catalyzed asymmetric organic transformations are powerful tools for the syntheses of chiral building blocks, bioactive molecules, and natural products. Compared with noble transition metals, the development of chiral catalytic systems based on non-noble transition metals is appealing due to their lower cost and ready availability. Among those, the molybdenum complexes are ideal candidates as chiral metal catalysts for catalytic asymmetric organic transformations because of their ready availability and versatile reactivity. The past decades have witnessed advances in the development of chiral Mo-complexes and their application in catalytic asymmetric organic transformations. This review article summarizes the development of several types of chiral Mo-complexes and highlights recent advances in Mo-catalyzed asymmetric organic transformations.

Current methods for separations of critical rare earth elements (REEs) require multi-step, waste-generating procedures that lack the ability to selectively separate similarly sized ions, despite such an onerous process. REEs possess unique optoelectronic properties that are often exploited for photomagnetic or photoluminescent applications but could be harnessed to drive element selective separations. Recent work exploring photochemical reactions of REE complexes points to promise for investigating alternative separations using photoactive molecules and macromolecular frameworks, highlighting a possible pathway towards realizing practical REE separations to increase the sustainability and longevity of mining and recycling these elements.

Previous work focused on (N-heterocyclic carbene) NHC catalysis has mainly centered on forming new chemical bonds and controlling stereoselectivity through electron-pair transfer processes. While these topics remain interesting and impactful, we envisioned that NHC catalysis can offer unique opportunities in radical chemistry and site-selective reactions of sophisticated molecules bearing multiple functional groups with similar reactivities.

Protein nanoparticles (PNPs) present versatile platforms for cargo delivery due to their modularity, biocompatibility, and self-assembled structures. PNPs have benefited greatly from developments in bioorthogonal covalent attachment chemistries, which enable efficient post-translational cargo loading. In this paper, we review recent advancements in bioorthogonal strategies for cargo loading onto PNPs, including methods for chemical functionalization of natural scaffolds and the use of established click chemistries. We also discuss how protein engineering strategies, including genetically encoded ligation systems and non-canonical amino acid incorporation, have conferred even greater specificity and control to cargo loading and delivery. We conclude the review with applications and future directions of PNPs in crop and soil sciences, with insights on their translation to industry and agriculture.

Plasmonic photocatalysis, which represents a paradigm-shifting approach to solar-to-chemical energy conversion, has become a rapidly evolving research field full of opportunities, challenges, and open questions. Plasmon-driven photocatalytic reactions are mechanistically complex, dictated not only by multiple interplaying photophysical effects but also by local chemical environments at the catalyst–adsorbate interfaces. This review article highlights the unique value of plasmon-enhanced Raman spectroscopy in mechanistic studies of plasmonic photocatalysis. Using plasmon-driven reductive coupling of nitroarene derivative adsorbates as a model reaction system, this article elaborates on how the rich information extracted from deliberately designed plasmon-enhanced Raman spectroscopic measurements can be carefully analyzed and further rationalized to generate critical insights into the exact roles of hot carriers, photothermal transduction, and catalyst–adsorbate interactions in plasmonic photocatalysis.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are restricted by cathode polysulfide shuttling and anode lithium dendrite formation. Jin, Zuo, and coworkers recently showed that Li-S batteries with high capacities and cycling stabilities emerge from intentionally designed covalent organic framework (COF) electrodes. This report highlights how COF design can address fundamental challenges in organic electrode engineering.