Reviews & Analysis

Heterogeneous single-cluster catalysts comprising atomically precise metal clusters stabilized on supports offer exciting prospects for delivering novel reactivity patterns in chemical transformations. This Review examines the progress in controlling cluster environments and understanding the performance of single-cluster catalysts.

This Review compares the macrocycle-based host–guest chemistry in solution and in the solid state and illustrates related physical chemistry laws. Recent progress about applications of solid-state host–guest chemistry in the fields of adsorption, separation, optical materials and stimuli-responsive systems is also discussed.

This Review focuses on the inherent advantages of natural resources for room-temperature phosphorescent (RTP) materials, mechanisms and strategies for activating and enhancing the RTP properties of natural resources, as well as the potential applications of these RTP materials.

Strategies that utilize the oxidation of unactivated C–H bonds are becoming increasingly popular in natural product total synthesis. This Review classifies and highlights the different strategic use-cases of oxidation reactions as they were applied in recent total syntheses.

The supramolecular self-assembly of lipopeptides is highly dependent on the nature of the hydrophobic tail, the sequence of amino acids and external stimuli, defining their applications in the areas of nanotechnology, medicinal chemistry, biotechnology, biomaterials or catalysis.

Pyramidanes are curious molecules. The tetrahedranes and the [4]–[6]pyramidanes exhibit molecular structures derived from trigonal to hexagonal pyramids. Examples of these pyramidanes are presented and their structural, spectroscopic and chemical features are described.

Autocatalytic lipids and their assemblies may have had a special and underappreciated role in the origin of life. This Review discusses how simple lipids can collectively generate fascinating systems-level phenomena and enable functions beyond reproduction, such as selection and soft materials applications.

Seventy years ago, Stanley L. Miller described the synthesis of amino acids from a simple mixture of gases, spurring investigations into the chemical origins of life. Here we discuss the rise, fall and renaissance of endogenous amino acid production.

Quantum Monte Carlo methods using neutral-network ansatzes can provide virtually exact solutions to the electronic Schrödinger equations for small systems and are comparable to conventional quantum chemistry methods when investigating systems with dozens of electrons.

Polymer backbones and their editing are at the root of polymer function and sustainability. This Review defines the concept of polymer backbone editing, categorizes a century’s worth of research in this area and outlines future directions for this field.

Hydrogen atom transfer has an expanding role in synthesis, enabling direct C–H functionalization. This Review highlights the state-of-the-art design of phthalimide-N-oxyl catalysts, aiming to stimulate the development of the next generation of efficient and selective catalysts.

Defect passivation is a key concept for optimizing the performance of perovskite solar cells. This Review summarizes our understanding of defects in perovskites and highlights the most promising strategies and materials used for their passivation.

Late-stage modification of peptides with photoactivatable groups often weakens their binding interaction with target proteins. Now, this challenge has been addressed using large libraries of cyclic peptides with photocrosslinkers incorporated prior to screening.

The development of radical sulfurating reagents, which react with carbon-centred radicals to install a variety of organosulfur motifs in a highly selective manner, circumvents the need to preserve these often-vulnerable moieties through lengthy syntheses.

Anion effects can be well tuned to effectively improve their electrochemical performances in many aspects. This Review highlights the considerable effects of anions on surface and interface chemistry, mass transfer kinetics and solvation sheath structure across various energy storage devices.

Cyclopentadienyl ligands are cornerstones of organometallic chemistry and can have an active role in stoichiometric and catalytic reactions by facilitating the transfer of a proton, hydride or hydrogen atom.

Enzyme conformational plasticity plays an important part in expanding the functional diversity of a limited repertoire of sequences. This Review discusses the role of flexible loops in enzyme evolution, focusing on both examples from natural evolution and engineering success stories.

The structure and properties of cyclopropane have intrigued chemists for decades, with an increasing demand for methods to functionalize these small carbocycles. This Review provides a summary of transition-metal-catalysed C–C bond formation at cyclopropanes, including cross-coupling with cyclopropyl nucleophiles or electrophiles, C–H functionalization and single-electron cross-coupling strategies.

The synthesis of MXenes is generally constrained by poorly understood and largely uncontrollable chemical reactions. Now, with the use of chemical scissors and guest intercalants, new MXenes have been created with finely tuned microstructures, compositions and surface ligands.

This Review highlights recent advances in the synthesis and application of mirror-image proteins. Emphasis is placed on strategies for accessing these biomolecules, their use in protein crystallography, drug discovery and efforts towards the generation of mirror-image life.