Themed collection Chemical Science Recent Perspective articles

BODIPYs offer a versatile platform to build organic triplet photosensitisers for PDT, TTA upconversion and photocatalysis. Tuning their properties provides the opportunity of replacing heavy-metal complexes and can lead to improved sustainability.

Reactions of isolable disilynes and digermynes with alkynes can result in the formation of the corresponding disila- (DSBs) and digermabenzenes (DGBs), wherein two carbon atoms of the benzene ring are replaced by silicon or germanium atoms.

In targeted DNP, localization of polarizing agent at specific sites leads to new NMR approaches to improve sensitivity, background suppression for in-cell NMR, access to long-range constraints, and selective observation of binding sites.

Polyfunctional Mg and Zn organometallics can be prepared from organic halides by metal insertions, halogen/metal-exchanges or metalations with TMP-bases. These intermediates can be used in new cross-couplings, aminations or continuous flow set-ups.

Hot carrier activation and photothermal heat can be constructively coupled using plasmonic photothermal catalysts for synergistically promoted solar-to-fuel conversion efficiency.

Originally considered as fundamental curiosities, acyl metalloids have proven to be useful tools in synthesis. This perspective aims to highlight the modes of reactivity accessible to boron, silicon, germanium and tellurium species.

This perspective showcases the potential of topochemical polymerization as an effective tool for synthesizing polymers with advanced molecular and supramolecular structures.

The impending implementation of billions of Internet of Things and wireless sensor network devices has the potential to be the next digital revolution, if energy consumption and sustainability constraints can be overcome.

Cost-effective and atom-efficient isotopic enrichment enables ¹⁷O NMR spectroscopy of microporous materials to be used to probe local structure and disorder and to explore chemical reactivity.

This Perspective reviews recently developed methods that are likely to be of value to the elaboration of sp³-rich fragments from carbon-centred vectors, whilst maintaining key fragment-to-target binding interactions.

The use of crystallization as a tool to control the self-assembly of polymeric and molecular amphiphiles in solution is attracting growing attention for the creation of non-spherical nanoparticles and more complex, hierarchical assemblies.

A summary of the extremely efficient organic phosphors that utilized the best possible ways to manipulate the fate of triplet excitons for achieving a long lifetime along with impressive quantum yield and afterglow properties is provided.

Electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) is a promising way to remove CO₂ and convert it into useful industrial products. Single-atom site catalysts provide opportunities to regulate the active sites of CO₂RR catalysts at the atomic level.

This Perspective features the newly emerged AIO-type Cu(I)X-based hybrid semiconductors and showcases their structural diversity, solution-processability, framework stability, important photophysical properties and related potential applications.

Effective strategies to increase the intrinsic activity by electronic modulation and to increase the number of active sites by structural design are discussed for improving the oxygen evolution activities of NiFe alloys.

Small-molecule based fluorescent probes are increasingly important for the detection and imaging of biological signaling molecules due to their simplicity, high selectivity and sensitivity, whilst being non-invasive, and suitable for real-time analysis of living systems.

In vivo imaging is a powerful approach to study biological processes.

Near-infrared fluorescent molecular probes with improved imaging depth and optimized biodistribution have been reviewed, showing great potential for diagnosis of nephro-urological diseases.

Surface organometallic chemistry bridges the gap between homogeneous and heterogeneous olefin metathesis catalysts.

N-heterocyclic carbene-carbodiimide betaine adducts are zwitterionic amidinate-like structures with tunable properties that have applications as ligands, junctions in supramolecular polymers, and stabilizers for radical cations.

The synthesis strategy, methods and parameters for atomically precise gold nanoclusters were reviewed, and future outlook was also proposed.

Exporting cooperative effects in main group heterobimetallic reagents to catalytic regimes, this Perspective showcases key advances in their applications for hydroelementation, cyclisation, C–C bond formation and polymerization processes.

Recent development in catalytic application of transition metal complexes having an M–E bond (E = main group metal or metalloid element), which is stabilized by a multidentate ligand, is summarized.

This perspective gives an outlook on the design of interparticle confined nanocavities in self-assembled NP systems and their functional relevance.

The multi-level microstructures of conjugated polymers, including solution-state aggregation and crystal structures, are reviewed due to their influence on charge transport in polymer field-effect transistors.

This perspective article discusses structural features of iodine(III) compounds as a prelude to presenting their use as umpolung reagents, to promote the selective coupling of two nucleophilic species via 2e⁻ oxidation.

TOC summarises some recent developments in synthesis, characterisation and catalytic applications of light elements doped to transition metals presented in this article.

New pathways for carbon capture and sequestration are needed to tackle the challenge of rising anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions.

This review describes supramolecular strategies for optimization and integration of components needed for the fundamentals of artificial photosynthesis: light harvesting, charge-separation and catalysis, which are relevant for solar-to-fuel devices.

Recent progresses and future prospects on nanogenerator-based self-charging power systems (SCPSs) are discussed with this perspective.

Design strategies for the controlled assembly of discrete and extended reticular materials with asymmetric configurations of pores or architectures.