Direct coupling of aryl halides and alkyllithium compounds by palladium catalysis

14-Oct-2020

Palladium catalysts help synthesize key chemicals for many industries. However, direct reaction of two basic reagents, aryl halides and alkyllithium compounds, remains a challenge. Now, a team of scientists have found that a catalyst containing YPhos-type ligands can mediate this reaction even at ...

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Superconductivity in hydrogen sulfide

16-Sep-2020

Superconducting wires can transport electricity without loss. This would allow for less power production, reducing both costs and greenhouse gasses. Unfortunately, extensive cooling stands in the way, because existing superconductors only lose their resistance at extremely low temperatures. In ...

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Novel catalytic process for converting CO2 into valuable chemical intermediates in the form of cyclic carbonates

10-Sep-2020

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is not just an undesirable greenhouse gas, it is also an interesting source of raw materials that are valuable and can be recycled sustainably. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, Spanish researchers have now introduced a novel catalytic process for convertingCO2 into valuable ...

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Self-assembly of responsive photonic biobased materials in liquid marbles

01-Sep-2020

A surface displays structural colors when light is reflected by tiny, regular structural elements in a transparent material. Researchers have now developed a method to make structural colors from cellulose-based polymers by using coated droplets that exist in a surrounding fluid--so-called liquid ...

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Separation of Trace Acetylene from Ethylene in Ultramicroporous Metal–Organic Frameworks

31-Aug-2020

Ethylene, a key feedstock in the chemical industry, often includes traces of acetylene contaminants, which need to be removed. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, researchers describe a robust and regenerable porous metal–organic framework that captures acetylene with extraordinary efficiency and ...

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Architecture is key: Biomolecule metal–organic hybrids with high bioactivity

03-Jul-2020

Biomacromolecules incorporated into tailored metal–organic frameworks using peptide modulators are well shielded but highly active thanks to carefully tuned nanoarchitecture. As scientists report in the journal Angewandte Chemie, this strategy can be used to synthesize an “artificial cell” that ...

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Polyimide membranes for the purification of natural gas

26-Jun-2020

Natural gas that contains larger amounts of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and carbon dioxide (CO2) is termed sour gas. Before it can enter a pipeline, it must be “sweetened” by removal of its acidic impurities. Through fine tuning of the ratios of two molecular components, it is possible to produce ...

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Molecular Containers for the Sequestration of Neurotransmitter Drugs in Water

19-Jun-2020

Molecular containers that remove drugs, toxins, or malodorous substances from the environment are called sequestering agents. Scientists have developed a class of molecular containers that specifically sequester neurotransmitter antagonists. The barrel-shaped molecules called Pillar[n]MaxQ bind ...

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Graphdiyne as a Functional Lithium-Ion Storage Material

19-Jun-2020

Lithium-ion batteries usually contain graphitic carbons as anode materials. Scientists have investigated the carbonic nanoweb graphdiyne as a novel two-dimensional carbon network for its suitability in battery applications. Graphdiyne is as flat and thin as graphene, which is the ...

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Total synthesis of tetrodotoxin

10-Mar-2020

In Japan, puffer fish is considered a delicacy, but the tickle to the taste buds comes with a tickle to the nerves: fugu contains tetrodotoxin, a strong nerve toxin. In low doses, tetrodotoxin is shown in clinical trials to be a replacement for opioids for relieving cancer related pain. In the ...

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