Kangjun Cao, Shengkai Li, Jinliang Lin, Lijing Han, Donghui Liu, Yao Liu, Qi Wang, Bin Feng, Kuifang Zhang, Longfei Zeng
{"title":"Precious metal recycling in lithium-ion batteries: Research progress from pretreatment to multipathway recovery strategies","authors":"Kangjun Cao, Shengkai Li, Jinliang Lin, Lijing Han, Donghui Liu, Yao Liu, Qi Wang, Bin Feng, Kuifang Zhang, Longfei Zeng","doi":"10.1002/bkcs.70116","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bkcs.70116","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The growing demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has intensified the need for sustainable lithium sources, as natural reserves struggle to meet global requirements. Spent LIBs (S-LIBs), rich in Li, present a promising alternative for Li extraction, providing both environmental and economic benefits. Given the research progress in this field, it is of great significance to systematically sort out the S-LIB recycling technology system in a timely manner. This review systematically summarizes the latest research findings and technological advancements in the field of S-LIB recycling in recent years. Firstly, it conducts an in-depth analysis of the pretreatment system in the recycling process, including core links such as the safe discharge, disassembly, and precise separation of S-LIBs. By horizontally comparing the advantages and disadvantages of different treatment methods in terms of efficiency, energy consumption, and environmental friendliness, targeted suggestions for optimization schemes are put forward. Subsequently, it focuses on the five mainstream processes, namely pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, biological methods, electrochemistry, and direct regeneration. Detailed characteristic descriptions are carried out from three dimensions: core reaction mechanism, key operating technical parameters, and final product purity. On the basis of clarifying the limitations of the existing technical framework and integrating the performance comparison of various methods, this review further conducts a critical discussion on the application advantages, practical challenges, and future research directions of each technology in the recycling process. This not only provides clear insights for subsequent researchers but also offers a unique perspective for promoting the construction of a sustainable S-LIB recycling system.</p>","PeriodicalId":54252,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society","volume":"47 3","pages":"262-294"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147562430","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Thermodynamic understanding of crystal nucleation and growth for halide perovskite films","authors":"Da-Yeong Lee, Yu-Na Lee, Hui-Seon Kim","doi":"10.1002/bkcs.70118","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bkcs.70118","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Optoelectronic properties and phase stability of halide perovskite films are predominantly governed by crystallinity and defect density of thin films. Since the halide perovskite films are generally prepared by solution process, a sufficient engineering window for modulation of nucleation and subsequent growth is ensured, leading to remarkable advances in obtaining high-quality films in line with developing various engineering strategies to control the nucleation and growth processes. This mini-review paper covers crystallization process of halide perovskite film, where basic mechanisms are introduced based on LaMer framework with Classical nucleation theory while deriving adjustable key parameters for crystallization. Meanwhile, effective strategies, being widely adopted for preparing a high-performing perovskite film, are scrutinized to understand their underlying mechanisms from thermodynamic perspective by carefully assessing the respective contribution from a surface term–in close relation with interfacial energy–driven and a volume term–in close relation with supersaturation degree–driven total Gibbs free energy change. Furthermore, subsequent crystal growth kinetics are understood by introducing two extreme conditions of diffusion-controlled and reaction-controlled growth, where underlying mechanisms of effective strategies are examined to correlate their influence on the extreme growth conditions. Lastly, the representative models for particle coarsening are introduced to understand post-growth mechanisms for grain growth.</p>","PeriodicalId":54252,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society","volume":"47 3","pages":"232-239"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147564689","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Cover Picture: Thermodynamic understanding of crystal nucleation and growth for halide perovskite films (BKCS 3/2026) by Da-Yeong Lee, Yu-Na Lee, Hui-Seon Kim","authors":"","doi":"10.1002/bkcs.70149","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bkcs.70149","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The cover image illustrates crystal growth of poly-crystalline halide perovskite thin films, being composed of an inorganic framework with corner-sharing octahedral PbX<sub>6</sub><sup>4−</sup> cages and organic A<sup>+</sup> cations. The formation of seed clusters and sequential growth can be thermodynamically regulated by altering interfacial energy and supersaturation degree in perovskite precursor solution to govern total Gibbs free energy change. Details are in the article by Da-Yeong Lee, Yu-Na Lee, and Hui-Seon Kim.\u0000\u0000 <figure>\u0000 <div><picture>\u0000 <source></source></picture><p></p>\u0000 </div>\u0000 </figure></p>","PeriodicalId":54252,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society","volume":"47 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bkcs.70149","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147567572","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kyu Cheol Cho, Dohoon Jeon, Dong Hwan Oh, Youn K. Kang
{"title":"Through-space electronic coupling in highly compressed π-stacked organic mixed-valence systems: The role of charge type and redox-center orientation","authors":"Kyu Cheol Cho, Dohoon Jeon, Dong Hwan Oh, Youn K. Kang","doi":"10.1002/bkcs.70121","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bkcs.70121","url":null,"abstract":"<p>A quantitative understanding of through-space electronic coupling in <i>π</i>-stacked organic mixed-valence (MV) systems remains limited, particularly in regimes where severe geometric compression and conformational effects complicate conventional spectroscopic interpretations. Here, we present a combined experimental and theoretical investigation of highly compressed <i>π</i>-stacked MV systems derived from the cation-radical <b>3˙</b><sup>+</sup> and the anion-radical <b>4˙</b><sup><b>−</b></sup>, which possess closely comparable centroid-to-centroid separations well within the sub–van der Waals contact regime. Electrochemical and spectroscopic measurements, together with DFT and TD-DFT analyses, reveal that the lowest-energy optical transitions observed for these systems do not arise from equivalent electronic states in the cationic and anionic manifolds. In particular, the anion-radical system exhibits a pronounced conformational dependence, in which the <i>syn</i> conformer displays fully delocalized electronic structure consistent with Robin–Day Class III behavior, whereas the <i>anti</i> conformer remains Class II. As a consequence, the experimentally observed strong low-energy absorption of <b>4˙</b><sup><b>−</b></sup> is dominated by the <i>syn</i> conformer and reflects <i>π</i>–<i>π</i>* excitation rather than a conventional intervalence charge-transfer process. When analyzed within a consistent computational framework, the intrinsic electronic couplings of <b>3˙</b><sup>+</sup> and <b>4˙</b><sup><b>−</b></sup> converge to a coherent picture in which orientation-dependent effects, rather than charge-carrier polarity alone, govern the magnitude and character of through-space electronic coupling in the highly compressed regime.</p>","PeriodicalId":54252,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society","volume":"47 3","pages":"370-380"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147567813","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Min Jeong Ahn, Min Gyo Seo, Eun Hye Kim, Seong Hwan Kim
{"title":"Sitravatinib enhances doxorubicin cytotoxicity in doxorubicin-resistant K562/ADM cells","authors":"Min Jeong Ahn, Min Gyo Seo, Eun Hye Kim, Seong Hwan Kim","doi":"10.1002/bkcs.70117","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bkcs.70117","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Drug resistance remains a major obstacle in leukemia treatment, and combination therapy has emerged as an effective strategy to overcome this limitation. This study aimed to identify compounds with potent anticancer activity in multidrug-resistant leukemia cells through a drug repositioning–based screening of clinical-phase compounds. Among 3120 screened compounds, sitravatinib was identified as a promising hit compound exhibiting significant cytotoxic activity in doxorubicin-resistant K562/ADM cells. When combined with doxorubicin, sitravatinib showed a synergistic effect, enhancing caspase-dependent apoptosis and amplifying DNA damage signaling through CHK1 phosphorylation at Ser317. Taken together, this study highlights the therapeutic potential of sitravatinib to be used as a partner drug in doxorubicin combination therapy and provides an effective drug combination strategy for overcoming multidrug resistance in leukemia.</p>","PeriodicalId":54252,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society","volume":"47 3","pages":"355-360"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bkcs.70117","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147568354","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Young Hee Lee, Sanha Lee, Jaeuk Sim, Eun Sol Jo, Jae-Kyung Jung, Soonsil Hyun, Jae-Hwan Kwak
{"title":"Discovery of piperazine-tethered N-heterocycle derivatives as anticancer agents","authors":"Young Hee Lee, Sanha Lee, Jaeuk Sim, Eun Sol Jo, Jae-Kyung Jung, Soonsil Hyun, Jae-Hwan Kwak","doi":"10.1002/bkcs.70101","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bkcs.70101","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Deregulated cell proliferation is a hallmark of carcinogenesis. To develop effective anticancer agents, extensive efforts have been directed toward identifying key regulators of the cell cycle. The piperazine moiety has been reported to possess diverse biological activities; hence, a novel series of piperazine-based compounds was designed and synthesized as potential anticancer agents. A total of 72 piperazine derivatives were synthesized, and their chemical structures were confirmed by spectral analysis. The in vitro cytotoxic activities of all compounds were evaluated against three human colon tumor cell lines (LS513, WiDR, and HCT-115). Eight representative compounds showing marked cytotoxicity were further tested against five additional human cancer cell lines: A549 (non-small cell lung), SK-OV-3 (ovarian), HCT-15 (colon), XF-498 (CNS), and SK-MEL-2 (melanoma). Among them, compounds <b>1B</b> and <b>4A</b> exhibited potent cytotoxicity with IC<sub>50</sub> values lower than those of standard reference drugs paclitaxel, colchicine, and doxorubicin. Mechanistic investigations revealed that these compounds induced cell-cycle arrest at the G<sub>2</sub>/M phase, as evidenced by flow cytometric analysis. Particularly, compound <b>1B</b> acts as a mitotic inhibitor and may serve as a promising lead structure for the development of new anticancer agents.</p>","PeriodicalId":54252,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society","volume":"47 3","pages":"333-341"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147568998","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Arrhon Mae Bongo, Hayeon Kim, Juseon Roh, Seyoon Park, Duy Khuong Mai, Seok-Jun Kim, Sung Cho, Ho-Joong Kim
{"title":"Quaternary ammonium-modified water-soluble boron-dipyrromethene photosensitizers for fluorescence imaging and photodynamic therapy","authors":"Arrhon Mae Bongo, Hayeon Kim, Juseon Roh, Seyoon Park, Duy Khuong Mai, Seok-Jun Kim, Sung Cho, Ho-Joong Kim","doi":"10.1002/bkcs.70110","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bkcs.70110","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Quaternary-ammonium-functionalized BODIPY photosensitizers were synthesized and systematically investigated to elucidate the influence of meso-phenyl electronic substitution on photophysical properties, intracellular behavior, and photodynamic therapy (PDT) performance. Four water-soluble, cationic BODIPY derivatives bearing para-substituents (–H, –OMe, –NO<sub>2</sub>, and –I) were prepared via an azide–alkyne click reaction, enabling a controlled structure–property comparison using a fixed mitochondrial-targeting scaffold. All compounds exhibited characteristic BODIPY absorption and emission profiles, with BHTP, BMTP, and BITP maintaining high fluorescence quantum yields, whereas BNTP showed pronounced fluorescence quenching due to photo-induced electron transfer. Singlet oxygen quantum yields (ΦΔ = 0.01–0.06) were strongly dependent on meso-phenyl electronic effects, with BITP displaying the highest ΦΔ as a result of the heavy-atom effect. Cellular studies revealed negligible dark cytotoxicity for all derivatives and pronounced light-induced cytotoxicity for BITP and BMTP. Confocal co-localization experiments confirmed preferential mitochondrial accumulation, as evidenced by strong overlap with MitoTracker Red signals. Collectively, these results demonstrate that meso-phenyl electronic tuning, combined with a fixed cationic and water-soluble BODIPY scaffold, provides an effective strategy for balancing fluorescence imaging and PDT activity, offering design guidelines for mitochondria-targeted theranostic photosensitizers.</p>","PeriodicalId":54252,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society","volume":"47 3","pages":"342-354"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147563715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Defining chemical problems for artificial intelligence models","authors":"Joonyoung F. Joung","doi":"10.1002/bkcs.70113","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bkcs.70113","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Artificial intelligence has become an increasingly important tool in chemistry, yet its impact is often constrained by how chemical problems are defined for machine learning. In this Personal Account, I argue that dataset construction plays a central role in AI-driven chemistry, not merely as a preparatory step but as a means of formalizing new chemical learning problems. I summarize recent efforts to build machine-learning-ready datasets in three domains: molecular property prediction, property-conditioned molecular design, and reaction mechanism prediction. Experimentally measured optical property datasets were curated to explicitly incorporate environmental context, enabling models to learn structure–environment–property relationships that reflect real experimental conditions and to support inverse design of functional chromophores. For chemical reactivity, large-scale mechanistic datasets were constructed through rule-based imputation of elementary steps, transforming overall reactions into supervised learning problems for mechanism prediction. Limitations of sequence-based reaction models motivated the development of FlowER, which represents reactions as electron redistribution processes using bond–electron matrices and enforces mass conservation by construction, allowing direct integration with quantum chemical validation. Together, these studies illustrate a unifying perspective in which datasets, representations, models, and downstream workflows are designed jointly, guided by chemical intuition. By framing dataset construction as an act of problem definition, this Account highlights how chemists can shape the scope and direction of artificial intelligence as a tool for chemical discovery.</p>","PeriodicalId":54252,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society","volume":"47 3","pages":"317-327"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147569013","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Metal-dependent adsorption and photothermal-assisted catalysis in heterometallic metal–organic frameworks","authors":"Eunho Seo, Dongwook Kim, Jinhee Park","doi":"10.1002/bkcs.70112","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bkcs.70112","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The modular nature of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) enables structural and functional tuning through controlled combinations of organic linkers and metal ions. Here, we report an isostructural MOF series, M-DGIST-20, constructed from trinuclear TiM<sub>2</sub>(μ<sub>3</sub>-O)(COO)<sub>6</sub> (M<sup>2+</sup> = Ni<sup>2+</sup>, Co<sup>2+</sup>, and Mn<sup>2+</sup>) clusters and a naphthalenediimide-based ligand. The frameworks feature high porosity (≈85% void volume) and serve as a platform to examine composition–function relationships. Iodine adsorption experiments reveal metal-dependent kinetics, with Ni-DGIST-20 showing the fastest uptake due to stronger M–I<sub>2</sub> interactions and higher structural robustness. Post-synthetic coordination of imidazole at open metal sites further increases the adsorption rate and capacity. In addition, efficient photothermal conversion and accessible metal sites in M-DGIST-20 allow localized heating and Lewis acidic catalysis, accelerating the Knoevenagel condensation and subsequent Michael addition-intramolecular cyclization. This study demonstrates how compositional and post-synthetic tuning can modulate adsorption and catalytic activity of MOFs.</p>","PeriodicalId":54252,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society","volume":"47 3","pages":"245-251"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147567455","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gyeongeun Ahn, Taehun Kim, Jisu Lim, Kyunghye Ju, In-Hyeok Park
{"title":"Solid-state [2 + 2] photocycloaddition in an interpenetrated Mn(II)-based metal–organic framework via a single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation","authors":"Gyeongeun Ahn, Taehun Kim, Jisu Lim, Kyunghye Ju, In-Hyeok Park","doi":"10.1002/bkcs.70122","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bkcs.70122","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are structurally tunable crystalline materials that can undergo stimulus-induced transformations in the solid state. Herein, we report a light-induced manganese(II)-based MOF, [Mn(bpe)(tdc)]·2DMA (<b>1</b>), incorporating olefinic 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethylene (bpe) ligands. MOF <b>1</b> crystallizes in the monoclinic <i>C</i>2/<i>c</i> space group and features Mn(II) centers with distorted octahedral coordination geometries. The yellow block-shaped crystals adopt a double-pillared <b>pcu</b> topology with parallel alignment of bpe ligands, in which the olefinic CC bonds are separated by 4.016 Å, satisfying Schmidt's criteria for solid-state [2 + 2] photocycloaddition. Upon ultraviolet irradiation, MOF <b>1</b> undergoes a [2 + 2] photocycloaddition reaction to form [Mn<sub>2</sub>(<i>rctt</i>-tpcb)(tdc)<sub>2</sub>]·2DMA (<b>2</b>). Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis confirms the formation of cyclobutane rings in MOF <b>2</b> while preserving the <b>pcu</b> topology, parallel two-fold interpenetration, and overall crystallinity. Despite the covalent bond formation and structural rearrangement, the coordination environments of the Mn(II) centers remain intact. This work demonstrates a rare example of a single-crystal-to-single-crystal photochemical transformation in a Mn(II)-based MOF and highlights the potential of rational structural design for controlling solid-state photoreactivity.</p>","PeriodicalId":54252,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society","volume":"47 3","pages":"252-261"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bkcs.70122","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147562597","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}