Copper clusters : Two high‐nuclearity copper cages, tricorne Cu21 and saddlelike cyclic Cu16 (see pictures), were synthesized. Magnetic studies and Monte Carlo calculations were also performed to show the overall antiferromagnetic properties of the two compounds.
Pinches like a crab : The utilization of guanidines as catalysts has been growing at a steady pace. They possess high pKa values and activate through dual hydrogen‐bonding modes of activation. This Focus Review highlights the development of chiral guanidine catalysts in asymmetric organic transformations.
In‐source oxidation : In‐source photocatalytic redox reactions for inducing peptide fragmentation are achieved on a TiO2‐derived target plate during laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry in the presence of samples and glucose acting as both an electron donor and a hole conductor (see scheme).
Ask a copper : A copper(II) salt/chiral dipyridylphosphine/PhSiH3 system (see scheme) acts as a very effective and practical catalyst for the asymmetric reduction of heteroaromatic and other types of ketones in air with good‐to‐excellent enantioselectivities (up to 94 %), giving many chiral alcohols that are intermediates for physiologically active compounds. Remarkable temperature effects were observed for some heteroaromatic ketones.
Ordered microporous carbon : The mechanism of an electrical double‐layer capacitor containing zeolite‐templated carbons as model microporous materials was investigated in detail (see figure). Its three‐dimensionally ordered and connected micropores were found to greatly reduce ion‐transfer resistance and, therefore, exhibited a high rate performance.
NMR artifact purging: Modern NMR experiments depend on efficient coherence transfer pathways for their sensitivity and on suppression of undesired pathways leading to artifacts for their spectral clarity. A novel robust adiabatic element suppresses hard‐to‐get‐at artifacts (see picture).
Choosy organomagnesium : Prochiral bis(bromoaryl)alcohols were desymmetrized by treatment with iPr2Mg and an enantiopure Li salt. The resulting arylmagnesium intermediate was trapped with electrophiles. Protonolysis and two follow‐up reactions provided the antihistaminic and anticholinergic drug (R)‐orphenadrine (see scheme).
Studying growth : The diffusion‐controlled kinetic (DCK) model and the surface chemical thermodynamics (SCT) model have been successfully applied to interpret the nucleation and growth mechanism of CeF3 (see TEM images) and NaCeF4 nanocrystals, and may generally give light to the size‐control and morphology prediction of rare‐earth fluorides at the nanoscale level.
Direct decomposition of N 2 O to N 2 using perovskite hollow fiber membranes is achieved by combination with in situ oxygen removal (see picture). A coupled partial methane oxidation allows N2‐free synthesis gas to be obtained. This sustainable process combines N2O removal with the simultaneous production of valuable chemicals.
My favorite subject at school was Chemistry. I chose chemistry as a career because I love the fact we can “Just Do It” without over‐thinking. This and more about Wenbin Lin can be found on page 4472.
In close quarters : When confined in a metal–organic framework, magnesium borohydride reacts with arenes by a hydroboration pathway (see scheme), in contrast to its reactivity under analogous homogeneous solution‐phase conditions. Framework‐imposed organization of the reactive groups is required, which is achieved by a combination of the metal coordination and two hydrogen bonds.
Molecular highways : A facile one‐step, surfactant‐free route was applied to produce high‐purity and uniform α‐MoO3 nanoribbons (see figure), and their photocatalytic, photoconductive, and electrochemical properties were investigated. The results showed that the as‐prepared products had superior photo and electro properties.
In the garden of dispersion: High‐accuracy ab initio calculations are performed to determine the nature of the interactions and the most favorable geometries between CO2 and heteroaromatic molecules containing nitrogen (see figure). Dispersion forces play a key role in the stabilization of the dimer, because correlation effects represent about 50 % of the total interaction energy.
One's enough : The direct observation of a DNA‐polymerase‐based “sequencing engine” using single‐molecule detection recently allowed single‐molecule sequencing by synthesis in real time. Nucleotides with a fluorescent marker at the 5′‐phosphate unit and zero‐mode waveguides are crucial components of this approach, which at last promises low‐cost genome‐scale sequencing.
