Yingtuan Zhang, Svetlana Stepanova, Rashmi Singh, Laura Trullemans, William E. Dyer, Baris Kumru, Anja Vananroye, Peter Van Puyvelde, Bert F. Sels
{"title":"Native lignin-derived oligomers for the synthesis of sustainable high-performance epoxy resins","authors":"Yingtuan Zhang, Svetlana Stepanova, Rashmi Singh, Laura Trullemans, William E. Dyer, Baris Kumru, Anja Vananroye, Peter Van Puyvelde, Bert F. Sels","doi":"10.1038/s44286-026-00375-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-026-00375-2","url":null,"abstract":"Developing epoxy resins directly from biomass that match the performance of fossil-derived systems remains a challenge. Here we introduce a precursor-centric strategy that leverages the intrinsic flexibility of reductive catalytic fractionation to intentionally engineer lignin oligomers with the molecular attributes required for high epoxy reactivity. Here, by systematically mapping catalyst–solvent environments, we identify a tunable region in the hydroxyl content–molecular weight design space that maximizes epoxidation efficiency. Building on this, we establish a developed epoxidation process that, unlike conventional glycidylation, activates aliphatic hydroxyl groups and unlocks their full contribution to epoxy functionality. This combined control over precursor structure and epoxidation chemistry enables lignin-derived liquid resins that cure into high-performance thermosets, with birch-derived material matching commercial bisphenol A diglycidyl ether-based benchmarks. A techno-environmental analysis shows drop-in compatibility, high biomass-to-resin efficiency and meaningful carbon footprint reductions, establishing reductive catalytic fractionation-derived lignin oligomers as a scalable, high-performance epoxy platform. This study harnesses reductive catalytic fractionation to produce lignin oligomers within a design space that enables efficient epoxidation. The developed epoxidation process activates aliphatic hydroxyl groups, yielding low-viscosity lignin epoxy resins with high functionality that form thermosets with near-benchmark properties while offering improved biomass-to-resin yield and sustainability.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"3 4","pages":"208-222"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147738943","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The right scale for lignin’s grail","authors":"Joseph S. M. Samec, Elena Subbotina","doi":"10.1038/s44286-026-00380-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-026-00380-5","url":null,"abstract":"Lignin valorization into polymers has traditionally followed two extremes: depolymerization into discrete aromatic monomers followed by downstream reconstruction, or the direct use of lignin in its irregular macromolecular form. Now, a more practical transformation scale emerges, lignin oligomers, which strikes a balance between molecular definability and preservation of useful native connectivity.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"3 4","pages":"200-201"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147738944","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Haiqian Lian (, ), Jingxian Hua (, ), Qian Wang (, ), Eryue Song (, ), Yawei Gu (, ), Yichang Pan (, ), Weihong Xing (, )
{"title":"Scalable large-area ZIF-8 membranes for industrial propylene/propane separations","authors":"Haiqian Lian \u0000 (, ), Jingxian Hua \u0000 (, ), Qian Wang \u0000 (, ), Eryue Song \u0000 (, ), Yawei Gu \u0000 (, ), Yichang Pan \u0000 (, ), Weihong Xing \u0000 (, )","doi":"10.1038/s44286-026-00373-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-026-00373-4","url":null,"abstract":"The membrane-based separation of propylene/propane represents a promising breakthrough, with the potential to reshape this energy-intensive chemical process. Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) membranes stand out among the various material candidates due to their superior performance. However, advancing ZIF-8 membranes from laboratory-scale demonstrations to industrial deployment requires breakthroughs in scalable, defect-free preparation, challenges that conventional methods have yet to overcome. Here we present a micro-space transformation process (MSTP) that enables controlled nucleation and crystallization by decoupling the direct collision between zinc ions and ligands. This approach allows the sealed inner cavities of tubular supports to serve as reaction spaces to scalably fabricate heterostructured ZIF-8 membranes with an industrially relevant area of 200 cm2. We demonstrate the batch preparation of 234 membranes (totaling >4.6 m2), which were assembled into membrane modules with attractive performance and long-term stability toward industrial feed gases. We also take a critical step toward industrial implementation by developing a side-stream separation unit and demonstrating membrane integration applications, thereby establishing an energy-efficient pathway for practical membrane-based olefin purification. This study presents a micro-space transformation process for scalable, high-performance ZIF-8 membranes. This method overcomes scalability barriers, enabling more sustainable and efficient membrane synthesis for propylene/propane separation, offering a cost-effective alternative to energy-intensive olefin separation processes.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"3 4","pages":"223-233"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147738940","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A scalable self-nanoemulsification approach to uniform nanocarriers","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s44286-026-00370-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-026-00370-7","url":null,"abstract":"High-throughput production of uniform nanocarriers could drive biomedical breakthroughs, but remains challenging. Now an approach based on robust, scalable self-nanoemulsification driven by non-equilibrium surfactant partitioning is developed to synthesize diverse uniform nanocarriers at a rate of up to 5 l min−1.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"3 4","pages":"204-205"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147738939","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Accelerating multiscale modeling in heterogeneous catalysis","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s44286-026-00363-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-026-00363-6","url":null,"abstract":"A machine-learning-powered framework, CARE, enables the automated generation of reaction networks in heterogeneous catalysis. Integrating tasks routinely handled by computational scientists, CARE facilitates the fast prediction of experimental reaction rates and the elucidation of reaction mechanisms, enabling the systematic study of previously inaccessible processes.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"3 4","pages":"202-203"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147738937","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Weaving a shuttle from syngas to ethylene","authors":"Yanfei Zhu","doi":"10.1038/s44286-026-00374-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-026-00374-3","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"3 3","pages":"154-154"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147570518","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Chemically powered active particle colonies","authors":"Xiaotian Lu, Ayusman Sen","doi":"10.1038/s44286-026-00368-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-026-00368-1","url":null,"abstract":"Xiaotian Lu and Ayusman Sen discuss the principles underlying the design of active particle populations with distributed functionality that collectively perform complex tasks.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"3 3","pages":"193-194"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147570521","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Decoupling and recoupling electrochemical reactions","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s44286-026-00379-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-026-00379-y","url":null,"abstract":"This Editorial highlights recent strategies for bridging electrochemical half-reactions that have been deliberately separated into distinct environments, showcasing how creative recoupling approaches can unlock improved performance and new chemistries beyond the reach of conventional cell designs.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"3 3","pages":"141-141"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.comhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s44286-026-00379-y.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147570512","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rui Wang, Katelyn Michael, Paul J. A. Kenis, Victor M. Zavala, Song Jin
{"title":"Modular electrochemical synthesis for flexible chemical manufacturing","authors":"Rui Wang, Katelyn Michael, Paul J. A. Kenis, Victor M. Zavala, Song Jin","doi":"10.1038/s44286-026-00364-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-026-00364-5","url":null,"abstract":"Electrochemical synthesis typically occurs in coupled systems, in which anodic and cathodic half-reactions proceed simultaneously in the same cell. This Comment discusses strategies that can decouple half-reactions to achieve modular electrochemical synthesis for flexible chemical manufacturing.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"3 3","pages":"142-146"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147570467","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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