Chemistry Organic chemistry

Molecules that are induced by light to rotate bulky groups around central bonds could be developed into photo-activated bioactive systems, molecular switches, and more.

Unleashing stem cells from dog urine, Electronic Tongue, Tapping into human motion energy, How neurons network, and A radical use for plastic bags. Plus Communicating science two decades on. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice.

Transmitting an effect known as a domino reaction using redox chemistry has been achieved for the first time.

Researchers employ common plastics to kickstart radical chain reactions, creating a way to reuse plastic waste while improving process safety and efficiency.

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Nature Communications how they can control chirality inversion in α helical peptides.

Capturing carbon dioxide, Shells go nuclear, Worms surf electric fields, Brain repair & Creating matter from light. Plus from our blog: Monitoring research for further impact. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice.

Soft metal-organic polymer networks can adsorb selected molecules from gas mixtures by opening pores when the molecules bind.

Fragments of spherical ‘Buckyball’ molecules have stable electron-accepting ability with great practical potential.

Researchers at the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, use artificial intelligence to help interpret data generated by material science spectroscopy experiments, which can aid in the development of new drugs and organic conductors.

Researchers at Osaka University discovered a new class of photo-responsive crystal compounds, heteroaromatic 1,2-diketones. Certain light irradiation causes the crystals in these materials to melt, dramatically changing the materials’ properties. One member of this class, SO, shows luminescent changes while melting, which enabled the research team to visualize the crystal-melting process at the molecular level. These findings provide fundamental insights into the mechanisms behind crystal melting and will enable future designs of light-responsive materials.

The first-ever molecular catalyst specifically tailored for mechanochemical reaction conditions enables high-efficiency transformations at near room temperature.

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Angewandte Chemie International Edition how the formation and deformation speed of interlocked molecular structures called rotaxanes can be tuned — a discovery that may lead to an enhanced functionality of rotaxanes as building blocks for molecular machines.

Amide bonds are important functional groups in medicinal chemistry and account for roughly 16% of all reactions performed in drug-discovery research. Some amide bond reactions using pharmaceutically important nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds, such as indole, carbazole and pyrrole, rather than amines are not efficient using conventional production methods. In a recent study, a team of leading chemists developed a novel one-pot reaction to efficiently form amide bonds using low-reactivity, nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds and carboxylic acid without special equipment or heat.

Two catalysts working in tandem enable inexpensive formate salts to perform difficult dearomative reactions, giving products potentially useful for drug development.

Researchers used a chemical synthesis robot and computationally cost effective A.I. model to successfully predict and validate highly selective catalysts.

Researchers from Osaka University have used single carbon atom doping to form four chemical bonds in one step. Gamma-lactams (cyclic molecules that are common in antibiotics) were easily synthetically accessible from alpha, beta-unsaturated amides (an important molecule in cancer progression). The team chemically modified an anti-seizure medication in 96% yield, highlighting the work's utility to otherwise synthetically complex aspects of pharmaceutical development. The results of this work could become foundational to drug discovery and development.

Automated reaction path search method predicts accurate stereochemistry of pericyclic reactions using only target molecule structure.

A flipping action in a porous material facilitates the passage of normal water to separate it out from heavy water.

Making complex polymers with precisely controlled structures becomes much simpler thanks to a new ‘one-pot-and-one-step’ synthesis procedure.

Hokkaido University researchers find a new way of producing the industrially important propylene that is more energy efficient than existing approaches—and in the process turns carbon dioxide into another usable resource. Their pioneering catalyst design thus contributes to the carbon neutralization of the petrochemical industry.

Researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, find that organic vapors can induce dissolution of molecular salts (i.e., organic deliquescence), similar to water vapor-induced deliquescence

The molecule is unusual and has ‘great potential’ in catalysis, conduction and other applications.

Tetraphenylammonium, with all four hydrogens of ammonium (NH4+) replaced with benzene rings, has neither been discovered in nature nor chemically synthesized, calling into question whether it could exist. Here, we succeeded in synthesizing tetraphenylammonium for the first time, demonstrating its stable existence. The synthetic strategy used in this study, radical coupling, may be applicable to the synthesis of various related ammoniums with high structural novelty.

Scientists have synthesized the first belt-shaped molecular nanocarbon with a twisted Möbius band topology—a Möbius carbon nanobelt—that paves the way for the development of nanocarbon materials with complex topological structures.

Structural color printing creates new pathways for medical diagnostics and miniaturized sensors

A porous material, which opens to receive highly flammable acetylene and closes to release it, sidesteps the flaws of the existing storage method.

Researchers aim to streamline the time- and resource-intensive process of screening ligands during catalyst design by using virtual ligands.

Using electricity, a new method offers the possibility of recycling CO2 while also performing a notoriously difficult reaction, producing compounds potentially useful for drug development.

Researchers have developed an innovative catalyst for the synthesis of propylene, which has potential benefits for the chemical industry and carbon recycling.

A new method for creating a highly useful chemical subunit eliminates the need for precious metals, potentially leading to the sustainable production of pharmaceuticals and electronics.