Themed collection Chemistry for a Sustainable World – Celebrating Our Community Tackling Global Challenges

This work summarizes macrocyclic catalysis strategies for overcoming aqueous-phase reactivity challenges, product inhibition, and catalyst compatibility in “one-pot” reactions.

The application, challenges and prospects of isothermal amplification for AMR detection in conjunction with different technologies in terms of high assay specificity, high throughput and integration are summarized.

This mini-review highlights the scientific breakthroughs in photochemical upcycling polymers through oxidative degradation and post-polymerization modification via visible light-driven C–H bond activation.

Smart polymers represent a class of advanced materials that undergo reversible changes in their physical or chemical form and are known as responsive polymers.

This review focuses on the sulfurization of transition metal inorganic compounds and the effect of sulfurization on redox reactions in Li-S batteries, examining the current developments and providing insights into the prospects of the sulfurization.

This review summarizes the recent focus on the dynamic evolution of atomic metal–nitrogen-codoped catalysts in electrocatalytic reactions.

We highlight recent advances and future directions in the electrocatalytic upgrading of NO_x into value-added chemicals.

Recent developments in flow protocols for the Minisci reaction highlight its versatility and potential for industrial applications.

We summarise the recent surge of interest in CALF-20, which stems from its remarkable balance of properties, including stability, durability, and processability, as well as its utility for CO₂ capture at industrial scales.

This highlight provides an overview of methods for carbon–carbon bond formation using sustainable aromatics derived from biomass.

This review systematically summarizes the electrochemical mechanisms, material synthesis methods, and modification strategies for Mn-based tunnel-structured cathodes while also proposing future research directions.

We provide a comprehensive overview of the latest research progress and development strategies for high-performance chemiresistive H₂ sensors, highlighting the enhancement strategies that have been employed to improve sensor performance.

Biomass-derived carbon materials (BDCMs) are considered as promising and practical electrode materials for solid-state supercapacitors (SSCs), which are beneficial to achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals 7, 11-13.

Direct functionalization of alkenes with C(sp³)–H substrates offers unique opportunities for the rapid construction of pharmaceuticals and natural products.

The COF-based SACs and DACs, including their design, synthesis, applications, and electrocatalysis mechanism, are reviewed by investigating their catalytic mechanisms underlying both the oxygen reduction reaction and oxygen evolution reaction.

Key advances in introducing built-in electric fields to guide the surface dynamic reconstruction of oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts are summarized.

This feature article provides a thorough summary on replacing toxic solvents with non-toxic green solvents for sustainable perovskite solar cells.

This Feature highlights the most prominent features of atomically thin 2D materials and their potential for emerging photovoltaics.

Recent works on practical and recyclable catalysts for the cycloaddition of CO₂ to epoxides are reviewed with an eye to the use of inexpensive, readily-available, non-toxic materials and to future emerging designs.

In this review, the potential role of machine learning in sustainable energy and SGDs is analyzed; energy forecasting, planning, renewable energy production and storage are covered and an extensive perspective on the future role of ML is provided.

This article presents a review of catalytic processes used at low temperatures to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO_x) and nitrous oxide (N₂O), which are exceedingly important in terms of their environmental impacts on the Earth.

Recent advances in ordered membrane electrode assemblies for water electrolysis are reviewed, highlighting their fundamental concepts and structural characteristics. Key challenges and potential solutions are also discussed.

This feature article highlights the potential of ball milling in synthesizing pharmaceutically important classes of molecules under solvent-free conditions.

This feature article focuses on classifying pollutants that degrade indoor air quality (IAQ) and highlights next-generation nanofilter technologies to address them.

This feature article highlights recent progress in shell waste biorefinery, focusing on chitin extraction, upgrading to key chemicals and future research trends.

This feature article mainly outlines the advances in the precise design of inorganic- and organic-based porous electrocatalysts towards the enhancement of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) properties to achieve efficient water-splitting reaction.

Terpolymerization reactions of epoxides, CO₂, and the third monomers such as cyclic anhydrides, lactones, lactides, heteroallenes, and olefins give polymers with controlled structures and properties.

The electrochemical reaction mechanism of various plastic wastes and the recent developments of four types of plastic waste-assisted electrolysis systems are discussed, and the challenges that hinder scalable implementation are pointed out.

Oxamidato-based MOFs in water remediation: the most remarkable examples of the application of oxamidato-based bioMOFs for the selective and efficient removal of emerging pollutants are highlighted in this feature article.

A schematic depiction of the various solid–solid interfaces existing in a porous electrode.

Progress in the study of ether-based polymer electrolytes for in situ polymerization is reviewed, including ring-opening polymerization, Li⁺ conduction mechanism, and recycling of ether-based polymer electrolytes.

Since the seminal work by Trofimenko (1960s), scorpionate ligands have emerged as pivotal components in the field of coordination chemistry and catalysis. They have demonstrated a remarkable versatility for the preparation of sustainable polymers.

This feature article highlights the contribution of ionic liquids, as better alternatives to conventional solvating and templating media, in the sustainable synthesis of anisotropic and photo-catalytically active nanoparticles and their composites.

This work focused on renewable polymers derived from lipid compounds, including triacylglycerol, terpenes/terpenoids and rosin gum.

This Feature article discusses the conversion of lignin into high-value chemicals using metabolic engineering.

Progress in chemical recycling of waste polyesters (waste plastic refinery) was reviewed and prospected, newly reported thermal catalysis, photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and biocatalysis in the recycle of waste PET-based product were introduced.

The review examines the structure–function relationship and outlines future directions to develop heterogeneous catalysts for C–C and C–O bonds cleavage in plastic waste and upcycling real-world plastic waste into chemicals and fuels.

This study reports the chemoselective arylocyclizations utilizing two distinct types of hypervalent iodine reagents, resulting in the synthesis of dibenzoxazepinones under transition-metal-free conditions.

BT retains 99.1% capacity after 400 cycles at 0.2C and 90.1% capacity after 1500 cycles at 2C.

A photothermal-enhanced capacitive deionization system is constructed, which exhibits higher removal rate and selectivity towards Cu²⁺ upon irradiating with sunlight.

Supported sub-micron LaNi₅ particles are synthesized via one-pot high-temperature reduction method.

The life cycle assessment was conducted on previously reported Pb recycling processes for perovskite solar cells to evaluate their environmental impacts. The study identifies which processes are more sustainable in terms of Pb recovery and reuse.

The chemistry of fluorinated organosilane polycondensation is harnessed to form a robust Si anode with F-doped SiO_x/C composite coating, enabling a Si anode with a long life of 500 cycles at large current densities for lithium storage.

We reported the use of quaternary ammonium salts as organocatalysts for efficient di- and tri-thiocarbonate synthesis under neat conditions. Mechanistic studies highlight the role of hydrogen-bond interactions in this sustainable methodology.

The photocatalytic coupling of furfural into furoin and subsequent dehydroxylation to deoxyfuroin were achieved on mesoporous TiO₂ and a Cu/TiO₂ hybrid system, respectively.

Large-size quasi-2D DJ type perovskite crystals were successfully synthesized, achieving robust detection performance with high resistivity as well as product of mobility and carrier lifetime.

Enhanced activity, improved stability, and protease resistance of HRP achieved with a bio-inspired DNA in an ionic liquid system.

Four distinct zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) are prepared using zinc and cobalt ions with 2-aminobenzimidazole and 2-methylimidazole as linkers to explore their electrochemical properties as platforms for aldehyde detection.

Skeleton N substituents of CoPc to boost the LiPS shuttling inhibition, conversion kinetics, mass diffusion efficiency and cycling stability of Li–S batteries.

The present article demonstrates that EIMs enhance the light reactions by increasing photochemical activity and ATP and NADPH levels through electrical stimulation.

CaO captures CO₂ from pyrolysis, forming CaCO₃ that activates biochar via decomposition.

A facile ball-milling and in situ electrochemical strategy is proposed to decorate the surface of an LRMO cathode with carbon and LiF, which exhibits enhanced electrochemical performance.

An innovative fixed-bed reactor using covalently immobilized Mn(III)-porphyrin on silica gel for continuous flow catalytic degradation of trimethoprim is described. The system uses H₂O₂ as a green oxidant for efficient eco-friendly water treatment.

In this study, five catalysts with Pd particle sizes ranging from single atoms to nanoclusters and nanoparticles were synthesized by controlling the Pd loading amount and preparation methods, and applied in the hydrogenation of FDCA to THFDCA.

Optimized continuous flow synthesis of 1,1-cyclopropane aminoketones was achieved by enhancing the photocyclization of 1,2-diketones to 2-hydroxycyclobutanones, followed by their reaction with aryl- and alkylamines through tandem C4–C3 ring contraction.

An iron oxide catalyst with high-index (1238) and (1344) facets achieves a high faradaic efficiency of 96.54% and a production rate of 1.13 mmol h⁻¹ cm⁻² towards electrocatalytic nitrate reduction to ammonia at 250 mA cm⁻².

This study investigates the aggregation-induced delayed fluorescence (AIDF), two-photon emission and photocurrent generation properties of three newly designed organic luminogens based on triphenyl amine as donor.

Modifying Cu with MnO₂ enhances the interaction of the furan ring and C–O–C group in furfural alcohol with catalyst in a preferential flat adsorption configuration thus facilitating the C–O–C activation to produce pentanediols.

Two new types of bifunctional chlorhexidine-based covalent organic polymers COP-Co and COP-Zn can efficiently convert CO₂ and epoxides into cyclic carbonates under solvent-free and co-catalyst-free conditions.