Themed collection 2023 Chemical Science Perspective & Review Collection

In this perspective we have summarized the current understanding of supramolecular interaction-based liquid–liquid extraction.

We summarize the challenges to design and synthesize self-assembled molecules, discussing their synthetic routes and structural features in relationship to the efficiency of perovskite-based solar cells where they are applied as selective contacts.

Green oxidation reactions performed by organocatalytic activation of hydrogen peroxide.

Hydroxyapatite-based materials have been widely used in countless applications, such as bone regeneration, catalysis, air and water purification or protein separation.

This perspective focuses on strategies to manipulate and optimize three key determinants of metal-based molecular photosensitizers – the absorption profile, the excited-state redox potentials, and the excited-state lifetime.

The current amyloid hypothesis does not capture the full complexity of Aβ aggregation. Here we lay out a supersaturation framework to better understand the molecular mechanism of Alzheimer’s disease and to develop more effective treatment strategies.

We discuss how machine learning methods can be applied to advance analysis of spectroscopy and scattering data in materials chemistry. We give examples illustrating the state-of-the-art and identify current challenges in the field.

We present and discuss the discovery, structures, photophysics, and applications of novel functional dyes – dipyrrolonaphthyridinediones.

Molecular catalysts and their assemblies are important model systems in electrocatalysis at gas–liquid–solid interfaces.

Recently, the field of intermolecular enantioselective amination of non-acidic C(sp³)–H bonds has witnessed rapid advances, which are discussed in this perspective

Molecular crystal structure prediction has matured to the point where it can routinely facilitate the discovery and design of new organic materials.

This Perspective summarizes recent progress in the synthesis and electrocatalytic applications of two-dimensional mesoporous metals and thus ensures a new era for designing high-performance functional electrocatalysts.

As researchers, industries and consumers move towards more sustainable products there is a clear need to define what sustainability means in fast moving consumer goods and how it can be considered at the design stage.

We describe our efforts to develop a decatungstate (DT)-catalyzed C–H ¹⁸F- and ¹⁹F-fluorination reaction, and the discovery and exploitation of electrostatic effects in DT catalysis for the synthesis of radiotracers for PET imaging.

The article covers the survey of recent progress in the design of MOFs–polymers and MOF–carbon material composites with increasing complexity in terms of porous architecture, spatial structuration, organisation, and functionality.

Numerous pieces of evidence in the literature suggest that zeolitic materials exhibit significant intrinsic flexibility as a consequence of the spring-like behavior of Si–O and Al–O bonds and the distortion ability of Si–O–Si and Al–O–Si angles.

Water oxidation liberating dioxygen under visible light irradiation poses a formidable challenge to natural and artificial photosystems. The quest for the “green shift” represents a major goal to enhance the overall photosynthetic performance by tailoring molecular architectures.

Ultrasound-responsive polymeric materials with finely tunable physicochemical properties and acoustic responses enable their applications in imaging and therapy, such as functional/molecular imaging, targeted drug delivery, and sonopermeation.

This perspective showcases how quantum chemical calculations drive predictive strategies to explore unknown reactions, catalysts, and synthetic routes toward complex molecules in synthetic methodology development.

This Perspective showcases recent advances on the use of specially designed main-group metal complexes to facilitate chemoselective C–H/C–F functionalisation of fluoroarenes.

We provide an overview of coordination cage catalysis, highlighting how mechanistic understanding can help address the challenges in this area leading to new opportunities in non-covalent reactivity.

A forward-looking perspective on optimizing enzyme design through synergizing electric fields, coordination spheres, and dynamics.

Advances in molecular electronic ferroelectrics are summarized. In addition, electronic pyroelectrics using electron transfer is introduced as a promising alternative in the development of polarization switching materials.

Schematic illustration of layered transition metal oxide applicating in dual purpose as oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalyst and aqueous Li-ion batteries cathode.

The quest for generating novel chemistry knowledge is critical in scientific advancement, and machine learning (ML) has emerged as an asset in this pursuit.

Naphthopyran molecular switches undergo a ring-opening reaction upon external stimulation to generate colored merocyanine dyes. We highlight the features of naphthopyran that render it a powerful platform for designing mechanochromic materials.

This perspective highlights recent advances and challenges in transition-metal (oxy)nitrides, which are promising photocatalysts for overall water splitting, and discusses opportunities to upgrade the solar-to-hydrogen energy conversion efficiency.

Using core/shell based perovskite materials is a promising strategy to stabilize perovskite nanocrystal phases and passivate the surface, in order to improve both the stability and the optical properties of the material and in turn of light emitting diodes.

This perspective focuses on the development of organic hierarchical nanostructures based on magnetically controlled assembly methods, which are guided by the requirements of organic integrated photonics.

Targeted protein degradation strategies employing proteins as binders for degradation targets.

Hydride transfer (HT) is a fundamental step in a wide range of reaction pathways, including those mediated by dihydropyridinates (DHP⁻s).

Color-changing PV windows could save energy and generate electricity. A building with such windows is shown changing from tinted PV to transparent phase. This work reviews recent strategies and provides a future outlook for this technology.

The summarized new advances and proposed research directions in this perspective can provide in-depth insights for the application/mechanism investigation of DAC-mediated Fenton/Fenton-like reactions.

Nanoelectrochemistry methods can provide new insights into electrochemical nucleation processes, including the formation of nanoparticles and nanobubbles.

This Perspective article highlights how mastering the electrolyte structure, both in bulk and at the electrochemical interface, can provide an additional level of control for the rational design of electrosynthetic routes.

Heterometallic cluster chemistry to control the function of titanium–organic frameworks.

By drawing inspiration from photoredox catalysis, the field of radical-mediated alkane functionalization has made remarkable advancements recently to address the challenges of today and future.

In this perspective, we provide an overview of the recent achievements in luminescent lanthanide-based molecular cluster-aggregates (MCAs) and illustrate why MCAs can be seen as the next generation of highly efficient optical materials.

In this perspective, different expert opinions are gathered on the definition and concept of aromaticity.

Emerging strategies based on synaptic interfaces, iontronics-based neuromodulation, and improvements in selective neurosensing techniques have been explored to achieve seamless integration and efficient neuro-electronics communication.

A new kid on the block: Cu(II) offers unique possibilities in photocatalysis for generating and stabilizing radicals to promote challenging synthetic transformations.

Energy–structure–property relationships in uranium metal–organic frameworks offer a deeper understanding of their behaviors, explaining why structure produces function. This understanding becomes crucial for the rational design of such materials with enhanced properties.

This perspective article highlights redox catalysis of organic molecules via photoinduced electron transfer, which is well exploited for the important photoredox reactions including hydrogen evolution, water oxidation and synthetic applications.

In this perspective, we emphasise the importance of stability evaluation in the development of photo(electro)catalysts and related devices towards practical solar water splitting.

The activity of Ni–Mo catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction originates from the interfaces of alloy–oxide or alloy–hydroxide, in which the oxide or hydroxide promotes water dissociation and the alloy accelerates hydrogen combination.

Synchrotron radiation enables probing a wide range of length scales operando, hence being a powerful tool in battery research. Challenges ahead involve cell design (especially for multi-modal approaches) and protocols for automated data analysis.

The Multiparticle Holstein Formalism is a promising theoretical framework that efficiently bridges the gap between theory and experiments.

We highlight molecular-level interactions that govern the performance of polymeric desalination membranes. We emphasize how these interactions affect transport and highlight emerging methods that allow for direct measurement of polymer properties.

Many unique properties in two-dimensional (2D) materials and their heterostructures rely on charge excitation, scattering, transfer and relaxation dynamics across different points in the momentum space.

The design of next-generation positive intercalation battery cathodes will leverage chemistry—mechanics—geometry coupling to mitigate stress, unlock more accessible storage capacity, and prolong cycle life.

By taking inspiration from the structures and reactivities of its past, organolanthanide chemistry has managed to reinvent itself for the challenges of today and the future.

Organo-functionalisation of polyoxometalates with peptide moieties is an effective approach to obtain diverse arrays of functional hybrid materials, where each component influences the resulting change, surface chemistry, polarity, and redox properties.

In this review, the molecular chemistry of the f-elements with heavy pnictogen ligands from phosphorus to bismuth is described.

Molecular imaging, including quantification and molecular interaction studies, plays a crucial role in visualizing and analysing molecular events. Aptamers are wildly employed in molecular imaging with a wide range of targets and imaging modalities.

The key factors contributing to the formation of “dead” metal – the fraction of metal in supported catalysts that remains inaccessible to reactants – are examined. Strategies to minimize the formation of “dead” metal are analyzed.

Frustrated Lewis pair systems have been explored efficiently in homogeneous and heterogeneous conditions for the activation and reduction of CO₂ to various useful products in stoichiometric as well as in catalytic reactions.

This review summarizes the recent advances in the electrode application of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) for supercapacitors, including the design strategies from the molecular scale to morphology control level and their device performance.

Product distribution during electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction is closely related to the behaviour of reaction intermediates. Morphological and microenvironmental engineering of Cu-based catalysts can regulate the reaction tendency of intermediates, enabling target products to be selectively obtained.

This review offers a survey of recent advancements in the modification of mammalian cell surfaces through the use of synthetic molecules and concludes by addressing the present challenges and potential opportunities in this rapidly expanding field.

This review paper summarizes the application of electrospinning nanofibers in the cathodes, anodes, and separators of aqueous zinc ion batteries.

This review summarizes recent advances in combining photo- and N-heterocyclic carbene catalysis, as well as provides an outlook on future opportunities and challenges.

The principles and advantages of SERS sensing strategies including multi-modal analysis for detection or mapping of key cellular biomarkers are described in this review.

We discuss the current state-of-the-art in exploiting fluorescence-based techniques for analysing polymer systems and soft matter materials, as well as provide an outlook on future opportunities and challenges.

This review summarizes the synthesis methods, characterization methods, research progress and regulation strategies of HAEs in the field of electrocatalytic HER, HOR, OER, ORR, CO₂RR, NRR and AOR, providing deep understanding for future applications.

This review discusses the varied catalyst design strategies that have been applied to asymmetric C−N bond formation using metal nitrenoids. The outstanding challenges are also identified with the aim of encouraging further investigation in the field.

Dearomative cycloaddition is a powerful technique to access sp³-rich three-dimensional structural motifs from simple flat, aromatic feedstock.

Research progress and potential trends about six critical chiral resolution methods are summarized. Notable performance improvements based on the state-of-the-art “coupling” strategies are highlighted.

Examples of carbon–carbon bond activation reactions at Mg, Al, and Zn are described in this review.

We present and discuss the structures, properties, and applications of novel σ–π-conjugated hybrid architectures with saturated Si–Si σ bonds in this review.

In this review, we present the key synthetic strategies for the preparation of various ubiquitinated proteins and the application of these conjugates in biochemical and functional studies.