Cover Picture

The cover picture shows in the background the whole cell of a methanotrophic bacterium on which are superimposed components of methane monooxygenase (the structure of the hydroxylase component (top), one of the two four-helix bundles that house the catalytic diiron centers (left)) and a schematic diagram of the catalytic cycle by which the enzyme converts dioxygen and methane into methanol and water. More about this unusual enzyme system is reported by Lippard et al. on p. 2782 ff.     

Cover Picture

The cover picture shows the structure, determined crystallographically, of the tetrakis(trimethylstannyl)phosphonium cation that is formed with surprising ease from the reaction of P(SnMe(3))(3) with Me(3)SnOTf (OTf=OSO(2)CF(3)) and is isolated as the OTf salt. It is the first completely substituted main group organometallic phosphonium derivative, and, in contrast to the more common tetraorganic-substituted phosphonium cations is only stable in the solid state; in solution it functions as a masked Me(3)Sn(+) reagent. More about this chameleonlike ion and the N(SnMe(3))(4) cation homologue, which is equally dynamic in solution and has unusual long Sn-N bond lengths, is reported by M. Driess et al. on p. 3684 ff.     

Cover Picture

The host-guest CuMo-polyoxometalate-based metal organic framework (POMOF) with copious electrochemically active sites and strong electrochemical redox activities has been effectively coupled with POM-incorporated CoNi-LDH to develop a nanocomposite (NENU-5@CoNi-LDH) by simple solvothermal method. The designed electrode shows a high specific capacity of 333.61 mAh·g^–1 at 1 A·g^–1. More details are discussed in the article by Zhang et al. on page 75—82.

     

Cover Picture

The cover picture shows the experimental principles of femtochemistry, the field concerned with the real-time observation of physical, chemical, and biological changes on the femtosecond time scale. The clocking of the femtosecond events is made using laser pulses, one to initiate the change and others to take snapshots. Studies of the motion at atomic-scale resolution provide a telescopic view of the molecular world. More information about this fascinating topic is described by A. H. Zewail in his Nobel Lecture on page 2586 ff. It is quite fitting that at the back of this issue is the inaugural issue of ChemPhysChem, announced in earlier editorials.     

Cover Picture

The cover picture shows a section of the electron charge density of the first metal carbide endohedral metallofullerene (Sc(2)C(2))@C(84) obtained from a synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction study by the maximum entropy method (MEM). The several density maxima, which correspond to scandium and carbon atoms, are clearly seen inside the C(84) carbon cage. The MEM charge density distribution also reveals that the C(84) cage has D(2d) symmetry (no. 23) and that the C(2) axis is parallel to the <100> face-centered cubic (fcc) direction of the unit cell. As a consequence of the site symmetry being 4mm, the C(2) axis of (Sc(2)C(2))@C(84) is oriented to six equivalent <100> directions and shows a merohedral disorder. The resultant Sc small middle dot small middle dot small middle dotSc distances and C-C bond lengths of the Sc(2)C(2) cluster are 0.429(2) and 0.142(6) nm, respectively. The observed C-C bond length is between that of a typical single and a double bond, and is very close to that of the C-C bond (0.143 nm) combining two pentagons in a C(60) molecule. More about this fascinating structure can be found in the contribution by Shinohara and co-workers on p. 397 ff.     

Cover Picture

The cover picture shows a simple and efficient method to utilize ZrO₂ as a catalytic assistant for the hydrolysis of cellulose to sugar in low acid aqueous system driven by synchronous cooling assisted microwave radiation. Results show the adsorption of ZrO₂ has an obvious influence on the efficiency of the hydrolysis of cellulose to sugar, which is impacted by the surface roughness and particle size. By the use of the ZrO₂ with suitable structure and size, the conversion of treated cellulose and the yield of total reducing sugar respectively reach 95.5% and 93.6%. More details are discussed in the article by Na et al. on page on page 399–405.

     

Cover Picture

The cover picture shows that a new class of axially chiral aryl‐alkene‐indole frameworks has been constructed by the strategy of designing 3‐alkynyl‐2‐indolylmethanols as versatile reactants for catalytic asymmetric cyclizations. This approach represents the first catalytic asymmetric construction of axially chiral alkene‐heteroaryl scaffolds, which will add a nascent member to the atropisomeric family. The authors devised the innovative strategy to construct the intriguing axially chiral frameworks, just like Nuwa used the 'five‐colored stone' to mend the sky in the mythology of ancient China. More details are discussed in the article by Shi and Jiao et al. on page 543—552.

     

Cover Picture

Metal‐air batteries have achieved great proceedings in the past decade. This review summarizes progresses of cathode evolution and anode protection strategies in the area of Li/Na‐air batteries and prototypes of flexible batteries are presented. More details are discussed in the article by Zhang et al. on page 32—42.