Reviews & Analysis

Given the fact that sodium is the most abundant alkali metal on Earth, the direct and indirect use of organosodium compounds in palladium-catalysed carbon–carbon bond forming reactions is an attractive alternative for sustainable organic synthesis.

Good durability and activity of single Ru atom catalysts is critical for their large-scale utilization in electrochemical water splitting. Now, both of these properties can be better controlled through compressive strain engineering.

High-yield production of a functionally active mimic of particulate methane monooxygenase in Escherichia coli has been presented. Investigation of its catalytic mode clarifies the role of duroquinol in biomimetic methanol production.

The diversity of engineered amine dehydrogenases for reductive amination remains limited. Now, native amino dehydrogenases offering a different sequence space and catalytic features are discovered — enhancing and broadening the biocatalysis toolbox.

CO₂ hydrogenation is frequently acclaimed as a strategy for greenhouse gases mitigation, although the carbon footprint of the corresponding electrocatalytic or thermocatalytic process is often neglected. This Perspective analyses the amount of CO₂ generated during methanol production for different catalytic processes and hybrid thereof.

The electrochemical reduction of nitrogen is being intensely investigated as the basis for future ammonia production. This Perspective critiques current steps and missteps towards this goal in terms of experimental methodology and catalyst selection, proposing a protocol for rigorous experimentation.

The asymmetric synthesis of chiral γ-lactams is difficult and laborious; typically requiring pre-functionalization of starting materials. Now, a highly efficient alternative approach employing direct C−H amidation via chiral hydrogen-bond-donor catalysts has been developed.

The selective electrochemical conversion of ketones to value-added products still represents a challenge, due to a lack of fundamental understanding. Now, a principle has been revealed that allows the steering of the electroreduction of aliphatic ketones on platinum by carefully controlling the coordination number of the platinum atoms.

The synthesis of highly branched low molecular weight products — potential synthetic lubricants — directly from ethylene is challenging when highly efficient early transition metal catalysts are employed. Now, an alkane soluble co-catalyst permits the synthesis of such polyethylenes using a zirconium catalyst in a saturated hydrocarbon solvent, where competitive solvent coordination at the active site of the catalyst is relatively unimportant.

Photocatalytic water splitting with particulate semiconductors represents a promising strategy for the generation of hydrogen as a solar fuel. This review covers recent advances in the development of reaction systems and photocatalysts towards the scale-up of this technology, emphasizing at the same time the challenges to overcome.

The hydrogenation of CO₂ to form methane has been known for over a century. However, given increased interest in small-molecule activation for energy storage, and improved catalysts and understanding of the process, it is worthwhile to look again at the reaction. This Perspective discusses recent work on the fundamentals of the Sabatier reaction and also the potential for large-scale applications.

The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to fuels and feedstocks has received increased attention over the past few years. In this Review, Roldan Cuenya and co-workers discuss strategies to achieve high selectivity towards multicarbon products via rational catalyst and electrolyte design.

Desalination processes generally leave brine as a by-product, which is then discharged back into the environment. This Perspective looks at recent procedures for using this brine instead as resource for the production of hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide through direct electrosynthesis.

Optimization of catalytic stereoselectivity for new substrates often requires a time consuming experimental process, and high-accuracy molecular modelling remains intractable for comprehensive virtual screening. Now, highly enantioselective rhodium hydrogenation catalysts have been identified using a rapid computational transition-state analysis protocol and then experimentally verified.

Amide bond formation is a hugely important reaction in organic synthesis. This Perspective examines the factors that influence the choice of reaction conditions for this process, comparing widely used stoichiometric reagents with catalysts. The authors draw on both academic and industrial data and focus on the efficiency, scope and sustainability of the various approaches.

Production of industrial chemicals from renewable biomass feedstock plays an important role in addressing limited fossil fuel resources, climate change and environmental problems. This Review provides a comprehensive overview of biological and chemical routes for the synthesis of industrial chemicals derived from key precursor metabolites of central carbon metabolic pathways, and visualizes the results in a global bio-based chemicals map.

Nanoscale texture of electrocatalysts, enabled by the tools of nanoscience, is emerging as an important lever for the control of electrochemical reaction pathways.

A crucial malonic acid moiety in the antibiotic malonomycin has been shown to be installed by a bacterial vitamin K-dependent (VKD) carboxylase orthologue.

The biosynthesis of the pharmacophoric tetrahydropyran of the clinically important antibiotic mupirocin remained enigmatic for a long time. Now, research shows that this ring is formed by a unique epoxidation–epoxide-opening cascade starting from a non-activated alkane.

Single-atom catalysts recently attracted considerable research interest for heterogeneous electrocatalysis, including the oxygen reduction reaction. Now, an intriguing two-step approach towards a less explored atomic nitrogen-coordinated manganese with a high loading density has been developed.