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Selective, electrochemical transformation of carbon dioxide into industrially relevant C2+ products has remained a challenge. Now, a copper-based ‘nanoneedle’ electrocatalyst has been used to selectively convert carbon dioxide to ethylene at extremely high current density.
Given the abundance of amines in pharmaceutical substances, new strategies for the formation of C–N bonds are highly sought after. Now, using a dual photoredox–copper catalysis system, a method for amine synthesis has been developed.
In nature, a manganese catalyst is used for photosynthetic water oxidation, but efforts to develop artificial manganese-based counterparts have been hampered by the lability of manganese complexes. By using a bulky and hydrophilic ligand, a water-soluble Mn12 complex is found to be a stable and efficient water oxidation electrocatalyst.
Most electrochemical CO2 reduction research has been confined to fundamental studies that attempt to understand how to overcome low selectivity and energy efficiency for valuable oxygenated products. Now, a modular, scalable system generates multi-carbon oxygenates with a potential solar-to-alcohol efficiency of more than 8%.
Electrophilic substitution of aromatics on zeolites is generally assumed to occur through the Wheland-type intermediate, although direct experimental evidence is lacking. Now, this carbenium ion has been identified as a stable intermediate in the alkylation of benzene with ethanol on an industrial zeolite catalyst.
Chemical and biological catalysts provide distinct advantages and disadvantages to the synthetic chemist. This Review focuses on efforts to combine chemo- and biocatalysts, outlining the opportunities achievable by this approach and also efforts to overcome any incompatibilities between these different systems.
