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{"title":"Water-triggered photocatalytic oxidative coupling of methane toward C2H6 over Au/GaN nanoarchitecture","authors":"Yixin Li, Lin Yao, Jinglin Li, Tianqi Yu, Andreas Kafizas, Ying Li, Liang Qiu, Lam Jun Kay, Tao Wang, Md Afjalur Rahman, Nirmal Anand, Sharif Md. Sadaf, Baowen Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103033","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103033","url":null,"abstract":"<div><ul><li><span>•</span><span><div>Water replaces oxygen and hydrogen peroxide as highly selective oxidant for OCM</div></span></li><li><span>•</span><span><div>The interface of Au/GaN facilitates H<sub>2</sub>O activation to generate reactive ⋅OH</div></span></li><li><span>•</span><span><div>Water-derived ⋅OH radicals accelerate C–H bond cleavage of CH<sub>4</sub> via H-exchange</div></span></li><li><span>•</span><span><div>H<sub>2</sub>O lowers the energy barrier of C–C coupling and prevents over-oxidation</div></span></li></ul></div><div>As society transitions away from a reliance on depleting petroleum reserves, abundant natural gas (methane) has emerged as a crucial bridge for producing value-added chemicals. However, upgrading methane to higher-order hydrocarbons like ethane conventionally requires extreme industrial temperatures and pressures, making the process both costly and highly energy intensive. While solar-driven photocatalysis offers a promising, environmentally friendly alternative, breaking the famously inert carbon–hydrogen bonds of methane typically leads to either sluggish reaction rates or undesirable over-oxidation into carbon dioxide when traditional oxidants like oxygen are used. This work introduces a paradigm-shifting strategy: utilizing earth-abundant, inexpensive water as a “green” oxidant to trigger the light-driven coupling of methane into ethane. By decorating gallium nitride nanowires with gold nanoparticles, solar energy is efficiently harvested to oxidize water into highly reactive hydroxyl radicals. Rather than over-oxidizing the methane, these transient species gently abstract hydrogen atoms via an elegant exchange mechanism, drastically lowering the energy barrier for ethane formation while simultaneously preventing carbon buildup that would otherwise deactivate the catalyst. By successfully demonstrating this concept even under natural outdoor sunlight, this research establishes a highly sustainable, economically viable, and carbon-neutral blueprint for next-generation chemical manufacturing, moving us one step closer to a sustainable energy future.</div><div><div>Solar-driven oxidative coupling of methane (CH<sub>4</sub>) offers a sustainable route for synthesizing value-added chemicals beyond petroleum. To address current thermodynamic and selectivity challenges, a photocatalytic system employing nano-gold-decorated GaN nanowires is developed for the efficient conversion of CH<sub>4</sub> into ethane (C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>6</sub>), using water as a green oxidant. The optimized catalyst delivers a remarkable C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>6</sub> production rate of 112.6 mmol⋅g<sub>cat</sub><sup>−1</sup>⋅h<sup>−1</sup> with 94.9% selectivity and a turnover number of 40,824 after 256 h operation. Mechanistic investigations reveal that photogenerated holes trapped at Au sites oxidize H<sub>2</sub>O into highly active ·OH radicals. These radicals significantly lower the energy barrier for C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>6</sub> forma","PeriodicalId":268,"journal":{"name":"Chem","volume":"12 10","pages":"Article 103033"},"PeriodicalIF":19.1,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147709250","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":"Chem at 10: Lingling Chu","authors":"Lingling Chu","doi":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103284","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103284","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In an interview with <em>Chem</em>, Lingling Chu, a professor at Donghua University, reflects on her journey into organic chemistry, the challenges and inspirations that have shaped her career, her fascination with excited-state transition-metal catalysis, and her hopes of developing more sustainable chemical transformations through creative, light-driven approaches.</div></div><div>In an interview with <em>Chem</em>, Lingling Chu, a professor at Donghua University, reflects on her journey into organic chemistry, the challenges and inspirations that have shaped her career, her fascination with excited-state transition-metal catalysis, and her hopes of developing more sustainable chemical transformations through creative, light-driven approaches.</div>","PeriodicalId":268,"journal":{"name":"Chem","volume":"12 10","pages":"Article 103284"},"PeriodicalIF":19.1,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149124088","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"B−H oxidation enables modular synthesis of vicinally trifunctionalized boron-rich clusters","authors":"Mengjie Zhu,&nbsp;Jiale Yu,&nbsp;Ruinian Jiang,&nbsp;Ruoxuan Wang,&nbsp;Beibei Dong,&nbsp;Yiru Ding,&nbsp;Na Chen,&nbsp;Yanru Chen,&nbsp;Chao Zou,&nbsp;Hexin Xie,&nbsp;Xin Mu","doi":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103008","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;•&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;div&gt;Manganese-promoted B-H hydroxylation of difunctionalized icosahedral carboranes&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;•&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;div&gt;Pd-catalyzed hydroxyl group facilitated trifunctionalization of carboranes&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;•&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;div&gt;A one-pot synthesis that incorporates diverse arylamines and indoles into carboranes&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;•&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;div&gt;Tunable water solubility of the trisubstituted carborane serves as an ALP enzyme probe&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Molecular diversity serves as a fundamental theme in drug discovery and various biological applications. Boron-rich clusters, particularly icosahedral carboranes, have garnered significant attention as three-dimensional aromatic pharmacophores. A primary challenge associated with carboranes in biological applications lies in achieving multifunctionalization across the cluster vertices. This is crucial because a three-dimensional pharmacophore typically requires multivalent interactions with the target biological site, necessitating the installation of more than two groups in a precise spatial arrangement. Among the possible carborane substitution modes, vicinal trifunctionalization on the boron vertices represents the most challenging isomer to access, primarily due to the significant spatial repulsion among the three substituents. Furthermore, the introduction of non-repeating functional groups poses an additional challenge. This article presents a strategy that employs the hydroxyl group as the coordinating group on the surface of the clusters to facilitate vicinal trifunctionalization with a variety of bioactive and luminescent NH heterocycles and anilines. Furthermore, the inclusion of the hydroxyl group provides a synthetic handle for incorporating bioactive motifs and enzyme substrates, rendering the boron cluster applicable to a range of biological endeavors. This work will inspire the development of new boron-rich cluster chemistry and the manipulation of other 3D molecular architectures for various biological applications.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Three-dimensional frameworks are particularly valuable in applications that require multivalent interactions, such as drug development, molecular recognition, and complex materials design. Boron-rich clusters, particularly icosahedral carboranes, are unique 3D aromatic structures known for their high thermal stability, lipophilicity, and resistance to metabolic processes. However, incorporating multiple functional groups on the boron vertices remains challenging. Here, we report a hydroxyl-group-assisted strategy for preparing previously challenging vicinally trifunctionalized carboranes, which incorporate diverse NH heterocycles, anilines, and heteroanilines through a one-pot reaction involving C–H activation and B–C/B–N cross-couplings. The strategic positioning of the hydroxyl group, achieved through a manganese-promoted B–H bond oxidation of dibromocarborane, is crucial for ","PeriodicalId":268,"journal":{"name":"Chem","volume":"12 10","pages":"Article 103008"},"PeriodicalIF":19.1,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149125127","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":"Secondary active ion transport against concentration gradients","authors":"Wei Zhou (周维),&nbsp;Meiyue Zhang (张美悦),&nbsp;Xiao Cai (蔡潇),&nbsp;Aimin Li (李爱民),&nbsp;Ke Luo (罗柯),&nbsp;Zhiqing Long (龙志清),&nbsp;Qiang Liu (刘强),&nbsp;Jonathan L. Sessler (谢思乐),&nbsp;Qing He (何清)","doi":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103069","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103069","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;•&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;div&gt;A per-amide superphane cage was synthesized efficiently and easily&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;•&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;div&gt;A superphane carrier enables nitrate transport against its concentration gradient&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;•&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;div&gt;Secondary active transport driven by salt-induced electrochemical gradients&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;•&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;div&gt;A unique process facilitated by selective anion recognition and salting-out effects&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Active ion transport is essential to life and emerging technologies in clean energy, separations, and water treatment. While synthetic systems have successfully mimicked primary active transport using external energy inputs (e.g., light, chemical fuels, applied voltage, etc.), secondary active transport, which exploits pre-existing electrochemical gradients without external energy, remains virtually unexplored. Here, we report a synthetic superphane-based cage capable of transporting NO&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;sup&gt;−&lt;/sup&gt; against its concentration gradient, powered solely by salt-induced membrane potentials. This system emulates biological symporters, with energetically uphill transport driven by selective anion recognition and salting-out effects. This work shows it is possible to achieve secondary active transport using a synthetic transporter. Our findings have implications for nutrient recovery, environmental remediation, and ion-specific separations in complex, high-salinity matrices, including, potentially, seawater and brines. More broadly, they provide a blueprint for designing biomimetic molecular machines that function without external energy inputs and that are applicable to real-world environments.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Ion transport against gradients plays an essential role in biology. Although primary active transport mimics are well developed, synthetic systems emulating secondary active transport remain largely unexplored. Here, we report a synthetic carrier that enables transport of nitrate ions (NO&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;sup&gt;−&lt;/sup&gt;) across a chloroform membrane against a NO&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;sup&gt;−&lt;/sup&gt; gradient, powered solely by a general transmembrane electrochemical gradient. The system features a superphane-based cage with twelve amide groups that functions as a nitrate-anion-sodium-cation co-carrier. The present membrane potential-driven process recapitulates key features of biological &lt;em&gt;secondary&lt;/em&gt; active transport in that it operates under pre-established electrochemical gradients. Our findings establish a new framework for achieving molecular ion transport and pave the way for the creation of ion-specific synthetic active transport systems. Ultimately, the potential-driven counter gradient approach described here may provide new means of isolating specific ion salts directly from complex mixtures such as those associated with early-stage critical material purification processes.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Ion transport against gradients plays an essent","PeriodicalId":268,"journal":{"name":"Chem","volume":"12 10","pages":"Article 103069"},"PeriodicalIF":19.1,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149125342","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":"Solvent-mediated electrochemical acetylene semihydrogenation for the continuous production of polymer-grade ethylene","authors":"Fanpeng Chen,&nbsp;Chuanqi Cheng,&nbsp;Bin Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103286","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103286","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Conventional acetylene hydrogenation routes are energy intensive or limited by gas-diffusion electrode instability. In this issue of <em>Chem</em>, Huang and coworkers report a solvent-mediated electrochemical approach using a copper foam electrode in which differences in acetylene and ethylene solubility are leveraged to enable selective ethylene production with sustained performance under mild conditions.</div></div><div>Conventional acetylene hydrogenation routes are energy intensive or limited by gas-diffusion electrode instability. In this issue of <em>Chem</em>, Huang and coworkers report a solvent-mediated electrochemical approach using a copper foam electrode in which differences in acetylene and ethylene solubility are leveraged to enable selective ethylene production with sustained performance under mild conditions.</div>","PeriodicalId":268,"journal":{"name":"Chem","volume":"12 10","pages":"Article 103286"},"PeriodicalIF":19.1,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149124084","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":"Chem at 10: Qiuling Song","authors":"Qiuling Song","doi":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103260","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103260","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Prof. Qiuling Song reflects on her academic journey, her breakthrough in organoboron chemistry, and the challenges of building her own research group. She discusses her personal connections between poetry and chemistry, advocates exploring niche areas and embracing serendipity, shares advice for early-career principal investigators, and recounts her experiences with <em>Chem</em>.</div></div><div>Prof. Qiuling Song reflects on her academic journey, her breakthrough in organoboron chemistry, and the challenges of building her own research group. She discusses her personal connections between poetry and chemistry, advocates exploring niche areas and embracing serendipity, shares advice for early-career principal investigators, and recounts her experiences with <em>Chem</em>.</div>","PeriodicalId":268,"journal":{"name":"Chem","volume":"12 10","pages":"Article 103260"},"PeriodicalIF":19.1,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149124089","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Regulating the topology and pore size of covalent metal-organic frameworks for boosting catalytic CO2 conversion","authors":"Xu Chen,&nbsp;Yu-Yang Li,&nbsp;Zhi-Hong Lin,&nbsp;Jing-Yi Song,&nbsp;Ri-Qin Xia,&nbsp;Chuang-Wei Zhou,&nbsp;Yu-Mei Wang,&nbsp;Yu Han,&nbsp;Hai-Long Jiang,&nbsp;Guo-Hong Ning,&nbsp;Dan Li","doi":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103006","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;•&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;div&gt;Controlled topology and pore size of the CMOF led to enhanced CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; capture and conversion&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;•&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;div&gt;The CMOF can catalyze multiple distinct CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; conversion reactions&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;•&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;div&gt;The CMOF maintains high CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; conversion activity under humid, complex flue gas&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Considerable attention has been directed to metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as a promising platform for carbon dioxide (CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;) capture and conversion. Conventionally, the incorporation of multiple active metal sites, defect engineering, induction of functional groups (e.g., halogens, bases, and sulfones), and pre-installation of guests (e.g., metal-based nanoparticles and ionic liquid) have been employed to enhance the efficiency of MOF-based catalysts for CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; conversion. Here, we pioneered a novel approach to enhance MOFs for CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; capture and conversion by tuning their topology and pore size. Employing this approach, we synthesized a family of two-dimensional (2D) heteropore covalent MOFs (CMOFs) that proved to be highly efficient catalysts for various CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; conversion reactions, including the carboxylative cyclization of propargylamine or epoxides, the conversion of CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; into quinazoline-2,4(1&lt;em&gt;H&lt;/em&gt;,3&lt;em&gt;H&lt;/em&gt;)-diones, and the &lt;em&gt;N&lt;/em&gt;-formylation of amines. This approach establishes a precedent for the molecular-level design of 2D heteropore MOFs, thereby unlocking their potential as a multifunctional platform for efficient CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; conversion catalysis.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;The development of porous materials that serve as low-cost and efficient heterogeneous catalysts for CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; conversion under dilute conditions is highly desirable yet challenging. Herein, we demonstrated the improvement of the catalytic performance of covalent metal-organic frameworks (CMOFs) for carbon dioxide (CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;) conversion by strategically regulating their topology and pore size—an underexplored approach for MOF catalysts. By modifying pyrazolate ligands, the topology was mediated from a homopore &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;hcb&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; structure to a heteroporous &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;cpt&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; network. Furthermore, varying the length of diamine ligands enabled precise pore-size tuning. Interestingly, heteropore CMOFs exhibited superior CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; uptake and catalytic activity compared with homopore analogs. Notably, reducing the pore size further strengthened CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; affinity and boosted catalytic performance in various CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; conversion reactions. The optimized catalysts also maintained high activity under humid conditions with simulated flue gas. Mechanistic studies involving nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) monitoring, isotope labeling, density functional theory (DFT), and grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) calculations provide insights into the catalytic process.","PeriodicalId":268,"journal":{"name":"Chem","volume":"12 10","pages":"Article 103006"},"PeriodicalIF":19.1,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147586175","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":"The dynamic interphase in lithium-mediated ammonia synthesis","authors":"Xintong Yuan,&nbsp;Yuzhang Li","doi":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103285","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103285","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) plays a critical yet poorly understood role in lithium-mediated ammonia synthesis. In this issue of <em>Nature Catalysis</em>, Shao-Horn and co-workers use <em>operando</em> Raman spectroscopy to reveal how ethanol and electrolyte composition dynamically reconstruct the SEI, regulating reactant transport and enabling efficient ammonia synthesis.</div></div><div>The solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) plays a critical yet poorly understood role in lithium-mediated ammonia synthesis. In this issue of <em>Nature Catalysis</em>, Shao-Horn and co-workers use <em>operando</em> Raman spectroscopy to reveal how ethanol and electrolyte composition dynamically reconstruct the SEI, regulating reactant transport and enabling efficient ammonia synthesis.</div>","PeriodicalId":268,"journal":{"name":"Chem","volume":"12 10","pages":"Article 103285"},"PeriodicalIF":19.1,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149124081","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":"Coming full circle: Biofuels, plastic waste, and the circular economy","authors":"Julie E. Rorrer","doi":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103246","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103246","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><span><figure><span><img><ol><li><span><span>Download: <span>Download high-res image (259KB)</span></span></span></li><li><span><span>Download: <span>Download full-size image</span></span></span></li></ol></span></figure></span>Julie Rorrer is an assistant professor of chemical engineering at the University of Washington (UW). Her research group focuses on the heterogeneous catalytic conversion of complex waste, such as plastics and biomass, into value-added chemicals and fuels by uncovering mechanistic insights and developing automated analytical and reactor platforms. She earned her PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and her BS from Arizona State University. Prior to joining UW, she was a Beckman Postdoctoral Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her recent awards include the ARPA-E IGNIITE Award and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers 35 Under 35 Award.</div></div><div><span><figure><span><img><ol><li><span><span>Download: <span>Download high-res image (259KB)</span></span></span></li><li><span><span>Download: <span>Download full-size image</span></span></span></li></ol></span></figure></span>Julie Rorrer is an assistant professor of chemical engineering at the University of Washington (UW). Her research group focuses on the heterogeneous catalytic conversion of complex waste, such as plastics and biomass, into value-added chemicals and fuels by uncovering mechanistic insights and developing automated analytical and reactor platforms. She earned her PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and her BS from Arizona State University. Prior to joining UW, she was a Beckman Postdoctoral Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her recent awards include the ARPA-E IGNIITE Award and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers 35 Under 35 Award.</div>","PeriodicalId":268,"journal":{"name":"Chem","volume":"12 10","pages":"Article 103246"},"PeriodicalIF":19.1,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149124085","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":"Kinetic gating of linear hydrocarbons by a dynamic synthetic pore","authors":"Hongye Chen,&nbsp;Tsukasa Abe,&nbsp;Yifan Guo,&nbsp;Moe Murata,&nbsp;Osamu Kobayashi,&nbsp;Tomomi Shimazaki,&nbsp;Masanori Tachikawa,&nbsp;Shuichi Hiraoka","doi":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103065","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103065","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;•&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;div&gt;Longer linear hydrocarbons are taken up faster despite their size&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;•&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;div&gt;Size-rate correlation is inverted in a dynamic synthetic pore&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;•&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;div&gt;Pre-complex stabilization accelerates guest uptake kinetics&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;•&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;div&gt;Dynamic pore gating governs kinetic selectivity beyond thermodynamics&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;One of the central challenges in molecular science is understanding how molecular transport differs from macroscopic intuition. In everyday experience, larger objects move more slowly through confined spaces. However, at the molecular scale, such intuition can break down. Here, we show that longer linear hydrocarbons pass through a dynamic synthetic pore faster than shorter ones, revealing an unexpected inversion of size-rate relationships. This counterintuitive behavior arises from the interplay of pre-complex stabilization and dynamic pore gating. Stronger interactions between the guest and the pore increase the lifetime of encounter complexes, which in turn accelerates passage rather than hindering it. These results demonstrate that molecular transport can be governed by kinetic factors that are fundamentally distinct from thermodynamic stability. More broadly, this work highlights how dynamic host structures can control molecular motion in confined environments. By exploiting kinetic rather than thermodynamic principles, these findings open new strategies for designing selective transport, rapid delivery, and functional molecular systems where dynamics, rather than size or binding strength, determine function.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Passing through a pore is an elementary binding and transport process that is important for the kinetic selection of target molecules. Although the binding of molecules has been extensively discussed in thermodynamics, the effect of the pore and its dynamism on the binding kinetics is not fully understood. Three types of synthetic pores with different dynamic properties were designed and used to reveal the controlling factors of kinetic gating. The pore sizes were almost the same in the three types, but one type of pore exhibited a high gating preference toward linear alkanes. Contrary to the intuition in the macroscopic world, longer alkanes passed through the pores faster than shorter alkanes, and the introduction of an unsaturated carbon-carbon bond in linear hydrocarbons greatly enhanced the passage speed.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Passing through a pore is an elementary binding and transport process that is important for the kinetic selection of target molecules. Although the binding of molecules has been extensively discussed in thermodynamics, the effect of the pore and its dynamism on the binding kinetics is not fully understood. Three types of synthetic pores with different dynamic properties were designed and used to reveal the controlling factors of kinetic gatin","PeriodicalId":268,"journal":{"name":"Chem","volume":"12 10","pages":"Article 103065"},"PeriodicalIF":19.1,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149125341","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}