ChemPub Date : 2026-09-10DOI: 10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103210
Zhe Dong
{"title":"New reactivity enables stereochemical inheritance","authors":"Zhe Dong","doi":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103210","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103210","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><span><figure><span><img><ol><li><span><span>Download: <span>Download high-res image (215KB)</span></span></span></li><li><span><span>Download: <span>Download full-size image</span></span></span></li></ol></span></figure></span>Zhe Dong earned his BS degree from Peking University in 2012 under the supervision of Prof. Zhi-Xiang Yu. He then joined Prof. Guangbin Dong’s laboratory and moved with the group from the University of Texas at Austin to the University of Chicago, where he earned his PhD in 2018. That same year, he pursued postdoctoral research at Princeton University under the supervision of Prof. David W.C. MacMillan, now a Nobel laureate. In 2021, Dong joined the Southern University of Science and Technology as an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry, where he investigates stereospecific organic transformations and the development of new synthetic reactivity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":268,"journal":{"name":"Chem","volume":"12 9","pages":"Article 103210"},"PeriodicalIF":19.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148915195","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}
ChemPub Date : 2026-09-10DOI: 10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103160
Jie Wu
{"title":"Chem at 10: Jie Wu","authors":"Jie Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103160","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103160","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In his interview with <em>Chem</em>, Prof. Jie Wu reflects on a career shaped by curiosity, resilience, and molecular creativity. From his early inspiration in natural product synthesis to his advances in flow chemistry, automation, and sustainable synthesis, he emphasizes the importance of staying true to scientific curiosity while envisioning how artificial intelligence (AI)-guided tools for multistep automated synthesis could make the synthesis of complex molecules safer, faster, and more accessible.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":268,"journal":{"name":"Chem","volume":"12 9","pages":"Article 103160"},"PeriodicalIF":19.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148915199","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}
ChemPub Date : 2026-09-10DOI: 10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103252
Tanja Junkers
{"title":"Chem at 10: Tanja Junkers","authors":"Tanja Junkers","doi":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103252","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103252","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this Q&A, Tanja Junkers discusses how her childhood fascination with polymer chemistry developed into a career driven by curiosity, collaboration, and openness. She emphasizes the importance of teamwork and enjoyment in good science and remarks on the exciting changes that AI, automation, and robotics will bring to chemical research and the way it is conducted in the future.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":268,"journal":{"name":"Chem","volume":"12 9","pages":"Article 103252"},"PeriodicalIF":19.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148915200","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}
ChemPub Date : 2026-09-10Epub Date: 2026-06-02DOI: 10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103074
Clara Chinchilla-Garzón, Eva Rivera-Chao, Miguel Gomez-Mendoza, Bruno J.C. Vieira, Neyvis Almora-Barrios, Pol Gimeno-Fonquernie, Javier Castells-Gil, Rebecca Vismara, Jan Navrátil, Piotr Błoński, Víctor A. de la Peña O’Shea, João C. Waerenborgh, Carlos Martí-Gastaldo, Natalia M. Padial
{"title":"Cluster-enabled control of single-electron photoredox catalysis in reticular frameworks","authors":"Clara Chinchilla-Garzón, Eva Rivera-Chao, Miguel Gomez-Mendoza, Bruno J.C. Vieira, Neyvis Almora-Barrios, Pol Gimeno-Fonquernie, Javier Castells-Gil, Rebecca Vismara, Jan Navrátil, Piotr Błoński, Víctor A. de la Peña O’Shea, João C. Waerenborgh, Carlos Martí-Gastaldo, Natalia M. Padial","doi":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103074","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103074","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Photoredox catalysis has emerged as a powerful strategy for promoting redox reactions under mild conditions, but its translation from homogeneous to heterogeneous catalysts in porous solids remains limited. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) offer unique opportunities to bridge this gap by combining tailorable photoactive architectures with high stability, large surface areas, and modular control over reactivity via component selection. Despite recent progress, most photocatalytic MOF-based systems have focused on water splitting or CO<sub>2</sub> reduction, whereas applications in organic synthesis remain virtually unexplored. Here, we report a titanium-iron MOF (MUV-1001) built from heterometallic TiFe<sub>2</sub> metal-oxo clusters that operates as an intrinsically active visible-light photoredox catalyst. This platform enables single-electron transfer reactivity under irradiation, as demonstrated in a decarboxylative Giese reaction, and it represents an example of noble-metal- and additive-free C–C bond formation mediated by a pristine crystalline reticular material. Our findings highlight the potential of cluster-based design to access intrinsically photoactive systems, where subtle changes in composition dictate reactivity, even across isostructural families.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":268,"journal":{"name":"Chem","volume":"12 9","pages":"Article 103074"},"PeriodicalIF":19.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148624252","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}
ChemPub Date : 2026-09-10Epub Date: 2026-03-30DOI: 10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103000
Ying-Qi Zhang, Kang Zheng Yap, Shuo-Han Li, Felicia Wan Xin Lim, Ming Joo Koh
{"title":"Oxygen-atom replacement in non-strained cyclic ethers","authors":"Ying-Qi Zhang, Kang Zheng Yap, Shuo-Han Li, Felicia Wan Xin Lim, Ming Joo Koh","doi":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103000","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103000","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cyclic ethers are ubiquitous scaffolds in natural products and bioactive molecules. Exchanging the oxygen atom of a non-strained cyclic ether for another atom or group dramatically alters its properties and function. In practice, this is challenging to achieve owing to the lack of methods that selectively target inert endocyclic oxygen. Here, we disclose a phosphine-mediated strategy that promotes chemoselective oxygen-to-X (X = nitrogen, sulfur, selenium, or carbon) transmutation, directly transforming non-aromatic furans and pyrans into their <em>N</em>-heterocyclic, <em>S</em>-heterocyclic, <em>Se</em>-heterocyclic, and carbocyclic variants under mild conditions. Late-stage editing of <em>O</em>-heterocyclic pharmaceutical building blocks could be realized, offering a convenient gateway to various saturated heterocycles and carbocycles without the need to restart the synthesis from scratch. Mechanistic investigations reveal the <em>in-situ</em> generation of a bromophosphonium species that triggers deconstruction of the cyclic ether to form a dibromide electrophile, which then undergoes nucleophilic cyclization to assemble the new ring.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":268,"journal":{"name":"Chem","volume":"12 9","pages":"Article 103000"},"PeriodicalIF":19.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147586340","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":"Trace-water-mediated formamidinium cation anchoring to regulate crystallization of tin-lead perovskite for efficient and stable photovoltaics","authors":"Weilin Wu, Jiakang Zhang, Mingjun Ma, Mengjiao Lan, Yuanyuan Liao, Cheng Li, Jiahui Cheng, Huijie Cao, Wenjian Yan, Shuming Zhang, Mingzhe Zhu, Zhongmin Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.102964","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.102964","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Formamidinium (FA<sup>+</sup>) effusion and rapid crystallization are two main issues in Sn–Pb perovskite films. Trace amounts of water in the precursor solution catalyze an <em>in situ</em> reaction between benzylamine (BnNH<sub>2</sub>) and formamidinium iodide (FAI), forming BnFA<sup>+</sup> cations. The product retards nucleation and growth during annealing, producing Sn–Pb perovskite films that are more uniform, contain fewer trap states, and exhibit smaller energy offsets with adjacent charge-transport layers. Density functional theory calculations indicate that water creates a proton-shuttle pathway that halves the Gibbs free-energy barrier for intramolecular proton transfer, enabling the early covalent passivation of FA<sup>+</sup> sites. In addition, BnFAI shows stronger dissociation and solvation in the mixed solvent, simultaneously reducing both the crystallization rate and Sn<sup>2+</sup> oxidation. <em>In situ</em> ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) measurements reveal a 30% decrease in the crystallization rate constant. As a result, devices incorporating the BnNH<sub>2</sub> additive achieve a champion power-conversion efficiency of 24.05% and demonstrate improved shelf and operational stability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":268,"journal":{"name":"Chem","volume":"12 9","pages":"Article 102964"},"PeriodicalIF":19.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147519112","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}
ChemPub Date : 2026-09-10Epub Date: 2026-09-02DOI: 10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103218
Jasper L. Tyler, Varinder K. Aggarwal
{"title":"One catalyst, two geometries: Iridium catalysis enables stereodivergent synthesis of chiral Z- and E-allylated isochromanones","authors":"Jasper L. Tyler, Varinder K. Aggarwal","doi":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103218","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103218","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Alkene geometry strongly influences molecular structure and function, yet methods that provide stereodivergent access to both <em>E</em>- and <em>Z</em>-configured chiral building blocks remain rare. In an upcoming issue of <em>Chem Catalysis</em>, You and co-workers combine contra-thermodynamic alkene isomerization with iridium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic substitution to access either <em>E</em>- or <em>Z</em>-allylated 3-isochromanones with high regio- and enantioselectivity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":268,"journal":{"name":"Chem","volume":"12 9","pages":"Article 103218"},"PeriodicalIF":19.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148895668","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}
ChemPub Date : 2026-09-10Epub Date: 2026-03-03DOI: 10.1016/j.chempr.2025.102920
Gyurin Kim, Arjuna Selvakumar, Johannes Hahmann, Banyu Firdaus Soeriawidjaja, Maria Riedner, Gianluca Calabrese, Jio Kang, Hae Gyun Lim, Hyun Wook Kang, Gregory I. Peterson, Andreas Herrmann, Minseok Kwak
{"title":"DNA-mediated force transmission for precise and efficient mechanochemical activation","authors":"Gyurin Kim, Arjuna Selvakumar, Johannes Hahmann, Banyu Firdaus Soeriawidjaja, Maria Riedner, Gianluca Calabrese, Jio Kang, Hae Gyun Lim, Hyun Wook Kang, Gregory I. Peterson, Andreas Herrmann, Minseok Kwak","doi":"10.1016/j.chempr.2025.102920","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chempr.2025.102920","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Mechanophores embedded in synthetic polymers enable force-mediated chemical transformations but often require extended sonication and complicated analysis. Here, we employ DNA as a programmable scaffold for mechanochemical force transmission to achieve efficient ultrasound-induced molecular cleavage. By designing DNA-mechanophore-DNA architectures with tunable lengths (100–1,000 bp) and different mechanophores, we achieve nearly complete scission (99.9% for constructs >250 bp) within 15 min. Scission occurs at mechanophore sites or off-site, depending on mechanophore reactivity. DNA sequencing and mass spectrometry confirm selective bond cleavage and provide molecular-level mechanistic insight. This DNA-based platform offers an efficient and precise tool for mechanophore characterization and demonstrates potential for biomedical applications under mild ultrasound conditions, including operation at clinical frequencies (1 MHz) in tissue-mimicking skin phantoms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":268,"journal":{"name":"Chem","volume":"12 9","pages":"Article 102920"},"PeriodicalIF":19.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148940618","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}
ChemPub Date : 2026-09-10Epub Date: 2026-08-17DOI: 10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103188
Jia-Cheng E. Yang, Shengjie Han, Jinqiang Zhang, Yu-Ming Zheng, Shaobin Wang
{"title":"A CLEAN framework of photothermal evaporation-coupled catalysis","authors":"Jia-Cheng E. Yang, Shengjie Han, Jinqiang Zhang, Yu-Ming Zheng, Shaobin Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103188","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103188","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sunlight-driven photothermal water evaporation technology is currently reinventing the landscape of clean water and energy production. However, conventional photothermal evaporators primarily convert solar energy into latent heat for vapor generation, leaving the photochemical potential underutilized. This perspective introduces the concept of photothermal evaporation-coupled catalysis (PECC), in which the photothermal interface is augmented with catalytic functionality to achieve simultaneous sunlight-driven water purification and chemical upgrading. We first elucidate the physicochemical principles of energy partitioning for the synergy between solar water evaporation and catalysis and the materials chemistry principles for energy-efficient PECC design. Furthermore, we categorize the application scenarios of PECC based on interfacial reaction pathways, outline the unsystematized engineering principles of solar thermal management for PECC system integration, and finally propose the CLEAN paradigm to leverage the microscale principles of PECC and macroscale technoeconomic feasibility toward scalable, sustainable solar water-chemical factories.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":268,"journal":{"name":"Chem","volume":"12 9","pages":"Article 103188"},"PeriodicalIF":19.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148756621","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}
ChemPub Date : 2026-09-10Epub Date: 2026-09-03DOI: 10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103209
Bogdan Ya. Karlinskii, Valentine P. Ananikov
{"title":"Origins of universality of copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition","authors":"Bogdan Ya. Karlinskii, Valentine P. Ananikov","doi":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103209","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.103209","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) is the flagship transformation of click chemistry and one of the most versatile reactions in modern synthesis. Yet its operational simplicity should not be mistaken for a single-species, universal catalyst. In practice, efficient CuAAC depends on matching the copper source, ligand environment, redox regime, medium, and substrate class to the task at hand. We analyze this paradox: CuAAC is broadly robust, but current platforms are only partially transferable across all applications. We propose this arises because productive CuAAC emerges from a cocktail-type ensemble of dynamically interconverting copper species formed <em>in situ</em>. Integrating mechanistic observations from homogeneous, heterogeneous, electrochemical, and biological systems, we outline a unifying view of CuAAC as a dynamic catalytic network. Recognizing this dynamic nature explains why optimizations are necessary and catalyst identity matters. This framework provides a mechanistic basis for developing wider-scope, more predictive next-generation click catalysts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":268,"journal":{"name":"Chem","volume":"12 9","pages":"Article 103209"},"PeriodicalIF":19.1,"publicationDate":"2026-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148895667","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}