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Communications Chemistry first year anniversary collection
Communications Chemistry published its first articles in March 2018. In this collection, our editors highlight some of their favorite papers from our first year of publishing. This collection also includes all Review and Comment articles published during our first year, including the first in a series of Q&A's that we have commissioned exploring the important relationships between scientists that go into publishing new research.
Our selected papers celebrate the diversity of our content across the chemical sciences, ranging from articles providing fundamental new chemical insight to applied research and everything in between. Finally, we link to all the 'Behind the Paper' posts published by our authors on the Nature Research Chemistry Community site where our authors tell the stories behind their Communications Chemistry articles.
About Communications Chemistry
Communications Chemistry is an open access journal from Nature Research publishing high-quality research, reviews and commentary in all areas of the chemical sciences. Research papers published by the journal represent significant advances bringing new insight to a specialized area of research. Read more about the journal here.
About the editors
Communications Chemistry is edited by both in-house professional editors and academic Editorial Board Members. Our editors work closely together to ensure the quality of our published papers and consistency in author experience.
Improving the synthesis of crystalline monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides requires insight into domain and boundary structures. Here, the authors produce monolayer rhenium diselenide by chemical vapour deposition onto gold foil, allowing in situ analysis of domain and defect structure.
The conversion of carbon dioxide into valuable commodity chemicals is a promising approach to exploit anthropogenic emissions. Here, the authors use carbon-supported iron combined with alkali promoters derived from biomass to convert carbon dioxide directly to heavy linear terminal olefins.
The self-assembly of thermally stable structures in water is a challenge in supramolecular chemistry. Here, cooperativity between weak intramolecular forces allows amphiphiles to associate into cube-shaped assemblies that are thermally stable in water up to 150 °C.
Displacement of water molecules from proteins can lead to higher affinity or selectivity of ligands, but measuring individual water binding energies is challenging. Here calculated binding free energies are used to estimate the stability of conserved water in 35 bromodomains and to predict the ease of displacement.
Molecular conductivity, the quantum flow of electrons through a molecule, is typically overpredicted by theoretical methods to date. Here, the authors report a current-constrained, electronic structure-based method improving on existing techniques for calculating conductance by up to two orders of magnitude.
Obtaining dynamic information on atmospheric aerosol particle size and morphology is typically challenging. Here, the authors introduce holographic imaging of unsupported aerosol particles in air that are spatially confined by optical traps, allowing contact free observation over multiple timescales.
Iron-based oxides are promising oxygen carriers for thermochemical syngas production, but can be prone to deactivation during the reaction. Here an iron-based catalyst is shown to transform reversibly between perovskite and core–shell structures during methane-to-syngas conversion, accounting for its high stability toward coke deposition.
Doubly aromatic systems composed of two independent, circularly delocalised orbitals have long been predicted but are poorly explored experimentally. Here double aromaticity arising from independent σ and π orbitals is experimentally demonstrated in the hexakis(phenylselenyl)benzene dication.
Transition metal nanoparticle-MOF systems have promising hydrogen storage properties but the nature of the interfacial interaction remains ambiguous. Here, the authors use computational and spectroscopic methods to investigate the electronic structure and charge transfer processes in a palladium nanocube-MOF system.
Kinetic control of self-assembly at interfaces offers a promising route to new two dimensional materials. Here high-resolution dynamic atomic force microscopy experiments combined with DFT calculations reveal the kinetic pathways by which 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid sequentially assembles on calcite.
The detailed molecular-level speciation of organic aerosol is a highly challenging task. Here, the authors show an extensive molecular-level intercomparison of functionalized organic aerosol from three diverse field sites revealing large compositional variability between samples at each field site.
Exciton/recombination events in semiconductor quantum dots are highly dependent on surface coordination environments and these processes are well studied. Here, conversely, the authors use sum-frequency generation spectroscopy to probe the effect of the quantum dot on the vibrational structure of the ligands.
Regioselective methods for the reversible formation and breakage of C-O-ether bonds under mild conditions are desired. Here, the authors present a biocatalytic shuttle concept using corrinoid-dependent methyl transferases for demethylating various phenyl methyl ethers and functionalizing substituted catechols.
The lanthanide cubane is an interesting motif for the design of magnetic molecules but typically exhibits weak magnetic exchange between ions. Here the authors report the synthesis of lanthanide cubanes incorporating air-stable radical ligands, and subsequent enhancement of intramolecular magnetic coupling.
Glucagon is a key therapeutic for hypoglycemia but its application is limited by low aqueous solubility. Here, the absolute configuration each residue of glucagon is systematically inverted, yielding several biologically active analogues with therapeutically relevant solubility arising from epimerisation at a single position.
The coupling between excited state intramolecular proton transfer and excimer formation is a phenomenon of fundamental importance but rarely observed. Here the authors observe this interaction in thiazole based organic crystals using a combination of steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic techniques.
Phase change random access memory relies on phase transformation, from a metastable rock salt structure to a stable hexagonal structure, details of which remain unclear. Here the authors use atomic resolution energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to probe the atomic-level rearrangements during the phase transition.
The oxidative cleavage of the C–C bonds in 1,2-diols is an important transformation but lacks a recyclable, mild aerobic catalytic system. Here the authors present atomically dispersed cobalt on N-doped carbon to deliver improved catalytic activity and recyclability, and probe the reaction pathway.
This month Communications Chemistry celebrates its first anniversary of publishing research, reviews and commentary in all areas of the chemical sciences. Here we look back at the past 12 months of the journal and think about the many things still to achieve.
This year Peer Review Week takes place between 10th–15th September. Here we acknowledge the contributions of the researchers who have reviewed for Communications Chemistry during our first 12 months and highlight some of our top reviewers.
Today we launch Communications Chemistry, an open access, multidisciplinary chemistry journal from Nature Research publishing articles, reviews and commentary across the chemical sciences.
The importance of collaboration and good working relationships is unquestionable in chemistry, and is vital for the effective publication of research articles. In this series of Q&A’s we talk to people involved in all aspects of the process and explore the relationships between them. Here we discuss the mentor-mentee relationship with Professor Gisbert Schneider and Dr Francesca Grisoni (both ETH Zurich).
The importance of collaboration and good working relationships is unquestionable in our field, and is vital for the effective publication of research articles. In this series of Q&A’s we talk to people involved in all aspects of the process and explore the relationships between them. Here we discuss interactions between authors and reviewers with Professor Jennifer Andexer (University of Freiburg) and Professor Wolfgang Kroutil (University of Graz).
Three-dimensional covalent organic frameworks are attractive functional materials, although there are fewer examples than their two-dimensional counterparts. Here, the authors review the synthetic approaches yielding these compounds, and highlight key challenges facing researchers in the field.