Chemistry Photochemistry

Distinctive processes could provide hints on how to use next-generation materials

Approach could have applications for microchemistry, quantum dots

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

Plastic sheets coated with an Eu3+ film that converts UV light to red light were able to accelerate growth of vegetal plants and trees.

Soot as a surprising source of haze-building hydroxyl radicals

Researchers discovered, while exploring the photomechanical properties of diarylethene, that under irradiation with UV light the crystal of the compound peels off into micrometer sized crystals at a world’s fastest speed of 260 microseconds. As the material returns to its former molecular structure when exposed to visible light, the exfoliation method positions itself as a candidate for photoactuator manufacturing.

The generation of alkyl radicals was achieved by direct visible-light excitation of the organoborate complex, which was designed and synthesized from “boracene,” which has a boron atom in the tetracene-like skeleton. The alkyl radicals thus obtained could be used as a carbon source for chemical reactions, enabling the synthesis of complicated/bulky organic compounds. The present study offers a new protocol for organic synthesis, which is expected to accelerate e.g. drug discovery.

Molecular changes could improve the efficiency of next-generation photovoltaics.