The inside cover picture shows the hydrogen transfer process of the production of acetic acid from ethanol and water mixture catalyzed by iridium catalyst owning bpyO ligand. A DFT mechanistic study indicates that the cooperation of the iridium center and bpyO ligand plays an important role in the catalytic activity, and that the hydrogen release process from the iridium center is the rate‐determining step. More details are discussed in the article by Lei et al. on page 883–886.
The cover picture shows a microporous separator which is a key component to determine the safety and performance of lithium‐ion battery (LIB). In China, the LIB separators were totally imported from abroad before 2008. Based on the extensive studies on the pore formation mechanisms, Fu et al. realized the industrialization of LIB separators successfully. Nowadays, China has become the biggest producer of LIB separators in the word. More details are discussed in the article by Fu et al. on page 1207–1215.
This review summarizes key development of N‐heterocyclic carbene organic catalysis, with a particular focus on the basic activation and reaction modes enabled by NHCs. More details are discussed in the article by Chi et al. on page 1167—1202.
The cover picture shows that sequential 1,1‐dihydrosilylation of terminal aliphatic alkynes with primary silanes enabled by one earth‐abundant cobalt catalyst has been developed. This protocol is operationally simple using readily available aliphatic alkynes, including simple acetylene and complex drug derivative, for efficient access to valuable gem‐bis(dihydrosilyl)alkanes in highly regioselective and atom‐economic manners. Corresponding asymmetric transformations are achieved with excellent enantioselectivities. More details are discussed in the article by Lu et al. on page 457–461.
The back cover picture shows the first LA‐catalyzed [3+2]IMCC of GDA‐epoxides with carbon‐carbon double bonds. This provides an efficient and general strategy for construction of bridged oxa‐[n.2.1] skeletons. A novel SN‐like mechanism through a carbon‐carbon bond cleavage of epoxide ring has been proposed. The colorful fireworks in the picture imply the generation of skeletal diversity from the epoxide‐diene, and express a dedication to the 100th Anniversary of Nankai University as well. More details are discussed in the article by Wang et al. on page 695–699.
Reactions of homoleptic rare‐earth aryloxides based Lewis pairs with organic azides were investigated, which gave either bimetallic rare‐earth azide complexes in an end‐to‐end fashion or FLP‐type 1,1‐addition product depending on the nature of azide reagents. The current reaction was found to be applicable for Lewis acids across the full range of rare‐earth metals. More details are discussed in the article by Xu et al. on page 559—564.
The cover picture shows a synergistically directed assembly route towards novel multi‐component coordination architectures driven by aromatic donor‐acceptor and coordination interactions. The huge structural discrepancies between coronene donor present and absent experiments clearly prove the significance of aromatic donor‐accepter pairs and their inherent cooperation mechanism in these assembly processes. More details are discussed by Bu et al. on page 871–877.
This cover picture shows a heterogeneous photocatalytic decarboxylative coupling reaction of imidazo-fused heterocycles with N-arylglycines. In this reaction, eco-friendly carbon nitride nanosheet is found to be an efficient and recyclable photocatalyst, which could be recovered and reused at least 7 times. More details are given in the article by Yu et al. on page 97–103.
The cover picture shows the copper‐catalyzed Ullmann‐Ma reaction of aryl halides with nucleophiles by the assistance of two‐generation ligands, amino acids and oxalic diamides or related amides. Ullmann‐Ma reaction is one of the most important transformations for the construction of aryl carbon‐carbon and carbon‐heteroatom bonds in organic chemistry. For the details about the history, development, scope and applications of Ullmann‐Ma reaction, please see the article by Cai et al. on page 879–893.
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.
The cover picture shows a critical review on the organic reactions catalyzed by dinucleating complexes via metal‐metal cooperation. The reaction modes for the catalysis involving late transition metals are including the bimetallic co‐activation of single molecules and dual‐activation of two molecules. More details including the pathways of the metal‐metal cooperation are discussed by Zeng et al. on page 185—201.
5‐Bromofuran‐2‐carboxylates were conducted in a palladium‐catalyzed reductive homocoupling reactions in the presence of alcohols as the reductant to afford [2,2’]bifuran‐5,5’‐dicarboxylic acid esters, which are essential monomers of poly(ethylene bifuranoate), serving as an green and versatile alternative polymer for traditional poly(ethylene terephthalate). More details are discussed in the article by Yin and Jiang et al. on page 62—68.
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.
Modulating charge transfer by constructing high-quality interfacial contacts and charge transfer channel is crucial for an efficient photocatalyst. In this work, a novel PCN/Cu3P nanosheet with intimate 2D/2D heterojunction was prepared via in-situ phosphorization. Boosted photocatalytic H2 evolution was achieved due to the smooth charge transfer in the 2D/2D heterojunction. More details are discussed in the article by Liu et al. on page 173—180.
The cover picture shows A new strategy for preparing antimicrobial peptides from the natural occurring peptide gramicidin A has been developed by simply removing its N‐terminal formyl group and decoration at the terminal NH2 group. The peptides are able to selectively insert into Gram‐positive bacterial membrane to form transmembrane channels but not that of erythrocyte membrane, which leads to their high antimicrobial activity and low hemolytic toxicity. More details are discussed in the article by Hou et al. on page 25–29.
Glycerol molecules can be selectively converted into 1,2‐propanediol in water by the way of Ni‐based Great‐Wall Catalysts with Beacon‐like macropores and Passage‐like mesoporous channels. Otherwise, an amount of by‐product lactic acid was produced via rearrangement from glycerol. More details are discussed in the article by Zhang & Ma et al. on page 439–444.
The function of the type II peptidyl carrier protein (PCP) ColA1a in collismycin (COL) biosynthesis was characterized in this study. ColA1a was involved in the selection and loading of picolinic acid (PA), instead of normal amino acid substrates, as the origin of ring B in COLs. The 2.1 Å crystal structure of ColA1a was solved. Primary and tertiary structural comparison of ColA1a with other PCPs revealed the structural basis for their typical α‐helical bundles. More details are discussed in the article by Ma et al. on page 963—969.
Efficient synthesis of polyester polyols with tunable molecular weight and microstructures from cyclic anhydride/epoxide mixtures by taking advantage of chain transfer reaction remains a great challenge. Dou et al. demonstrated that potassium acetate and 18-crown-6 combinations have great potential in synthesis of diverse polyester polyols with controllable molecular weight and high-end group fidelity. Polyester polyols could be efficiently prepared in laboratory by using commercially available cyclic anhydride without further purification with an extremely low catalyst loading. This binary catalyst can also promote the self-switchable copolymerization of cyclic anhydride/epoxide/cyclic ester mixtures. More details are discussed in the article by Wang et al. on page 83—92.
A hollow polydopamine/Zn (HPDA/Zn) ultrasound contrast agent is exploited. In addition to having a good contrast-enhancement capability in ultrasound imaging, HPDA/Zn can also stabilize plaque by inhibiting CREB and reducing plaque-vulnerable markers and inflammatory factors, achieving the treatment of atherosclerosis. More details are discussed in the article by Wu et al. on page 199—206.
The inside back cover picture shows the controllable skeleton rearrangement of 3‐substituted cyclobutanones under basic conditions. In this paper, a series of 3‐substituted cyclobutanones with different Z group underwent skeleton rearrangement with the treatment of K3PO4 and 18‐crown‐6 ether. Various lactones, lactams and acids were afforded in this concise reaction. More interestingly, an eight‐membered ring was produced with pentaflurophenyl group as a good leaving group. More details are discussed in the article by Lu et al. on page 1103—1106.
