Chemistry articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Methionine plays an essential role in various biological and cell regulatory processes, making its chemoproteomic profiling necessary to understand its function. Here, the authors present Copper(I)-Nitrene Platform (CuNiP) for robust and selective labelling of methionine to generate highly stable sulfonyl sulfimide conjugates under physiological conditions.

    • Samrat Sahu
    • , Benjamin Emenike
    •  & Monika Raj

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Dielectric elastomer actuators require high driving electric fields to achieve high performances for soft robots due to their low dielectric constant and high stiffness. Here, the authors introduce polar fluorinated groups and nanodomains aggregated by long alkyl side chains into the dielectric elastomer design to overcome these issues and develop fast soft robots.

    • Wenwen Feng
    • , Lin Sun
    •  & Chao Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Despite the importance of dynamic phosphorylation in biology, enzyme-free, synthetic systems that use dynamic phosphorylation to regulate supramolecular processes are unexplored. Here, the authors report an enzyme-free chemical reaction cycle that can dynamically phosphorylate amino acids and peptides using simple phosphorylating agents and regulate supramolecular functions.

    • Simone M. Poprawa
    • , Michele Stasi
    •  & Job Boekhoven

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Direct radical C–H amination strategies have exhibited innovation, but challenges remain with C–H amination of electron-poor nitroarenes due to the essence of the electron-deficient nitrogen radical. Herein, the authors report a transition metal-free dehydrogenative C(sp2)-H/N-H cross-coupling between electron-poor nitroarenes and amines.

    • Zhen Zhang
    • , Shusheng Yue
    •  & Hu Cai

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The limited durability of metal-nitrogen-carbon electrocatalysts hinders their use in proton exchange membrane fuel cells for the oxygen reduction reaction. Here the authors transform active sites from FeN4 to stable monosymmetric FeN2 + N’2 via chemical vapor modification, resulting in enhanced improving the durability of the catalyst.

    • Jingsen Bai
    • , Tuo Zhao
    •  & Wei Xing

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Researchers mimic protein interface helices by stapling peptide side chains, or replacing hydrogen bonds with covalent ones, and synthetic helical mimics are heavily biased towards stapling. Here the authors describe bioinformatic discovery of hydrophobic triangles at helix N-termini, and rigid, bicyclic synthetic mimics of them.

    • Tianxiong Mi
    • , Duyen Nguyen
    •  & Kevin Burgess

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Stark spectroscopy of molecules in liquid solutions was once challenging due to orientation effects, solved by freezing but limiting ambient studies. Now, THz Stark spectroscopy with intense terahertz pulses enables dynamic analysis of molecules in both non-polar and polar solvents at any temperature, advancing conventional methods.

    • Bong Joo Kang
    • , Egmont J. Rohwer
    •  & Thomas Feurer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Currently, precious metal recovery from e-waste water is usually performed by liquid extraction or sorbent processes. Here, the authors show the untapped potential of dielectric insulators as catalysts for the 1-step selective recovery of gold in aqueous solutions by contact-electrocatalysis.

    • Yusen Su
    • , Andy Berbille
    •  & Zhong Lin Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The principle of Le Chatelier is a fundamental concept in textbooks, serving as a guiding principle for controlling chemical and catalytic systems. In this study, the authors present an oxygen electroreduction system based on a single zinc vacancy catalyst, which operates in a manner that extends “beyond” Le Chatelier’s principle.

    • Qi Huang
    • , Baokai Xia
    •  & Sheng Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The direct C−H-difluoromethylation of pyridines represents a highly efficient economic way to access azines. However, the direct meta-difluoromethylation of pyridines remains elusive. Here, the authors demonstrate switchable meta- as well as para-C−H difluoromethylation of pyridines through radical processes by using oxazino pyridine intermediates.

    • Pengwei Xu
    • , Zhe Wang
    •  & Armido Studer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Many natural products exist as families of structurally similar molecules, and therefore developing skeletal modifications of common intermediates offers flexible and powerful approaches for target synthesis. Here, the authors report a single-atom insertion into the framework of the benzenoid subfamily, providing access to the troponoid congeners.

    • Stefan Wiesler
    • , Goh Sennari
    •  & Richmond Sarpong

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Controlling multiple stereogenic centers in a single molecular scaffold represents a challenge for current switchable asymmetric catalysts. Here, the authors achieve asymmetric stereodivergency by means of a switchable supramolecular helical catalyst allowing all stereoisomers to be obtained with high and similar enantioselectivities.

    • Ran Chen
    • , Ahmad Hammoud
    •  & Matthieu Raynal

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Stretchable phosphorescent materials have potential in applications such as wearable electronics, but achieving a suitable balance of emission and stretchability is challenging. Here, the authors report the use of microphase separation to show stretchability with emission lifetimes maintained.

    • Nan Gan
    • , Xin Zou
    •  & Wei Huang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The direct alkenylation with simple alkenes stands out as the most ideal yet challenging strategy for obtaining high-valued desaturated alkanes. Herein, the authors present a direct asymmetric dehydrogenative α-C(sp3)-H alkenylation of carbonyls based on synergistic photoredox-cobalt-chiral primary amine catalysis under visible light.

    • Zongbin Jia
    • , Liang Cheng
    •  & Sanzhong Luo

  • Comment
    | Open Access

    Aqueous zinc batteries are currently being explored as potential alternatives to non-aqueous lithium-ion batteries. In this comment, the authors highlight zinc’s global supply chain resilience and lower material costs yet caution about its higher mass requirement for comparable charge storage.

    • Alessandro Innocenti
    • , Dominic Bresser
    •  & Stefano Passerini

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Direct recycling of critical battery materials bring promise but a challenge for the mixed cathode chemistries. Here, the authors report a sustainable upcycling approach, transforming degraded LiFePO4 and Mn-rich cathodes into a high-voltage polyanionic material with an increased energy density and economic value.

    • Guanjun Ji
    • , Di Tang
    •  & Hui-Ming Cheng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The relationship between the structural configurations of M-N-C electrocatalysts and their performances in neutral environments has been insufficiently investigated. Here the authors demonstrate that an ultralow metal-loaded Co-N-C electrocatalyst, featuring the asymmetric Co-C/N/O configuration, exhibit exceptional efficiency in electrochemically producing hydrogen peroxide under neutral conditions.

    • Longxiang Liu
    • , Liqun Kang
    •  & Guanjie He

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In recent years a growing demand for drug design approaches that incorporate a higher number of sp3-hybridized carbons fuelled the development of innovative cross-coupling strategies to reliably introduce aliphatic fragments. Here, the authors present a powerful approach for the light-mediated B-alkyl Suzuki−Miyaura crosscoupling between alkyl boranes and aryl bromides.

    • Ting Wan
    • , Luca Capaldo
    •  & Timothy Noël

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Oxidative damage to intracellular membrane proteins is critical to cells. Here, the authors use a water-oxidizing photocatalyst, generating ∙OH even under hypoxia, to show that membrane-specific protein oxidation triggers pyroptosis via non-canonical inflammasomes.

    • Chaiheon Lee
    • , Mingyu Park
    •  & Tae-Hyuk Kwon

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The preparation of atom-thick lattices with Å-scale pores is desirable for achieving ion selectivity and high ion flux. Here authors present a cm-scale membrane made of atom-thick graphene film hosting zero-dimensional pores spanning only a few Å, repaired using an in situ electrochemical strategy, yielding high Li+/Mg2+ separation performance.

    • Zongyao Zhou
    • , Kangning Zhao
    •  & Kumar Varoon Agrawal

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Knowledge about the full reaction signature, such as the complete profile of products and side-products is important in accelerating discovery chemistry. Here, the authors report a methodology using high-throughput experimentation and multivariate data analysis to examine Palladium- catalyzed cross-coulpling reactions.

    • George E. Clarke
    • , James D. Firth
    •  & Ian J. S. Fairlamb

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Proton conduction is one of the interesting applications of hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks. Here, the authors report hydrogen-bonded organic framework that can be transformed into glassy state, effectively mitigating grain boundary effects, and significantly enhancing proton conduction performance.

    • Feng-Fan Yang
    • , Xiao-Lu Wang
    •  & Linfeng Liang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Supramolecular polymer networks have unique and useful properties due to the reversible nature of their cross-links. Here, the authors show that when two distinct supramolecular interaction classes exist within a single cross-link, new functions can result.

    • David J. Lundberg
    • , Christopher M. Brown
    •  & Jeremiah A. Johnson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Physicochemical heterogeneity poses a significant constraint in photocatalyst advancement. Here the authors introduce a multimodal optical microscopy platform to assess activity and defects concurrently in photoelectrocatalysts, revealing that disorder can unexpectedly enhance local photoelectrocatalytic performance in certain instances.

    • Camilo A. Mesa
    • , Michael Sachs
    •  & Raj Pandya

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Strategies to produce supramolecular glass and the study of its intrinsic structure and mechanical properties remains largely unexplored. Here, the authors prepare a supramolecular glass via the host–guest recognition between methyl-β-cyclodextrin and para-hydroxybenzoic acid with recyclability, compatibility, and thermal processability.

    • Changyong Cai
    • , Shuanggen Wu
    •  & Shengyi Dong

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Crystal facets are known to be important in traditional heterogeneous catalysis, yet this effect has not been studied in plasmon-assisted catalysis. Here, the authors investigate the impact facets have on CO2 reduction using plasmonic Au NPs.

    • Yicui Kang
    • , Simão M. João
    •  & Emiliano Cortés

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Developing stable water oxidation catalysts is of great importance for proton-exchange membrane water electrolyzers. Here the authors report a bicontinuous nanoreactor composed of multiscale defected RuO2 nanocrystals for robust acidic water oxidation reactivity.

    • Ding Chen
    • , Ruohan Yu
    •  & Shichun Mu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Solid polymer electrolytes containing N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) exhibit improved Li+ conductivity but poor cycle life due to incompatibility between the Li metal anode and DMF. Here, the authors report a polymer electrolyte composited with Hofmann-DMF complex that achieves both high Li+ conductivity and long cycle life.

    • Yanfei Zhu
    • , Zhoujie Lao
    •  & Guangmin Zhou

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here, the authors show a facile and sustainable 3D printing by utilizing a reversible salting-out effect on poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) solutions. Aqueous salt solutions lower the phase transition temperature of PNIPAM solutions below 10 °C and instantly solidify the PNIPAM solutions upon contact.

    • Donghwan Ji
    • , Joseph Liu
    •  & Jinhye Bae

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Enzymes involve structural flexibility in their function, but understanding enzyme catalysis as connected to protein motions is a major challenge. Here, the authors obtain energetic description of C-H activation in nicotinamide coenzyme-dependent UDP-glucuronic acid C4 epimerase based on temperature kinetic studies and isotope effect measurements.

    • Christian Rapp
    • , Annika Borg
    •  & Bernd Nidetzky

  • Article
    | Open Access

    So far, only homoleptic N2 complexes of silicon have been reported under matrix-isolation conditions including but the activation of more inert nitrogen by silylenes remains challenging. Here the authors report on the activation of dinitrogen by silylenes under cryogenic conditions.

    • Liyan Cai
    • , Bing Xu
    •  & Xuefeng Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Developing water compatible synthetic methods for Sulfur(VI) fluoride exchange (SuFEx) chemistry is of paramount importance. Here the authors demonstrate a catalytic dearomative [2+2] photocycloaddition that significantly speeds up the synthesis of heterocyclic alkyl SuFEx hubs, leveraging the unique reactivity at the water-oil interface.

    • Soo Bok Kim
    • , Dong Hyeon Kim
    •  & Han Yong Bae

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