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.
A sustainable method for the fabrication of metallic surfaces with flower‐like fractal morphology was developed by using a three‐dimensional supramolecular assembly as a template. Modifying Au nanoflakes with self‐assembled monolayers or polymers allows the surface wettability to be adjusted from superhydrophobic to superhydrophilic (see figure). Furthermore, Au nanoflakes present excellent substrates for surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS).
Shape‐controlled catalysis : High‐quality Pt–Cu nanocubes with an average size of about 8 nm (see picture, scale bar=20 nm) were synthesized from a high‐temperature organic solution system in the presence of various capping ligands. These cubic Pt–Cu nanocrystals terminated with {100} facets demonstrated a superior catalytic activity towards methanol oxidation compared to similar sized Pt–Cu and Pt nanospheres.
The fiveway junction : The synthesis of ligands with five symmetrically diverging binding sites is described and their assembly into large spherical structures (such as that shown here) investigated.
Economical atoms : 2‐Cyclopenten‐1‐ones, 5‐alkylidenefuran‐2(5 H)‐ones and indan‐1‐ones have been synthesized by atom‐economic reductive cyclocarbonylation of internal alkynes with carbon monoxide catalyzed by [{RhCl(CO)2}2]/CO(NH2)2 in the presence of water (see scheme).
Tackling blocks : The isoprene‐assisted radical coupling (I‐ARC) of polymers prepared by cobalt‐mediated radical polymerization (see picture) is the first efficient radical coupling method that is not restricted to short chains. When applied to AB diblock copolymers, I‐ARC constitutes a straightforward approach to the preparation of novel symmetrical ABA triblock copolymers.
On the mend : The repair reaction of the thymine dimer by DNA photolyase (see picture) is studied by hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical dynamics simulations based on the X‐ray structure of the enzyme–DNA complex. The dynamics of splitting of the thymine dimer radical anion within the DNA photolyase active site is characterized. The model includes the protein environment.
Anisotropy counts: A brief review of the main physical properties of elongated magnetic particles (EMPs) is presented. The most important characteristic of an EMP is the additional contribution of shape anisotropy to the total anisotropy energy of the particle, when compared to spherical magnetic particles. The electron micrograph shows Ni‐ferrite microrods fabricated by the authors.
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.
Mimicking nature synthetically : The successful development of multistep stereoselective syntheses gives access to natural product inspired compound collections having carbo‐, oxa‐,and azacyclic scaffold structures which promise to provide sources for new reagents in medicinal chemistry and chemical biology research.
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.
The Midas touch : The low‐temperature transformation of methanol to methyl formate, formaldehyde, and formic acid is promoted by atomic oxygen adsorbed on metallic gold (see picture). The reactions occur with O‐containing Au nanoparticles formed on Au(111) upon oxidation with ozone at 200 K; the facile esterification to methyl formate occurs well below room temperature.
Oil and water : A new energy‐efficient and atom‐economical catalytic route for the production of alkanes and methanol by upgrading the phenolic fraction of bio‐oil has been developed. The one‐pot aqueous‐phase hydrodeoxygenation process is based on two catalysts facilitating consecutive hydrogenation, hydrolysis, and dehydration reactions.
Large, larger, …? Replacement of 1,4‐benzenedicarboxylate by 2,6‐naphthalenedicarboxylate in the MIL‐101 structure leads to an isoreticular mesoporous framework containing cages with diameters of 39 and 46 Å. High‐throughput methods are employed to determine appropriate reaction conditions. The microcrystalline compound is characterized by molecular simulation techniques, powder X‐ray diffraction, N2‐sorption, and TEM investigations.
Can phosphinoboranes promote hydrogenation of carbonyl moieties? By means of B3LYP and MPW1K density functional calculations the likelihood of the oxidation of alcohols by phosphinoboranes R2PBR′2 ( 1 ) was explored. As a proof‐of‐principle, a theoretical study that tests the reversibility of the alcohol oxidation is reported. The potential of 1 as a metal‐free hydrogenation mediator is discussed for a series of hydrogen sources such as primary and secondary alcohols.
