{"title":"Polarity promotes power production","authors":"Jia Li \u0000 (, ), Peihua Yang \u0000 (, )","doi":"10.1038/s41570-026-00828-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41570-026-00828-5","url":null,"abstract":"Thermoelectrochemical hydrogels can generate voltages as the temperature rises, which is often due to multiple, coupled transport mechanisms. Recent work shows how electrochemically tuning the chain-polarity can direct charge transport in hydrogels, highlighting how precise control of such chains can enhance thermoelectric performance.","PeriodicalId":18849,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews. Chemistry","volume":"10 6","pages":"374-376"},"PeriodicalIF":51.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147776725","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chenglong Zhao, Xia Zhang, Zhou Jin, Zhenpeng Yao, Marnix Wagemaker, Hong Li, Baohua Li, Xuejie Huang, Qidi Wang
{"title":"Chemical heterogeneity for battery materials","authors":"Chenglong Zhao, Xia Zhang, Zhou Jin, Zhenpeng Yao, Marnix Wagemaker, Hong Li, Baohua Li, Xuejie Huang, Qidi Wang","doi":"10.1038/s41570-026-00821-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41570-026-00821-y","url":null,"abstract":"Next-generation rechargeable batteries require materials that offer enhanced electrochemical capabilities. Achieving these goals depends on understanding the fundamental principles governing these materials, which presents challenges associated to the complex interactions between composition, structural characteristics and electrochemical performance in battery materials. Despite intensive research, progress remains limited regarding effective strategies to mitigate the degradation of fragile alkali-metal-deficient frameworks arising from lattice stress and structural or chemo-mechanical instability upon cycling. In this Review, we explore the importance of chemical heterogeneity in rechargeable battery materials. We discuss how heterogeneity at atomic scale, nano-domains and up to phase-segregated levels within particles can enhance the electrochemical properties of battery materials beyond those of their homogeneous counterparts. Introducing chemical heterogeneity, principles and mechanisms can be unlocked to develop materials with improved structural stability, ion conductivity, redox activity, and phase transition characteristics, driving progress in battery technology. Finally, we outline the challenges and strategies for developing the future battery materials. Materials science has long been shaped by the interplay between homogeneous and heterogeneous designs. Homogeneous battery materials offer predictability but face inherent trade-offs. Therefore, emerging research has begun to explore chemical heterogeneity to overcome these challenges and enhance the electrochemical properties of batteries.","PeriodicalId":18849,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews. Chemistry","volume":"10 6","pages":"395-414"},"PeriodicalIF":51.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147776681","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bo Li, Nian Li, Huabin Zhang, Wen-Jing Xiao, Magnus Rueping
{"title":"Photochemical, electrochemical and electrophotochemical C−N bond-forming cross-coupling reactions","authors":"Bo Li, Nian Li, Huabin Zhang, Wen-Jing Xiao, Magnus Rueping","doi":"10.1038/s41570-026-00819-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41570-026-00819-6","url":null,"abstract":"Nitrogen-containing molecules are foundational to modern synthesis, spanning a wide range of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, life science and functional materials. Recent advances in photochemical and electrochemical methods have begun to redefine how C–N bonds can be constructed, expanding beyond traditional thermally driven metal-catalysed cross-couplings to encompass radical, hybrid, and fully metal-free pathways. These strategies can offer precise control over redox events, access to otherwise inaccessible intermediates and greater modularity in reaction design, thereby enabling transformations that are operationally simple, scalable and increasingly sustainable. In this Review, we systematically summarize photochemical, electrochemical and electrophotochemical C–N cross-coupling reactions, spanning mechanistic principles, catalytic paradigms, reaction classes and synthetic applications. We highlight convergent trends across these fields, analyse their distinct advantages and provide a forward-looking perspective on their potential and future development. This Review encompasses recent developments in photochemical, electrochemical and electrophotochemical C–N coupling reactions, focusing on metal-catalysed and metal-free methodologies under diverse activation conditions. It highlights sustainable and versatile synthetic strategies for C–N bond formation.","PeriodicalId":18849,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews. Chemistry","volume":"10 5","pages":"332-349"},"PeriodicalIF":51.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147726195","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"More than just a delivery system","authors":"Xueyan Zhen, Wei Tao, Na Kong","doi":"10.1038/s41570-026-00825-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41570-026-00825-8","url":null,"abstract":"Lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-encapsulated messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines proved highly effective during the COVID-19 pandemic, but how their chemical components collectively program immune responses has remained incompletely understood. Now, new work shows that both mRNA cargo and LNP materials provide layered chemical signals that instruct vaccine immunity.","PeriodicalId":18849,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews. Chemistry","volume":"10 5","pages":"313-314"},"PeriodicalIF":51.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147702412","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Making movies with ultra-fast pair distribution functions","authors":"Adam F. Sapnik","doi":"10.1038/s41570-026-00826-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41570-026-00826-7","url":null,"abstract":"Adam Sapnik details the importance of custom beamline detector setups at X-ray free electron lasers for ultra-fast scattering and pair distribution function measurements of various disordered and solution-phase systems.","PeriodicalId":18849,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews. Chemistry","volume":"10 5","pages":"311-311"},"PeriodicalIF":51.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147685258","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bharath Raj Madhanagopal, Ting Wang, Arun Richard Chandrasekaran
{"title":"Light-responsive DNA nanostructures","authors":"Bharath Raj Madhanagopal, Ting Wang, Arun Richard Chandrasekaran","doi":"10.1038/s41570-026-00817-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41570-026-00817-8","url":null,"abstract":"DNA is ideally suited for designing dynamic nanostructures that are reconfigured by external stimuli. One of these stimuli — light — has been used to control DNA nanostructures by the incorporation of light-responsive linkers into DNA strands. Light responsiveness adds to the already rich repertoire of functional properties of DNA nanostructures, including homogenous size, biocompatibility and programmability. Developments in the chemical synthesis of various light-responsive moieties and their incorporation into oligonucleotides have helped to create a library of DNA nanostructures with controlled reconfiguration, high thermal stability, enhanced nuclease resistance and triggered detachment of guest molecules. With these light-responsive features, DNA nanostructures are useful in applications such as diagnostics, drug delivery, data storage, plasmonics and site-directed reactions. In this Review, we discuss the emerging research trends in light-responsive DNA nanostructures, with specific focus on the types of light-responsive functional groups available for incorporation into DNA, strategies used to design and construct light-responsive DNA nanostructures, and their applications. Light-responsive chemical modifications enable precise, stimuli-controlled reconfiguration of DNA nanostructures, enhancing stability, programmability and functional versatility. These advances expand applications in diagnostics, delivery, data storage and nanoscale engineering. Emerging design strategies and new photochemical tools driving the field forward are highlighted.","PeriodicalId":18849,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews. Chemistry","volume":"10 6","pages":"380-394"},"PeriodicalIF":51.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147675015","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reprogramming CO2 reduction through interfacial water","authors":"Kedang Chen, Jindou Yang","doi":"10.1038/s41570-026-00820-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41570-026-00820-z","url":null,"abstract":"Controlling the electrochemical interface can reshape catalytic pathways. By reorganizing interfacial water with polymeric cations, CO2 reduction on Ag shifts from CO to formic acid, revealing the importance of solvent structure for tuning electrocatalytic selectivity.","PeriodicalId":18849,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews. Chemistry","volume":"10 5","pages":"312-312"},"PeriodicalIF":51.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147649101","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Customizing abrasives with chemical additives","authors":"Arsalan Ahmad","doi":"10.1038/s41570-026-00818-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41570-026-00818-7","url":null,"abstract":"Arsalan Ahmad discusses how a viscoelastic matrix composed of polymer chains, embedded with hard particles, can be used to create a custom abrasive to smoothen surfaces, cut grooves, or map pressure-points on surfaces of materials.","PeriodicalId":18849,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews. Chemistry","volume":"10 5","pages":"310-310"},"PeriodicalIF":51.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147593355","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gillian M. Cadden, Claudia Caltagirone, Jennifer Leigh, Emily R. Draper
{"title":"Growing pains","authors":"Gillian M. Cadden, Claudia Caltagirone, Jennifer Leigh, Emily R. Draper","doi":"10.1038/s41570-026-00814-x","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41570-026-00814-x","url":null,"abstract":"To write this article, the authors, members of the International Women in Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network surveyed colleagues who care for older children about the challenges of integrating that role with their academic careers.","PeriodicalId":18849,"journal":{"name":"Nature reviews. Chemistry","volume":"10 4","pages":"233-234"},"PeriodicalIF":51.7,"publicationDate":"2026-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147504308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}