Themed collection 2022 Pioneering Investigators

This profile article showcases the researchers who have contributed an article to the 2022 Pioneering Investigators collection.

Intracellular, allosteric antagonists for chemokine receptors hold great promise for the therapeutic modulation of chemokine responses.

3-Ethyl-6-vinyltetrahydro-2H-pyran-2-one (EVP) is a CO₂-derived lactone synthesized via Pd-catalyzed telomerization of butadiene.

This article highlights the recent progress of d–sp hybridization catalysts, and emphasizes d–sp orbital hybridization as a unique strategy to regulate the electronic structures and catalytic performances of transition metals.

Conjugated polymer (CP) microstructure plays a crucial role in determining the characteristics of a target device. Here, we provide an overview of the key aspects of the CP microstructure-property relationship carried out in our group.

Molecular polymer bottlebrushes offer a comprehensive toolbox for nanomaterials design. Their tuneable and multifunctional architecture has accelerated their use in nano-bio research and nanomedicine applications.

This Feature article presents recent representative applications of the combination of the Activation Strain Model of reactivity and the Energy Decomposition Analysis methods to understand the reactivity of Frustrated Lewis Pairs (FLPs).

The conducting polymer of PEDOT doped with tosylate has properties and behaviour making it interesting for use in conformable electronic devices. Understanding this material is of research interest.

Rapid thermal annealing allows ultrafast processing of rare-earth nanocrystal thin films to achieve close-to-one photoluminescence quantum yield while preserving the transparency of the layers, which further enables their integration with photonic architectures.

Using barium titanate as the piezoelectric catalysts, we demonstrate the ability to conduct mechanoredox reactions via resonant acoustic mixing, without grinding media or bulk solvent.

Liquid phase exfoliation of six layered coordination polymers suggests an impact of the material porosity on the nanoplatelets’ dimensions.

We report the synthesis and oxygen-atom transfer (OAT) photochemistry of [Cu(tpa)BrO₃]ClO₄.

The deracemisation of fourfold stereogenic cobalt(III) diketonates with a chiral photocatalyst is described.

The reactivity of the novel Re(I) catalyst [Re(^C12Anth-py₂)(CO)₃Br] is modulated by its interactions with the covalent organic framework (COF) TFB-BD.

The Mg battery electrolyte complex [Mg₂Cl₃]⁺ [AlPh₄]⁻ is prepared in high yield with 100% atom economy via a AlCl₃/MgPh₂ ligand exchange reaction. Spectroscopic studies suggest a simpler solution ionic composition than seen previously whilst maintaining high electrochemical performance.

We report facile and reversible electron storage in colloidal SrTiO₃ nanocrystals using photochemical and redox titration methods.

Herein we report a hydrogen-bonded three-dimensional network originating from a single source precursor, sym-triisopropylaminotriazine, that is both a donor and an acceptor of hydrogen bonds.

Chiral plasmonic nanocrystals with varied symmetries were synthesized by L-glutathione-guided overgrowth from Au tetrahedra, nanoplates, and octahedra, highlighting the importance of chiral molecule adsorption at transient kink sites.

Guest-mediated flexibility in the metal–organic framework, Sc₂BDC₃, is examined under moderate pressure in a sapphire capillary cell, revealing pore-shapes changes at much lower pressures than previously reported.

S_NAr of unactivated arenes with enolate nucleophiles is facilitated by π-coordination to Ru and subsequent product release by photolysis.

A new class of arylazopyrazole photoswitchable PROTACs (AP-PROTACs) enables light-triggered degradation of a specific ensemble of protein kinases.

Unique surface–subsurface treatment of PDMS by atomic layer deposition at atmosphere pressure increases solvent resistance by two orders of magnitude.

A pyrochlore-structural oxynitride Nd₂Ta₂O₅N₂ with a visible light absorption edge of ca. 620 nm was firstly explored to function as an effective H₂-evolving photocatalyst for promising photocatalytic Z-scheme overall water splitting.

Discovered by Knöth in 1964, the 10-vertex closo-carborane anion [HCB₉H₉¹⁻] is a classical bicapped square antiprism that contains an unusual pentacoordinate carbon center.

A metal-chelating polymer (PEI) was used to modify the surface of commodity plastics, yielding a generalizable procedure for producing strongly adhered metallic traces using electroless deposition.

The use of microfluidics for generation of thermo-responsive micromotors in which the catalyst is either physically encapsulated or chemically linked.

Effective dimensionality reduction for the classification of electrochemical data based on PCA, t-SNE and UMAP and different data formats, including image recognition and feature extraction.

A nanopatterned PEDOT:Nafion composite interface was integrated onto interdigitated electrodes for enhanced sensitivity and dynamic range of impedance-based cellular biosensors.

A chiral non-coordinating substitution at N-terminal end within peptoids facilitates regio-selective amide bond hydrolysis mediated by a transition metal ion and/or an acidic buffer as evident by X-ray crystallographic analysis, supported by ESI-MS.

In this work, an innovative fabrication method for the realization of PEDOT:PSS-based conductive micropillars and 3D cage-like structures is presented, combining 2-photon lithography and electrodeposition techniques.

Converting Cu_2−xS nanorods to Cu_2−xTe through anion exchange resulted in unexpected effects on the LSPR behaviour.

γ-Agostic interactions in(^MesCCC)Fe–Mes(L) complexes were observed in the crystal structures, NMR data, and DFT calculations.

Antitubercular ‘clickable’ diboronic acid agents are directly incorporated into the mycobacterial cell envelope through glycan-targeting.

This paper presents compression molding of peptide assemblies with low-density polyethylene (LDPE) for the robust production of antimicrobial polymeric films.

The reactivity of gold-vinylidene complexes allows for Si–O bond activation. The applicability of this methodology was showcased by orthogonal transformations.

Using amphiphilic europium(III) complexes, antenna chromophore, and bulky cations as components, nanooptodes with a luminescent response to bicarbonate were assembled on a polystyrene nanoparticle platform.

Steric bulkiness – the metric of the robustness of the self-photosensitized, single metal-active-site catalysis, elucidated in CO₂ photoreduction.

Herein, we construct a series of Ru(II) metallacycles with multimodal chemo-phototherapeutic properties, which exhibited much higher anticancer activity and better cancer-cell selectivity than cisplatin.

Remarkable selectivity was observed in the ligation of 5′-phosphate 1-pyrene strands across from an abasic lesion in a DNA-templated reaction by two different ligases suggesting that pyrene-terminated strands could be used in abasic site detection.

The best of both worlds: Lewis amphiphilic N-heterocyclic half-sandwich tetrylenes are reported, which combine structural features of di-N-heterocyclic tetrylenes and tetrelocenes.

A novel class of recyclable thermoset has been developed from cis-3,4-diphenylcyclobutane-1,2-dicarboxylic acid (CBDA-4) due to its thermocleavability at high temperature.

Cu^II-nitroxide RIDME measurements at 100 nM protein concentration allow reliable extraction of dissociation constants and distances, while measurements at 50 nM protein concentration allow reliable extraction of dissociation constants only.

A novel redox-active fluorene monomer is synthesized and copolymerized with 9,9-dioctylfluorene and benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole via Suzuki cross-coupling to produce alternating and tertiary copolymers.

The synthesis of low T_g polysilylethers via entropy-driven ring-opening metathesis polymerization is reported. These polymers can be depolymerized through olefin metathesis or deconstructed with acid or fluoride.

Nickel-catalyzed decarboxylative cross-coupling of indole-3-acetic acids with aryl bromides by convergent paired electrolysis was developed in an undivided cell.

The synthesis of particular cyclopropane-tethered 1,5-enynes, namely 6-alkynyl-4-alkylidenebicyclo[3.1.0]hex-2-enes, enabled the discovery of unprecedented gold-catalyzed rearrangment to indenes.

A neutral coordination polymer made of Ag(I) and 1,3-benzenedithiolate, [Ag₂(1,3-BDT)]_n, displays both photoluminescence properties and a second harmonic generation signal.

A novel multivalent platform of NHS-activated acrylates was developed for the site-selective chemical appendage of multiple functionalities on native peptides, a highly demanding and complex tool of modern chemical biology.

Emulsions are used as templates to pattern graphene covalently. When exposing graphene to a microemulsion, some regions are in contact with the aqueous phase which contains the reagent, while the rest are exposed to the oil phase and do not react.

We describe a new approach to target non-canonical DNA 3-Way Junctions (3WJs) that relies on the cooperative and sequence-selective recognition of A/T-rich duplex DNA branches by three AT-Hook peptides attached to a three-fold symmetric and fluorogenic 1,3,5-tristyrylbenzene core.

We demonstrate high-performance photodetectors based on Eu-doped 2D perovskite nanowire arrays. Thanks to the efficient carrier transport and suppressed trap density, the optimized Eu-doped photodetectors show an excellent responsivity of 6.24 A W⁻¹.

Silicon phosphides with a new structure have been synthesized. These salt inclusion materials contain exotic polycations such as [Ba₆Cl]¹¹⁺. The structure and properties are investigated.

Heterocyclic aromatic benzoselenadiazole (BSe)-capped tripeptides self-assemble to form hydrogels and exhibit in vitro anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activities.

Studies of enzymatic catalysis often rely on non-biological reagents, which may affect catalytic intermediates and produce off-cycle states. Here the influence of buffer and reductant on key intermediates of [FeFe]-hydrogenase are explored.

Herein, we discover the new reactivity of the 1,3,5-triazine moiety reacting with a phenol group and report the development of biocompatible and catalyst-free triazine-pyridine chemistry (TPC) for tyrosine labelling under physiological conditions and profiling in the whole proteome.

Exploration of efficient molecular metal–selenide HER catalysts and identification of the mechanistic implications induced by the type of incorporated chalcogen.

Incorporation of functional water-stable metal–organic cages (MOCs) in the reverse osmosis membrane changes the membrane morphology and hydrophilicity to achieve better antifouling properties.

Carbostyrils monofluorinated in the 3, 5, or 6 positions were synthesised via a photochemical isomerisation-cyclisation route, and incorporated into octadentate cyclen triacetate ligands that formed luminescent Tb(III) and Eu(III) complexes.

‘Plasmonic bubbles’ as a versatile, air-stable, centimetre-sized 3D SERS platform with bi-directional gas sensing capabilities.

We have designed and synthesized a new PKC ligand with a novel skeleton based on alotaketals through in silico screening, docking analysis, and molecular dynamics simulation. The new ligand has a higher affinity for PKCα-C1A than for PKCδ-C1B.

Ge alloying enables independent control of forward and reverse metal–insulator transitions in VO₂, enabling decoupling of transformation-temperature and hysteresis.

The development of multifunctional modulators by curating the metal chelating properties of bipyridine and biomolecular auxiliaries to ameliorate the multifaceted amyloid toxicity.

Chelation-activated tunable room-temperature phosphorescence in molecule-based metal complexes.

Accelerated rates of O-atom vacancy formation in calix-substituted POV–alkoxide clusters. Mechanisms if OAT dependent on surface ligand substitution patterns.

Novel post-synthetic ligand cyclization (PSLC) strategy for metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) bearing regioisomeric functional groups has been developed to install benzo-fused heterocycles in MOFs.

A dual-photofunctional organogermanium compound based on a donor–acceptor–donor architecture that exhibits thermally activated delayed fluorescence and mechano-responsive luminochromism has been developed.

To understand the exceptional adsorption of NH₃ in MFM-300(Sc), we report a full study of the mechanism of adsorption by in situ neutron diffraction, inelastic neutron scattering, synchrotron infrared microspectroscopy, and ⁴⁵Sc NMR spectroscopy.

This study reveals that a mixture of face-on and edge-on molecular orientations can be favorable for out-of-plane charge transport in solution processed bulk heterojunction organic solar cell active layers.

A microfluidic organic transistor functionalized with phenyboronic acid could monitor not only a reversible boronate anion with H₂O₂ but also an irreversible conversion into a phenol structure by a continuous flow.

A continuous vapor de-alloying strategy for a hundred-gram scale fabrication of silicene with high-performance Li storage capability.