ChemComm Journal

Be sure to read "Sodium borohydride: repurposing from a reducing agent to a reductive cyclization reagent for N-(2-iodoaryl)acrylamides" by Naveen Sihag, Dr. Mini Bharati Ahirwar, Ankit Kumar, Saleem Hafeez, Dr. Milind M. Deshmukh and M. Ramu Yadav Here, the authors report that NaBH4 facilitates an unusual reductive cyclization of N-(2-iodoaryl)acrylamide derivatives to afford oxindoles without the need for external initiators. While other hydride donors failed to achieve this transformation, NaBH4 enabled it with a broad scope. Control experiments and DFT studies support a unimolecular radical-nucleophilic substitution (SRN1) pathway. Read the full communication here 👉 https://lnkd.in/e7NTpjen

Featured #OnTheCover of issue 45 of ChemComm! "Monomer-level strategy for high refractive index without visible-light absorption: vinylthiophene incorporation into group 14 scaffolds" by Kanon Hirota, Yuta Takemasa, Tomoki Nakagawa and Jun Terao from The University of Tokyo In this #OpenAccess communication, the authors present a monomer-level design strategy for high-refractive-index polymers that overcomes the trade-off between refractive index and visible-light transparency. Densely incorporating highly polarizable vinylthiophene units around group 14 element centers results in refractive indices up to 1.69, maintains minimal visible-light absorption, and enables their application as index-enhancing additives for polymers. Read the full communication here 👉 https://lnkd.in/ewnuRbwv

In case you missed it... Be sure to read "Cold plasma deposited thin-film nanocomposites for heterogeneous thermocatalysis – concepts and progress" by Jacek Tyczkowski and Hanna Kierzkowska-Pawlak from Lodz University of Technology In this #OpenAccess Review, represented by this wonderful author-supplied artwork, the authors summarize  recent progress in cold plasma deposition methods, including low-pressure plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), atmospheric-pressure plasma deposition (APPD), and plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD), and highlight their usefulness in fabricating thin films on 3D supports as packings for catalytic structured reactors. The review demonstrates the significant potential of cold plasma technology for the design and fabrication of innovative nanocatalysts Read the full review here 👉 https://lnkd.in/efcNBhTc

Don't miss this new #OpenAccess review, featured in our #Electrocatalysis collection! "Computational modeling of electrocatalyst reconstruction" by Ziyan Liu and Xiaoyan Li from National University of Singapore In this review, the authors provide an overview of how computational approaches have advanced the mechanistic understanding of electrocatalyst reconstruction across multiple time and length scales. They highlight how different computational strategies offer complementary insights into thermodynamically accessible states, atomic-scale restructuring pathways, and kinetically relevant structural evolution under reaction conditions, emphasizing the recent progress in machine learning potentials and multiscale modeling frameworks. Read the full review here 👉 https://lnkd.in/e53yCeRQ

Interested in oxygen to water electrocatalytic reduction? Be sure to read "Tuning the interlocking in partially saturated copper(i) rotaxane complexes for O2-to-H2O electrocatalytic reduction" by Yan Zhang, Hei Tung Yau, Qi-Fa Chen, Yulin Deng, Zhuoliang Ying, Seungkyu Lee, Ho Yu Au-Yeung and Edmund Chun Ming Tse Here the authors developed tridentate rotaxane ligands to stabilise a dynamic Cu(I) centre with an empty coordination site for O2 reduction. Electrocatalytic activity and selectivity can be controlled by the interlocking tightness through varying the macrocycle size, a feat traditionally inaccessible by non-interlocked analogues. Read the full communication here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eTVDAkFU

Featured #OnTheCover of issue 44! "Fluorination fine-tunes the electronic structure and hydrophobic microenvironment of metal-free nitrogen-doped carbon for efficient electrocatalytic CO2 reduction" by Weiqi Liu, Chuangchuang Yang, Peiyao Bai, Shilin Wei, Haoquan Wang, Shiyong Xu and Lang Xu from China University of Mining and Technology In this work, the authors exploit fluorine's electronegativity and hydrophobicity to tune the electronic structure and microenvironment of nitrogen-doped carbon. Fluorine selectively modulates the p-orbital of pyridinic nitrogen, shifting its p-band centre to lower the *COOH formation barrier, while its hydrophobicity enriches CO2 and excludes H2O/H+, together achieving efficient CO2-to-CO conversion with high selectivity and current density. Read the full communication here 👉 https://lnkd.in/e7FSGJXS

Don't miss this new Communication featured in our #Electrocatalysis collection! "Water-confined CuFe Prussian blue analogues empower Nafion membranes for high-temperature/low-humidity fuel cells" by Jun Zhang, Yalin Fan, Jinqiu Ye, Changming Zhong, Liangyu He, Xuan Zhou, Yu Liu, Ce Wang, Ping HU and Yong (Richard) Liu To combat Nafion dehydration under high-temperature, low-humidity conditions, the authors engineered a CuFe-PBA/Nafion composite membrane by integrating edge-passivated CuFe Prussian blue analogue nanocubes. The 1.0 wt% composite membrane attains a proton conductivity of 72 mS cm−1 at 80 °C/75% relative humidity (RH) and a peak power density of 908 mW cm−2 at 110 °C/40% RH, while maintaining mechanical and Fenton oxidative stability. Read the full communication here 👉 https://lnkd.in/emgXSsrF

From our collection on #Electrocatalysis... "Reversing the activity landscape of MoSx electrocatalysts via NixP interfacial coupling for alkaline hydrogen evolution" by Ioannis Vamvasakis, Aggelos Grammenos and Gerasimos Armatas In this #OpenAccess communication, NixP coupling reshapes the activity landscape of MoSx, enabling a highly active amorphous interface for alkaline HER. Operando electrochemical analysis reveals a shift beyond Volmer-limited kinetics via enhanced charge transfer and hydrogen adsorption. Read the full communication here 👉 https://lnkd.in/erNuytJt

Checkout this ChemComm article "Hierarchically confined FeNiCoMn alloy nanoparticles enable the development of durable bifunctional air cathodes for zinc–air batteries" by by Salman Noshear Arshad, Ph.D., Wenjing (Angela) ZHANG and coworkers. This work presents FeNiCoMn multi-metal nanoparticles confined within nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes on carbon nanofibers, enhancing bifunctional air-cathode performance in rechargeable zinc–air batteries. Read the full communication here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eE9xJAFb

Out now in ChemComm! "Acyclic cucurbituril as sequestrant for acetaminophen" by Jeppe Schjær Mogensen, Thomas Hofmann, Suvenika Perera, Ph.D., Yann Lie, Michael Pittelkow and Lyle Isaacs In this #OpenAccess communication, Acyclic CB[n]-type host H4 functions as a solid state sequestrant for pharmaceutical micropollutants (PMs) from water, reaching up to 99.8% removal efficiency for acetaminophen within 5 minutes. A head-to-head study shows H4 performs at least as well as activated charcoal (DARCO®) at sequestering acetaminophen from simulated gastric fluid. Read the full communication here 👉 https://lnkd.in/ey8napkk