Themed collection ChemComm 60th Anniversary Collection

In this highlight, we discuss recently developed chiral iron catalysts and their application in radical asymmetric reactions for the construction of axial or central chirality.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) can be quantified using fluorescence, electrochemical, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy techniques. Detection of ROS is critical in a wide range of chemical and biological systems.

The catalytic asymmetric electrophilic functionalization of the less reactive N-heteroaromatic compounds has been reported using the approach of the introduction of an exocyclic amino substituent.

We review what is known of the surface properties of carbon nitrides, increasingly popular photocatalysts, with a focus on hydrogen production and arsenic remediation.

Macrocyclic receptors play a pivotal role in molecular recognition and supramolecular chemistry. This review highlights recent advances in the design, synthesis, and applications of macrocyclic receptors specifically tailored for anion recognition.

In this review, recent advances and representative photosensitizers used in organelle targeted photodynamic therapy have been reviewed with a focus on organelle targeting strategies and organelle-mediated cell death signalling pathways.

This highlight summarises electrochemical approaches for the deconstructive functionalization of arylcycloalkanes via the fragmentation of anodically generated aromatic radical cations.

Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) is powerful for characterizing the mechanical properties of organic/polymeric semiconductors.

VCD spectroscopy associated with DFT calculations is a powerful tool to unambiguously assign both the absolute configurations and conformations of chiral secondary metabolites directly in solution.

This highlight focuses on breakthroughs, future perspectives and applications of ultra-high-energy-density lithium-based battery systems beyond 500 W h kg⁻¹, represented by systems such as Li–S/Se batteries, Li–gas batteries, Li–CF_x batteries, etc.

This highlight article summarizes the complete development of photodecarboxylative functionalization of free carboxylic acids via a concerted single electron transfer (SET) or energy transfer (ET) pathways.

This article highlights the expansion of time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography (TR-SFX) to chemical systems by overcoming the challenges in SFX for small molecules.

Novel NOS linkages stabilize protein tertiary and quaternary structures and may be as prevalent as disulfide bonds. They regulate enzyme activity and have other important roles.

The field of chiral 2D and quasi-2D perovskite is reviewed highlighting the most important results to date and indicating future directions for advancement.

Alkene carbofunctionalization reactions have great potential for synthesizing complex molecules and constructing complex structures in natural products and medicinal chemistry.

This review summarizes the hierarchical structure and multifaceted properties of natural silk fibers, and provides an in-depth analysis of their extensive applications in the realms of biomedicine and advanced smart fiber technology.

This highlight discusses the advantages of various oxidation methods for improved performance of the electrochemical oxidation of ethylene and propylene, and provides an overview of current challenges and problems requiring further efforts.

Three strategies to realize the chirality-controlled growth of SWCNTs are presented.

This highlight article summarizes the recent developments and challenges in photocatalytic production of hydrogen peroxide and looks forward to the development direction of this field.

This review provides an electrosynthesis strategy of H₂O₂via the 2e⁻ ORR, covering aspects of reaction mechanisms, performance assessment, catalyst engineering, and setups for scaling up H₂O₂ production.

DNA nanostructures are easy to design and construct, have good biocompatibility, and show great potential in biosensing and drug delivery when combined with CRISPR/Cas systems.

In this feature article, we provide an overview of the photocatalytic capabilities of copper-based nanoclusters for organic bond-forming reactions.

The ability of hydrogenase enzymes to activate H₂ with excellent selectivity leads to many interesting possibilities for biotechnology driven by H₂ as a clean reductant.

The electrocatalyst-electrolyte interface complicates identifying true structure–activity relationships and reaction mechanisms. Surface state analysis can resolve conflicting views on surface-active phases and their corresponding performance.

Decorating amino acids and peptides with triazole as an integral part to afford desired and tuneable photophysical/biophysical properties would allow chemical biologists to use them for several biotechnological and biosensing applications.

1-2 Sentences highlighting the novelty of the work In this review, we provide a very first comprehensive exposition of artificial potassium transporters derived from aromatic foldamers mostly over the past ten years.

This feature article systematically summarized the construction, properties and applications of novel chiral macrocyclic arenes that have emerged in the last decade.

We developed and implemented interface observation methods specific to Si using electrodes fabricated via the gas deposition method.

Tetrazine-based linkers as intrinsically tagged alternatives to integrate post-synthetic framework modification with click chemistry reactivity.

Many photocatalysts were initially developed or used as emitters for organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). Requirements for photocatalysts and OLED emitters overlap in many aspects but diverge in some.

Lanthanide ions display unique luminescent properties, such as long-lived excited states and relatively narrow emission bands, that make them particularly attractive for the development of bioprobes in combination with peptides.

Recent works on in situ monitoring of organically modified copper with vibrational spectroscopy have revealed a wide scale of effect modifiers can cause on CO₂ electrolysis performance, which can also help design active organic/copper interface.

This feature article comprehensively summarizes the recent advances in catalytic enantioselective construction of monofluoromethyl-substituted stereocenters.

This review details utilising mechanically interlocked host molecules containing cation and anion binding motifs to achieve ion-pair recognition.

This work summarizes catalyst design methodologies based on crystalline complex oxide nanostructures through the synthesis, catalytic application, and structure–activity relationship.

This review provides a complete overview of the advances in the semipinacol rearrangement-mediated 1,2-group migration onto metal carbene centers which were reported in the past decades.

This review explores studies on the development of direct dehydrative amide/peptide bond formation from carboxylic acids using organoboron catalysis.

This feature article examines recent lithium–sulfur studies, with a focus on high-loading sulfur cathodes in lean-electrolyte and solid state-electrolyte cells, and highlights recent achievements, challenges, and strategies for future research.

This paper's innovation lies in systematically summarizing and evaluating the latest metal catalyst design strategies and exploring their application in nitrogen sources.

This article describes applications of Eu, including MRI, luminescence, catalysis, and separation science.

Mechanochemical backbone fracture by homolysis of covalent bonds generates highly reactive macroradicals, providing potential strategy to form new load-bearing bonds enabling new synthetic applications and development of stress-responsive polymers.

Recent work on catalysed reactions using coordination cage hosts, including new mechanistic insights and reactions types, is reviewed.

Versatile DNA nanodevices that modulate membrane receptor aggregation and reprogram cell signaling with high precision and programmability.

We highlight the challenges and recent progress in using semiconductors to harvest solar energy for carrying out alcohol oxidation.

This article summarizes small-sized transition metal oxide (TMO) clusters for electrocatalysis. The synergistic actions between TMO and TM–N_x sites and mechanisms by DFT studies are comprehensively highlighted.

Supramolecular approaches to face chemical biology problems targeting different types of species are illustrated with selected representative examples, using conventional receptor design or dynamic covalent chemistry.

This review highlights recent advances in transition metal complexes of silylene, showcasing their efficacy in hydroboration, hydrosilylation, hydrogenation, hydrogen isotope exchange, and small molecule activation chemistry.

This article summarizes the potential of TPP salts in tuning RTP properties and their applications in multi-level information encryption, high-level anticounterfeiting tags, and X-ray scintillators.

Cascading responses are a new concept for integrating stimulus-responsive materials to obtain output responses from the original input stimulus through successive conversions of the stimuli in a system.

The burgeoning interest in stable conjugated diradicals is attributed to their distinctive spin characteristics. In this review, we emphasize how to precisely control these spin characteristics to understand their role in the molecules and as functional radical materials.

This article discusses the roles of Zr-MOFs in electrocatalysis, and the challenges and opportunities in using Zr-MOFs in electrocatalytic applications.

Advances in the understanding and applications of perovskite 2D/3D heterostructures were overviewed with a focus on ligand design principles.

In this article we disclose our contributions to use of cyclopropanes as unconventional reagents for the development of enantioselective transformations under different organocatalytic activation manifolds for the synthesis of chiral building blocks.

This review introduces tetrazoles as the building blocks. The tetrazole ring offers four nitrogens, thereby assisting in multiple binding sites. The consequence is usually polymeric networks, but meticulous stratagem can form discrete cages as well.

This review has examined the advancements and challenges in the development of transition metal-based electrocatalysts for the alkaline water splitting reaction in the last decade.

Herein, six variants of metalloporphyrins (Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ag) were tested in gas diffusion electrodes for zero-gap electrolyzers and achieved CO faradaic efficiencies ranging from <1% to nearly 100%, highlighting their catalytic potential.

A dibenzo[hi,st]ovalene (DBOV) derivative bay-substituted with two piperazinylphenyl (PZP) groups (DBOV–PZP) was synthesized.

A new microporous supramolecular-framework catalyst containing Ru(II)–porphyrin and pyrenylphenyl moieties is synthesised and structurally characterised. The framework catalyst efficiently promotes the epoxidation reactions of styrene derivatives.

In situ deposition of magnetic nanoparticles in a hydrogel having an interpenetrated network provided a high-water-content, tolerant magnetic hydrogel with high saturation magnetization and extreme oil repellence underwater.

MnO₄⁻ exhibits negligible effects on proton exchange membrane conductivity, expanding the potential of MnO₂ as a catalyst for PEM water electrolysis.

A MOF-packed column can detect a pinpoint difference in a polymer chain through a nanopore-threading recognition mechanism.

Here we reported a supramolecular sequestration strategy to overcome the post-treatment phototoxicity of photofrin via direct host–guest complexation.

Combining a molecular thiomolybdate cluster, [Mo₃S₁₃]²⁻, with cadmium selenide quantum dots capped with amphiphilic ligands results in a highly active photocatalytic system for the production of hydrogen under visible light irradiation.

We developed a semiconductor photocatalyst, Pd–Pt alloy nanoparticle-loaded, Al-doped SrTiO₃ (PdPt/STO:Al), for photoreduction of unsaturated carboxylic acids.